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This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – particularly during crises such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position During a Business Struggle

Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media conglomerates battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.

A Further Layer: Donald Trump

The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.

Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press 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 appears to come down on the side of 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 installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.

A Future of More Instability

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.

According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.

The Bigger Problem and a Path Forward

Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.

“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.

Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

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

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest acquisition battle.