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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her statement rang true to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and generally reliable reporting – notably during crises such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State Amid a Business Struggle

However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.

“It gets presented as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.

The Additional Element: Political Influence

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.

Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

Trump has reason to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

A Future of Further Instability

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, 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 arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.

The Fundamental Problem and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the underlying crisis persists.

“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN must not be tools in the most recent acquisition battle.