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Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While the network is hardly a flawless news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and largely dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Position Amid a Business Tug-of-War

However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media corporations compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

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

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

The Additional Factor: The Former President

This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.

Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory 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 insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

Trump has reason to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

An Outcome of Further Instability

Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.

According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.

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

The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.

“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the latest merger game.