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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Even though it is by no means a impeccable news source, her statement rang true for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and generally dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Position Amid a High-Stakes Battle

Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.

The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Element: Donald Trump

The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

There is a basis to like that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

The company, 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.

An Outcome of More Instability

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 hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.

The Core Problem and a Potential Solution

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

“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.

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

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the most recent merger game.