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Late Thursday, as rumors swirled regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Situation During a Business Tug-of-War

However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.

“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.

“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Element: The Former President

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

Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

He has grounds to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is led 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, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

An Outcome of Continued Turmoil

Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu argued.

The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the larger issue endures.

“The present media landscape is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.

Policies that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the latest merger game.