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On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position Amid a Business Battle

Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.

“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

The Additional Element: Political Influence

The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

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

Trump now asserts 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 aggressive takeover attempt.

Trump has reason to like 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, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.

An Outcome of Continued Instability

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. 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 yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition 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 Challenge and a Potential Solution

Whatever happens with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.

“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.

Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest merger game.