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Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her words seemed accurate for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and largely reliable reporting – particularly during crises such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Situation During a Business Struggle

But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.

“It gets presented as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Layer: The Former President

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.

Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

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

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

A Possibility of Further Instability

Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.

In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.

The Core Problem and a Way Ahead

Whatever happens with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.

“Our current system is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” 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 top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are necessary for a robust democracy.

In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.