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This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – notably during crises such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Position During a High-Stakes Battle

But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.

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

The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.

“It gets presented as a corporate drama with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.

The Complicating Layer: The Former President

The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal 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. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

Trump has reason to favor that company more. For one thing, it is led 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, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.

An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.

According to 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 prohibit both deals.

“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu argued.

The Core Challenge and a Path Forward

Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.

“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator 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 support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the latest merger game.