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

Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and largely dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation During a Business Struggle

But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.

“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.

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

“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

The Complicating Element: Political Influence

The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.

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

Trump now asserts 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 seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds to like 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.

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.

A Possibility of Further Instability

Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic 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 the government,” Wu recently wrote.

The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward

Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.

“Our current system is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm 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, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest acquisition battle.