The Nightmare of Big Media

Over at CNET's News.com, Charles Cooper worries about the possible merger of Comcast and Disney:

The real story is what you and I stand to lose in a world that's consuming more and more of its news and entertainment from fewer and fewer outlets.

If that's the real story, it's already been written. It was the January cover story in Reason, "Domination Fantasies: Does Rupert Murdoch control the media? Does anyone?"

The short answer is no. So's the long one. Read the whole thing here.

Comments

[Buck]

I’ve read your long answer and it makes a lot of sense. The profit motive will always by the prime driving force of content. But with fewer outlets for that content, the cost to the consumer will go up. In just 3 years, my expanded basic cable fees per month have gone from $32 to $50 and I get less channels. If Comcast owns Disney/ABC/ESPN, the cost to dish networks for that content will go up forcing the dish networks to raise fees. How is this competitive?