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Late Thursday, as rumors swirled regarding the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her statement rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Position During a Business Tug-of-War

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

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

The debate 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 business story with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.

The Complicating Element: Donald Trump

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

Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

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

An Outcome of Further Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.

“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.

The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the larger issue endures.

“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

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