Clik here to view.
"Trust in Media" survey adds to data that no firms dominate U.S. news media
The “Trust in Media” survey conducted by the BBC, Reuters and the Media Center released today has something in it for almost anyone. It found that the media were trusted a bit more than governments,...
View ArticleLocal Ownership for Philadelphia Newspapers Not Necessarily Good News-- Nor...
That faction of the universe that holds that big media conglomerates are bad for journalism should take no comfort in the announcement Tuesday that a group of Philadelphia investors will buy The...
View ArticleBig Media Critics Needn't Worry so Much
Alan Murray, who writes on politics for The Wall Street Journal, has a column (page 2) today with the above headline. I’d like to run the whole thing here, as some readers of this Blog may not...
View ArticleFCC Pursues New (Yawn) Ownership Rules. Does Anyone Who Matters Care?
As the FCC gears up for a new stab at concocting media ownership limits, the big media companies are continuing to downsize, resize, divest and diversify. To a great extent they look out over the...
View ArticleCutting profit margins for newspapers only a short term fix
Cutting “expected” profit margins for newspapers will not prevent long term downsizing of newspaper expenses.In a post I made today at Rebuilding Media I talk about the inevitability of downsizing at...
View ArticleNSF-Funded Study Finds Newspaper “Slant” Comes from Readers, Not from Owner
Once again, does ownership matter? A new, comprehensive, methodically unbiased study from two academic economists asks the question: “What Drives Media Slant?” Using robust statistical tools and a...
View Article"Media Tracker" a useful tool for identifying media competitors by locality
A useful research tool has been relaunched by the Center for Public Integrity as part of its Telecom and Media Ownership Project. Dubbed Media Tracker, it’s an enhanced data base that identifies media...
View ArticleSlate Further Questions the Minot-Clear Channel Urban Legend
Back in June 2005 I wrote about the Urban Legend that was growing up about the events surrounding a toxic gas spill in the area of Minot, ND and the supposed lack of responsiveness of the six radio...
View Article“Media Reform: Is It Good for Journalism?” at Columbia J-School Feb 8
I will be a participant at Columbia University’s School of Journalism mini-conference next Thursday, Feb 8 it’s labeling “Media Reform: Is It Good for Journalism?” The keynote speaker is Walter...
View ArticleWhat Media Consolidation? Whose Quality Journalism? Response Below
I was asked by a documentary film maker if I would agree to be interviewed for a film on the media ownership issue, specifically the FCC hearings that are being held around the country. I was asked:Our...
View ArticleColumbia Forum Yields No Answers But Highlights Ambiguities on Media...
The mini-symposium at ColumbiaJournalismSchool yesterday on Media Reform: Is it Good for Journalism? was barely a toe-in-the-water event. Still, for anyone who was seriously interested in both sides of...
View ArticleSirius/XM Merger Proposal: The two sides of the pancake.
The two satellite radio providers, XM and Sirius, announced a proposed merger yesterday. The FCC, which must approve such a combination, quite reasonably went on record as having reservations. Chairman...
View ArticleMedia “Monopoly” as seen from the real world
You don't have to be an economist to intuitively know that close substitutes can act as very effective competition. Remember pop in glass bottles? When the only choice for diapers was to wash poopie...
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Flow chart and new ad data reinforces competition and fragmentation in the...
I posted an entry today at the Rebuilding Media site which was primarily focused on media strategy. Figure 1However, I can use much the same data to further bolster the point that the media industry...
View ArticleNews Corp. as an acquirer is limited by family ownership
While the outcome of News Corporation’s audacious bid to acquire Dows Jones continues to percolate, it might also be timely to look at News Corp. as an acquirer of media companies over time. Despite...
View ArticleWOTM FAQ #4: Is the debate about media concentration you are having with...
A FAQ series featuring some real questions I have answered from time to time.It’s been awhile since I last added to my FAQ. The above is based on the opening line of a recent email I received from a...
View ArticleSlate's Shafer "Defends" Murdoch. But it's Really About Encouraging Choice...
Jack Shafer, who authors the Pressbox column for Slate, wrote “In Defense of Rupert Murdoch” last Friday that Murdoch is “not as bad as some people make him out to be—people like Federal Communications...
View ArticleSenate's Media Ownership Crusade: Ignores Research, Will Have Unintended...
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the Senate’s latest misguided efforts to prevent the Federal Communications Commission from doing its job is the ignorance—or worse—ignoring— by the Senators of...
View ArticleRetiring WSJ Managing Editor Says High Profits Created Newspaper Industry’s...
Today is the last day on the job for Paul Steiger, who has been the managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, for the past 16 years. That’s an impressive run by any standard. Last Saturday the...
View ArticleIs it a "Confidential" or "Free and Open" Society?
Though a bit off-topic from the usual subject matter of this Blog, I couldn’t resist highlighting the following statement from Martha K. Levin, executive vice president and publisher of the Free Press,...
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