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This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although it is by no means a impeccable news source, her words resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State Amid a Business Struggle

Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.

“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

A Further Element: Political Influence

The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.

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

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

There is a basis to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled 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, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.

A Possibility of More Instability

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.

The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead

Whatever happens with this particular battle, the larger issue endures.

“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.

Policies that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.

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