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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her message rang true to many. It is one of the outlets where one can locate grounded and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable State During a Business Battle

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

No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.

“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.

The Additional Factor: Donald Trump

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

Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.

A Future of Further Instability

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.

“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.

The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward

No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem persists.

“Our current system is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are vital for a robust democracy.

In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.