MediaLife: Web, Great Liberator, Deserves More Respect

The FCC just gave its approval for media companies to own an even higher percentage of media outlets in a given market. Now we will all pay more for lower quality content than we already do from big media companies.

Why does this trend perpetuate itself? Because we all continue to pay for content in the offline world. People pay for subscriptions, subscribe to cable, and advertisers shell out $9.4 billion in the upfront market for commercial time.

It's turning into one big corporate voice. Where does one go to get an independent opinion? The Internet. Remember that medium? That's the medium where anyone can say anything to anyone in any form they choose. One would think people would pay big money for an alternative opinion. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The web started as a "free" medium and that is the single biggest factor holding it back from being as commercially successful as other media. Of course, commercial success removes independence. Hey, you can have everything.