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Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It stands as one of the outlets where there exists fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Position During a Business Battle

However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins 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 the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.

“It gets presented as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.

A Further Factor: The Former President

The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.

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

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

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

Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.

A Possibility of Further Turmoil

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 welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That setup could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

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

“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.

The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead

No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.

“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.

Policies that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a robust democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.