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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and largely dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Position Amid a High-Stakes Battle

Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

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

The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.

A Further Layer: Donald Trump

The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.

Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his 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 CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds to like that company more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.

A Possibility of More Instability

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.

In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.

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

The Core Problem and a Way Ahead

No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue remains.

“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

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