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Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a flawless news source, her statement seemed accurate to many. It is one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and largely reliable reporting – especially during crises such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State During a High-Stakes Struggle

However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the destiny 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 is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.

“It gets presented as a business story with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.

A Further Element: Donald Trump

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” adversary.

Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

An Outcome of Further Instability

Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.

“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.

The Bigger Challenge and a Potential Solution

Whatever happens in this situation, the underlying crisis persists.

“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.

Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the newest acquisition battle.