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Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although it is by no means a perfect news source, her words rang true to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and generally dependable reporting – notably during crises such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Situation During a Business Tug-of-War

Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

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

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

The Complicating Layer: Political Influence

The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.

Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

He has grounds to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

A Future of More Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.

The Core Issue and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the larger issue endures.

“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent merger game.