Too Much Media Concentration?

Disney owns ABC. Viacom owns CBS. Comcast is buying NBC. This article in the LA Times reports on the Justice Department reviewing the NBC deal. There are a couple of concerns.

First, the concentration of major media companies under a few owners. For example, Rupert Murdoch owns Fox, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, and a lot of other communications outlets. If the same company, or same individual controls so many sources of information, will the editorial content be affected? Can the Wall Street Journal do an unbiased investigative report on financial troubles at Fox if Murdoch owns both outlets? As a reporter or editor at the WSJ, do you file a potentially negative story on the guy who signs your check?

A second concern is access to media. In the Comcast/NBC merger, let's say NBC has hit shows. Yea, I know, that's getting to be far-fetched. But Comcast does want to carry NBC shows, and so Comcast pays a fee to NBC to carry the network on its cable system. Remember Comcast owns NBC, so it should get a sweet deal. Now, lets say DirecTV wants to carry NBC shows. Will DirecTV pay the same price to NBC as Comcast? DirecTV could be at a disadvantage in that negotiation, and consumers subscribing to DirecTV could see that in higher monthly satellite bills.