ABSTRACT
Despite the fact that high-profile legal cases dealing with topics such as libel and obscenity get more attention, it is the more routine business affairs of the media that are the subject of day-in, day-out consideration for the companies that own and operate newspapers, television and radio stations, and other American media. Media outlets are businesses and, just like other businesses, are subject to laws regulating commerce. While many of the individual soapbox speakers and pamphleteers may be promoting their ideas, most American media exist to make a profit for the shareholders, and that enterprise involves contracts, government regulations, and labor relations.
