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On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a perfect news source, her words resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where there exists reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during crises such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation During a Corporate Battle

However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

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

The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.

“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.

A Further Element: The Former President

The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.

Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

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

An Outcome of Continued Instability

It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, 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 not exactly a guarantee of stability. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.

The Bigger Problem and a Way Ahead

Whatever happens in this situation, the bigger problem remains.

“The present media landscape is a very system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

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

In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.