Synopsis

When the first edition of The Media Monopoly was published in 1983, critics called Ben Bagdikian's warnings about the chilling effects of corporate ownership and mass advertising on the nation's news "alarmist." Since then, the number of corporations controlling most of America's daily newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, book publishers, and movie companies has dwindled from fifty to ten to five.

The most respected critique of modern mass media ever issued is now published in a completely updated and revised twentieth anniversary edition.

'Ben Bagdikian has written the first great media book of the twenty-first century. The New Media Monopoly will provide a roadmap to understanding how we got here and where we need to go to make matters better.'
-Robert McChesney, author of Rich Media, Poor Democracy

Library Journal

In the two decades since the initial publication of The Media Monopoly, media ownership worldwide has become concentrated in increasingly fewer and larger corporations. The number of media conglomerates has dwindled from 50 in 1983 to just five today. Bagdikian (journalism, dean emeritus, Berkeley) thus set out to completely revise his best-known work and has written seven new chapters. The Internet, relegated to the preface in the sixth edition (2000), now gets a whole chapter, although the author's grasp of some key concepts is a bit shaky (Napster, he explains, "provided a large collection" of music). Unfortunately, the five chapters retained from earlier editions still rely on decades-old research, and there have been few substantive changes to the text. This lack of careful revision has resulted in some glaring anachronisms For instance, Bagdikian writes that Time magazine has been a steady supporter of the policies of Henry Kissinger. Despite its flaws, this new edition offers a thorough and in some respects up-to-date examination of a crucial topic. For lack of an alternative, it is recommended for public libraries.-Susan M. Colowick, Timberland Regional Lib., Tumwater, WA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Biography

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ben H. Bagdikian is dean emeritus of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley. His other books include Double Vision: Reflections on My Heritage, Life, and Profession.