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On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a flawless news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and largely reliable reporting – notably during crises like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation Amid a Business Struggle

However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

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

The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.

“It is often framed as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

A Further Element: The Former President

The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

Trump has reason to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is run 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, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.

A Future of Continued Instability

Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward

No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the larger issue persists.

“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are vital for a robust democracy.

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.