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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable State Amid a Business Tug-of-War

However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.

A Further Layer: Political Influence

The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.

Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds to favor that company 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.

The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.

A Possibility of Continued Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.

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

The Core Issue and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the underlying crisis persists.

“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.

Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are vital for a robust democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest acquisition battle.