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Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find grounded and largely dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position During a Corporate Struggle

But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.

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

“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

A Further Element: The Former President

This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.

Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.

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

There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.

A Possibility of More Uncertainty

It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.

The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead

No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue remains.

“Our current system is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely 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 prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.

In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.