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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation During a Corporate Tug-of-War

Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.

The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.

“It gets presented as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Element: Political Influence

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

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

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

Trump has reason to favor that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.

A Future of More Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.

According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition 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 Challenge and a Path Forward

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

“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.

Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect 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 outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest merger game.