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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her words seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and largely dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Position During a High-Stakes Battle

However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

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

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

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.

A Further Element: The Former President

This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.

Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

There is a basis to favor that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly 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 editor-in-chief of that historic news network.

A Future of More Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That setup could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.

The Core Challenge and a Potential Solution

Whatever happens in this situation, the larger issue persists.

“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.

Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a healthy democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN must not be tools in the latest acquisition battle.