At the PFF blog, Adam Thierer provides a summary of The Media Monopoly Myth: How New Competition is Expanding Our Sources of Information and Entertainment, by Prof. Ben Compaine, a report published by the New Millennium Research Council.

Adam, who is often intense but only rarely effusive, characterizes the report as "wonderful."

I especially like a section on "The Critical Role of Private Enterprise on Free Expression," which notes:

There is a very positive side to profit-driven public ownership. The stocks of these companies are widely held, by teacher’s pension funds, by mutual funds, by individuals and 401k plans. The chief executives of these companies have a fiduciary responsibility to their stockholders that they take seriously. Restricting their coverage, their range of films or magazine titles or news shows is not what the big companies are about. They seek to reach the mass market when they can and niche markets when they spot them. Given the vast diversity of interests in a nation the size of the United States there is potential profit in reaching the right wing as well as the left wing, in programming for Spanish speakers a well as English, in publishing books for escapism and for self help, in investigative reporting that is critical of government as well as editorials that may be supportive. And if the big guys don’t provide it, some small publisher or producer will.

posted by James DeLong @ 2:38 PM | Markets: Business, Investment & Innovation

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