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On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a flawless news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and mostly reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position During a High-Stakes Battle

But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

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

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.

The Additional Element: Donald Trump

The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.

Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly 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 top editor of that storied news network.

A Possibility of More Instability

Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

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

The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.

“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.

Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are essential for a healthy democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.