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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It stands as one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State Amid a Corporate Struggle

But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media empires compete 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 corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.

The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.

“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

A Further Factor: The Former President

The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.

Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate 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 favor that company 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 appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.

An Outcome of Continued Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could 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 yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

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

The Bigger Challenge and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the underlying crisis persists.

“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.

Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Measures that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are vital for a functioning democracy.

In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the latest merger game.