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This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled regarding the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though it is by no means a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and largely reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State During a Business Struggle

But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.

“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.

A Further Factor: The Former President

The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.

Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory 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 protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

Trump has reason to prefer 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, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

A Possibility of Continued Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.

If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Challenge and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the larger issue endures.

“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will never happen.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a functioning democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.