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On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words seemed accurate for a lot of people. It is one of the outlets where there exists fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – notably during crises like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation Amid a Corporate Battle

But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.

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

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.

The Complicating Factor: Political Influence

This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.

Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

Trump has reason to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

An Outcome of Continued Turmoil

Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.

The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward

Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.

“Our current system is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pawns in the newest merger game.