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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though it is by no means a impeccable news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and generally dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War

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

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

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

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.

A Further Layer: Donald Trump

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.

Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

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

The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

A Possibility of Further Turmoil

Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.

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

“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.

The Fundamental Challenge and a Potential Solution

Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.

“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be tools in the most recent acquisition battle.