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Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a flawless news source, her statement resonated to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and mostly reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation During a Corporate Battle

But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.

“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

The Complicating Factor: The Former President

The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

There is a basis to favor that company more. For one thing, it is run 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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.

A Future of Further Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.

The Core Problem and a Path Forward

Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem remains.

“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a healthy democracy.

In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pawns in the latest acquisition battle.