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This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her statement seemed accurate to many. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – particularly during crises such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation Amid a Business Struggle

Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.

The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.

“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.

The Additional Element: The Former President

This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

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

Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

There is a basis to like that company 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, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

An Outcome of More Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead

Whatever happens in this situation, the underlying crisis persists.

“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.

Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.