How media consolidation silences free speech

If the decision of what is appropriate to broadcast lies in the hands of a few people, then there is no real choice

- LZ GRANDERSON COLUMNIST

THE MELROSE GATE of Paramount Pictures Studio, whose parent was acquired by Skydance.

THE LATEST smartphone from Apple hit stores this weekend and reportedly the belle of the ball is the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Customers want it for its advanced telephoto lens, large display and battery life. Investors want it to keep up with the Joneses. While Apple remains one of the globe’s most valuable tech companies, there is growing concern on Wall Street that the industry leader is lagging behind some of its rivals when it comes to artificial intelligence. Ideally the new model addresses some of that chatter.

of 80% of all telephones in the U.S. This was not by accident. One of the company’s earliest presidents, Theodore Vail, introduced a motto in 1907: “One system, one policy, universal service.” Vail was selling efficiency, but what AT&T eventually acquired was near total control of how Americans talked with one another. By the time Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, the only choice nearly 80 million American households were left with was deciding what kind of AT&T phone to rent.