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Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation During a Business Tug-of-War

But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media corporations compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has been drawn 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 deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.

“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.

The Additional Layer: The Former President

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

Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

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

The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.

A Future of Further Uncertainty

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu stated.

The Core Problem and a Way Ahead

Whatever happens with this particular battle, the underlying crisis endures.

“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.

Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a robust democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pawns in the latest merger game.