The Real Consequences of Media Consolidation

[Commentary] There are profound and immediate consequences of the current crisis of media ownership, in which only a few companies control nearly everything we read, watch and hear. As corporations have increased their media holdings, news has become a commodity, and a profit-driven bottom line has replaced a dedication to real journalism. We are reminded daily of this breach of contract with our democracy when the corporate media routinely falters in providing the public with hard-hitting, quality journalism. More profound is the way media consolidation is endangering our citizens directly, whether it is the media's failure to ask tough questions about the Iraq war, report on the harmful effects of sentencing laws, or provide non-sensationalistic coverage of natural disasters that gives the public pertinent public safety information.