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

Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where there exists fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State Amid a Business Battle

Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

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

“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.

A Further Element: The Former President

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

Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now asserts 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 hostile bid.

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

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.

An Outcome of Further Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That structure could position CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.

The Core Challenge and a Potential Solution

Whatever happens with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.

“The present media landscape is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN must not be tools in the latest corporate chess match.