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On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, 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 impeccable news source, her words resonated to many. It is one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State Amid a Business Battle

Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.

The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.

“It is often framed as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Element: Donald Trump

The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.

Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

He has grounds to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.

An Outcome of More Uncertainty

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 not exactly a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.

The Bigger Challenge and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the underlying crisis endures.

“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.

Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a robust democracy.

Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.