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This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find fact-based and largely dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Situation Amid a Business Battle

Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

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

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump

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

Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

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

The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

An Outcome of More Instability

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, 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 secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.

According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu argued.

The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.

“What we have now is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.

Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest merger game.