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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although it is by no means a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and largely reliable reporting – particularly during crises such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable State During a Business Struggle

Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.

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

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

“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.

The Complicating Layer: Political Influence

The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.

Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

An Outcome of Continued Instability

Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.

“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.

The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead

No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem endures.

“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.

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

Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the newest merger game.