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Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message rang true for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and largely reliable reporting – especially during crises like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State Amid a High-Stakes Struggle

But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of business acquisition, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

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

“It gets presented as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.

The Additional Layer: Political Influence

The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.

Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now claims 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 support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

Trump has reason to prefer that company 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.

The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.

A Possibility of More Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That structure could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

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

The Core Issue and a Path Forward

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

“What we have now is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a functioning democracy.

In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest merger game.