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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement resonated for numerous observers. It is one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – particularly during crises like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War

Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

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

“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Layer: The Former President

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

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

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

He has grounds to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.

A Possibility of Further Uncertainty

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, 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 guarantee of stability. That setup could set up CNN for another sale. It never ends.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.

The Fundamental Challenge and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem persists.

“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.

Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

Policies that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are essential for a robust democracy.

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