First, this by George Orwell--"Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without any need for official ban." I will add that the silence and the darkness are all the easier if a media elite owns most information outlets, which is where we are today.
Senator John McCain, at a congressional hearing--"When is the endpoint to all of this? Why not have Rupert Murdoch buy another company, then Comcast another, and on it goes. At some point, you'll have many voices--and one ventriloquist."
We don't know when it will all end. Here is a breakdown of shrinking media ownership--
In 1983, 50 owners
In 1987, 29
In 1990, 23
in 1992, 14
In 1997, 10
In 2004, 6 owners for 94 percent of the entire media
Understand that this is a sketch of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and omits important information in some instances. Its chief advantage is that it is presented in chronological order.
