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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and generally reliable reporting – particularly during crises like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Situation Amid a Business Tug-of-War

However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two giant media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.

“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.

A Further Layer: Donald Trump

The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.

Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

Trump has reason to like that company 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, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

A Future of Further Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That setup could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.

According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Issue and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the larger issue persists.

“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build 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? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a robust democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.