Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezoss purchase of the Washington Post has to be understood in the context of two large trends: (1) the merging of print media with TV, cable, and the Internet, into multi-media news platforms (Amazons streaming video is becoming another TV network, while Google, FB, Apple, and Yahoo are all becoming media businesses as well); and (2) the emergence of a few large corporations and billionaires at the center of these media conglomerates (Rupert Murdoch owning the Wall Street Journal and Fox News; Comcast owning NBC and its cable versions MSNBC and CNBC; Bezos is buying the Washington Post for himself, not Amazon, but the synergies are clear; the Koch brothers are openly looking for media to buy, already expressing interest in the Tribune Company.) The two trends are troublesome from the standpoint of the free flow of ideas in a democracy, as well as political clout in Washington. Whether the motive is to make as much money as possible or to affect public opinion, or both, the new media conglomerates and the new media moguls have disproportionate influence. If wealth werent already so concentrated in America, and didnt already have such boundless political impact, wed have less reason for concern.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Aug 2013 13:44:43 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015