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On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although it is by no means a perfect news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It stands as one of the broadcasters where one can locate grounded and largely trustworthy reporting – particularly during crises such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Position During a Corporate Struggle

Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a high-stakes 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 origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.

The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.

A Further Element: Political Influence

The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.

Remember the shouts 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 White House briefings.

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

Trump has reason to favor that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty

It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.

“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.

The Core Issue and a Potential Solution

No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.

“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.

Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

Measures that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent merger game.