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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and largely dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Position Amid a Corporate Struggle

However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

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

“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

A Further Element: Political Influence

The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.

Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

Trump has reason to favor 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, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.

A Future of More Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

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 disallow both deals.

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

The Bigger Challenge and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue endures.

“Our current system is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are necessary for a robust democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be tools in the latest merger game.