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Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread 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.

Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It is one of the outlets where there exists grounded and generally reliable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position During a Corporate Struggle

Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, 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 decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.

The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.

“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.

A Further Layer: Donald Trump

The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.

Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason 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 run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.

A Future of Continued Turmoil

Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

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

The Fundamental Problem and a Potential Solution

No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.

“The present media landscape is a very anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.

Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.

In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the latest merger game.