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Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the broadcasters where one can locate grounded and largely dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State During a Business Struggle

However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

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

“It gets presented as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Layer: Donald Trump

The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.

Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

He has grounds to prefer 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, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.

A Future of Further Uncertainty

Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.

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

“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.

The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead

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

“What we have now is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator 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.

Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a functioning democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent merger game.