Conglomerates and the Media

Conglomerates and The Media, Erik Barnouw (ed.), The New Press, 1997

This is a group of essays on the effects of mergers and conglomerates on the dissemination of news and information. The main point is that the push for corporate profits has become so great that all of contemporary culture, from TV news to newspapers to movies to book publishing, has been dumbed down to the lowest common denominator, and beyond. Ratings points, and not offending large advertisers, are more important than journalistic integrity.

The Person of the Week segment Friday nights on ABC News is nothing more than a ratings gimmick, because consultants found a ratings drop at that time as people got ready for the weekend. In the publishing industry, which seems to publish only mega best-sellers, weight loss books, or, again, lowest common denominator books, some serious non-fiction books that are getting published are without footnotes or indexes; supposedly, readers are afraid of them.

For those who feel that popular media are not serving their wants and needs, this book gives the details. Rare are the books that deserve a round of applause; this book deserves a round of applause.