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On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled about a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a flawless news source, her statement rang true to many. It remains one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and generally reliable reporting – especially during crises like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Position Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War

However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.

“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.

The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump

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

Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds to prefer 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.

The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.

An Outcome of Continued Instability

It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.

The Core Issue and a Path Forward

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

“The present media landscape is a very system hostile to democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are essential for a healthy democracy.

In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the most recent merger game.