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This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a flawless news source, her message resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and largely dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation During a Corporate Tug-of-War

However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

The conjecture 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 corporate drama with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.

The Complicating Element: Political Influence

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

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

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

Trump has reason to like that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.

A Future of Continued Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix wins, 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 safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.

The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution

No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.

“Our current system is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.