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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although it is by no means a flawless news source, her words seemed accurate for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where there exists fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Struggle

Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

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

“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

A Further Element: The Former President

The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.

Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

Trump has reason to like that bidder 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 appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.

A Possibility of More Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.

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

“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.

The Bigger Challenge and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem endures.

“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.

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