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This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement rang true to many. It is one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and largely reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position During a Business Battle

But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.

A Further Factor: The Former President

The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.

Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive 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. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

There is a basis to prefer that bidder 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.

Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.

A Future of More Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.

The Bigger Problem and a Path Forward

Whatever happens in this situation, the underlying crisis endures.

“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Policies that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are essential for a healthy democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.