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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words rang true to many. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and generally dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Struggle

Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

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

“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.

“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.

The Additional Layer: Political Influence

The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

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

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.

An Outcome of Continued Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead

Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.

“The present media landscape is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.

Measures that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.