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On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position During a High-Stakes Battle

But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

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

“It gets presented as a corporate drama with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

A Further Element: Donald Trump

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

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

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

There is a basis to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is run 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, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.

A Possibility of More Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.

The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward

Whatever happens regarding CNN, the underlying crisis remains.

“Our current system is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the latest corporate chess match.