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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While the network is hardly a flawless news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It stands as one of the broadcasters where there exists grounded and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation Amid a High-Stakes Struggle

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

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

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

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump

The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.

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

Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

Trump has reason to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

A Future of Continued Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.

According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic 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 challenged by the government,” Wu argued.

The Bigger Problem and a Potential Solution

No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the larger issue endures.

“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.

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