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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate to many. It is one of the outlets where there exists reality-based and generally reliable reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable State During a Corporate Struggle

However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two huge media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

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

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.

A Further Element: Donald Trump

This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

Trump has reason to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

An Outcome of More Instability

Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu recently wrote.

The Core Problem and a Way Ahead

Whatever happens with this particular battle, the bigger problem persists.

“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can address it.

Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.

Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.