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This past Thursday night, 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.

While the network is hardly a flawless news source, her message rang true for a lot of people. It is one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and mostly dependable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Struggle

Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

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

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

“It is often framed as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.

The Additional Element: Donald Trump

The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.

Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

There is a basis to like that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

An Outcome of More Uncertainty

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.

According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu stated.

The Fundamental Challenge and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.

“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.

Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.

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