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This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation about a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It stands as one of the broadcasters where one can locate grounded and mostly reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation Amid a Corporate Struggle

Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

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

“It gets presented as a corporate drama with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.

The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.

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

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

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

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

A Future of Continued Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.

The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution

No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis remains.

“What we have now is a very anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and different 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? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

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

Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the newest merger game.