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On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words rang true to many. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate grounded and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State During a High-Stakes Battle

But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two massive media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The debate about which company will control 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 key players as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

The Complicating Layer: Political Influence

The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.

Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

There is a basis to like that suitor 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, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.

A Possibility of Continued Uncertainty

Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.

The Bigger Problem and a Path Forward

Whatever happens with this particular battle, the larger issue endures.

“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.