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Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and generally reliable reporting – particularly during crises like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation During a Business Battle

But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.

“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

The Additional Factor: Political Influence

The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.

Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

Trump has reason to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.

An Outcome of Continued Instability

Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.

If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.

The Core Issue and a Path Forward

Whatever happens regarding CNN, the underlying crisis persists.

“Our current system is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.

Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

Policies that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a robust democracy.

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.