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Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message rang true to many. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate grounded and mostly reliable reporting – especially during crises such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War

Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.

The Additional Element: The Former President

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

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

Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

There is a basis 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.

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

A Possibility of Continued Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.

The Bigger Problem and a Path Forward

No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue persists.

“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.

Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.

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

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the newest merger game.