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This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the outlets where you can find grounded and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious State During a High-Stakes Struggle

But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two massive media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

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

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

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

“It gets presented as a corporate drama with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Factor: Political Influence

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.

Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes 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 seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

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

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

A Possibility of Further Uncertainty

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.

According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.

The Bigger Challenge and a Way Ahead

No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.

“The present media landscape is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.

Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC 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.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.

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