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On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement resonated to many. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find grounded and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State During a Corporate Struggle

Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.

“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

A Further Element: Donald Trump

The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.

Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

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

The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.

A Possibility of Further Uncertainty

Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic 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 anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead

Whatever happens with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.

“The present media landscape is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.

Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

Measures that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the latest merger game.