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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her message resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and largely reliable reporting – notably during crises such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable State Amid a Business Struggle

But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of 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 origins in many years of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.

“It gets presented as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.

A Further Factor: Political Influence

This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.

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

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

There is a basis to favor that bidder 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 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 More Uncertainty

Notably, 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 guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.

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

The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution

Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue remains.

“The present media landscape is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the latest corporate chess match.