ABSTRACT
The typical media report about media conglomeration is supercharged with the rhetoric of the conglomerates themselves. Meanwhile, critics of the conglomeration juggernaut stress the danger of censorship. Conglomerates would seem to be set-ups for conflicts of interest between news and entertainment. In fact, the networks and papers alike have shown precious little interest in the momentous telecommunications legislation that Congress just passed in a snap and the president signed. The fate of publishing is also inextricably linked to the growing weight of chain bookstores. No one who worries about media trusts proposes a return to the narrow pipeline of yesteryear. Demographic slices are the targets in cable TV, radio, magazines. The point is not that the media were once fearless and are suddenly in danger of becoming fearful, or that entertainment was once stupendous and is suddenly in danger of dumbing down.
