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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her statement rang true to many. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and largely dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation During a High-Stakes Struggle

But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.

“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.

The Additional Layer: Donald Trump

This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

There is a basis to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

An Outcome of Continued Turmoil

Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.

According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

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

The Bigger Challenge and a Way Ahead

Whatever happens with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.

“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a functioning democracy.

In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent merger game.