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This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War

Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two massive media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

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

The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.

A Further Factor: Donald Trump

The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

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

The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.

A Possibility of More Instability

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That setup could position CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.

The Bigger Problem and a Path Forward

Whatever happens in this situation, the bigger problem persists.

“The present media landscape is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.

Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are essential for a healthy democracy.

Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest corporate chess match.