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

Even though CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words rang true to many. It is one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and generally reliable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State Amid a Corporate Battle

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

Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.

“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.

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

A Further Element: The Former President

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

Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds to prefer 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, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.

A Future of Continued Uncertainty

Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.

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

The Fundamental Challenge and a Path Forward

No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.

“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.

Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.

Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the latest merger game.