Media de-regulation encourages more consolidation, not more competition: "The reason given by giants to merge with other giants is to compete more efficiently with other enlarging conglomerates. The growing danger, however, is that media giants are becoming fewer as they get bigger. The assurance given is 'look at those independent Internet Web sites that compete with us' ? but all the largest Web sites are owned by the giants.
How are the media covering their contraction? (I still construe the word 'media' as plural in hopes that McCain will get off his duff and Bush will awaken.) Much of the coverage is 'gee-whiz, which personality will be top dog, which investors will profit and which giant will go bust?'
But the message in this latest potential merger is not about a clash of media megalomaniacs, nor about a conspiracy driven by 'special interests.' The issue is this: As technology changes, how do we better protect the competition that keeps us free and different?
You don't have to be a populist to want to stop this rush by ever-fewer entities to dominate both the content and the conduit of what we see and hear and write and say. "

Nice to see that I agree with William Safire on some things. Good job, Bill.
- posted by geoff @ #