1st Edition

Media Mergers

Edited By Nancy Woodhull Copyright 1997
    198 Pages
    by Routledge

    184 Pages
    by Routledge

    The recent surge in media mergers has set off a wave of stories that all hit very close to home. In some cases, the news organizations themselves become news. The formation of communication conglomerates raises profound questions for reporters' lives and work, such as: What is the best way to cover stories of high profile and complexity? Will the new giants broaden both the definition of journalism and the opportunities for journalists to practice their craft? What are the prospects for the new partnership of big news, new media, and big business? The consequences of consolidation vary by media industry. The evolution of communication technology is so fast that today's truisms can be undone tomorrow. Media Mergers provides a healthy dose of skepticism, a search for illuminating facts, and a willingness to consider all sides of the discussion.

    This book approaches the emergence of media giants from a variety of angles. The contributors offer many ways of understanding their scale and their significance. Media Mergers is divided into six parts: "Point/Counterpoint," "The Imperial Moment," "Captains of Communication," "States of Media," "The Consequences of Media Empires in the United States," and "The Consequences of Media Empires Around the World." Authors include: Todd Gitlin; Steven Rattner; Ken Auletta; Madeline Rogers; Danny Schechter; Barbara Maltby; and Mac Margolis.

    Included in this volume is a roundtable introduced by Walter Cronkite and moderated by Alex Jones. Participants are Frank A. Bennack, Jr., Neil S. Braun, P. Anthony Ridder, and Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. A review essay by Anne Wells Branscomb concludes book. She discusses various books on the subjects of media moguls, multimedia conglomerates, and media takeovers. Media Mergers is especially pertinent today, an age in which the communications industry is constantly changing, progressing, and being affected by business upheavals. It will be of interest to publishers, media specialists, and all those in communications, policy and research.

    Preface xi -- Introduction -- Part I: Point/Counterpoint -- 1. Not So Fast/Todd Gitlin -- 2. A Golden Age of Competition/Steven Rattner -- Part II: The Imperial Moment -- 3. What Does It All Mean?/Leo Bogart -- 4. Fourteen Truisms for the Communications Revolution/Ken Auletta -- 5. Media Regulation -- New Rules for New Times/Eli M. Noam -- Part III: Captains of Communication -- 6. Moguls Past and Present/Madeline Rogers -- 7. Two Faces of Mickey Mouse/Loren Ghiglione -- 8. Thinking Outside the Box/Christie Hefner -- 9. Concerns at the Top/Randall H. Lucius, Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld and Michael Reene -- Part IV: States of Media -- 10. Mergers, Word for Word/Susan Douglas and T.R. Durham -- 11. Media Summits/Danny Schechter -- 12. The Buck Stops Here: Roundtable/Frank A. Bennack, Jr., Neil S. Brawn and P. Anthony Ridder -- Part V: The Consequences of Media Empires in the United States -- 13. Corporate Journalism and Community Service/Gene Roberts -- 14. The Big News -- Big Business Bargain/Tom Wolzien -- 15. The Homogenization of Hollywood/Barbara Maltby -- 16. Off the Air/Lou Adler -- 17. Conglomerates -- A Good Thing for Books/Jonathan Karp -- 18. Are Your Intentions Honorable?/Jerry Michalski -- Part VI: The Consequences of Media Empires Around the World -- 19. A Very Hard Market/Stephen Vines -- 20. Foreign Capital Is Welcome Here/Mihaly Galik -- 21. In the Company of Giants/Mac Margolis -- 22. What Does It Taste Like?/Christina Scott -- Part VII: Books -- 23. Megamedia Moguls and Multimedia Madness/Anne Wells Branscomb For Further Reading -- Index.

    Biography

    Nancy J. Woodhull, Robert W. Snyder