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Late Thursday, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words resonated to many. It is one of the organizations where one can locate grounded and largely trustworthy reporting – especially during crises like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation During a High-Stakes Struggle

But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

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

“It gets presented as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.

A Further Element: Donald Trump

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.

Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield 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 prefer that company more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.

A Possibility of More Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.

If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.

“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.

In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the latest merger game.