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On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and largely dependable reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State Amid a Business Struggle

However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.

“It gets presented as a corporate drama with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

The Complicating Layer: The Former President

This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is run 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 venerable news network.

A Possibility of More Instability

It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.

In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.

The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward

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

“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.

Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.