I was reading through your long debate regarding the Washington Supreme Court case last night. I thought it was good. It's too bad that too many people are entrenched in reacting to Donald Trump by proclaiming the exact opposite.
A consolidated media with fewer owners provides less choice -- less diversity -- than a robust media with hundreds of players.
A media consolidated with other companies will favor those industries. It's basic conflict of interest.
We see these things happening. Ben Bagdikian chronicled the consolidation of the media in the post World War II period. Others have looked at media coverage and bias -- and sure enough, the theory predicted the results.
separate it from the free market.
Very simply: a market is not "free" in the sense that a willing seller and willing buyer have control over the quality and price when it is consolidated. If you believe that a media company owned by the nuclear power industry or a hedge fund company is going to provide some sort of "free press," you are sorely mistaken. If Teddy Roosevelt were alive today, he would recognize this.