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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words resonated to many. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists grounded and mostly reliable reporting – notably during crises such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War

But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.

“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.

“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

The Additional Layer: Political Influence

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

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

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

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

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

A Future of Further Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

According to Timothy Wu, much 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 block both deals.

“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.

The Bigger Challenge and a Path Forward

No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.

“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.

In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the latest acquisition battle.