2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Hillary Clinton opposes breaking up the megabanks, opposes reinstating Glass-Steagall [View all]senz
(11,945 posts)Depressing, too. About 15 years ago, I did a project for grad school on the subject. It looks like things haven't changed too much since then ; without getting out my notes, I'm pretty sure there were six companies at that time, several of the same ones, with the exception of CBS. I think that was owned by another company. One of the things I learned is that the CEOs of megacorps sit on the Board of Directors of other companies. Very incestuous. Haven't kept up with all the mergers, but am relieved that it hasn't shrunk to fewer than six. Prior to Reagan and Clinton, there were hundreds of separately owned independent media. The best book on the subject was Ben Bagdikian's Media Monopoly. I wish Bill Clinton had stood firm and refused to sign the 1996 Telecom Act, which opened the doors to massive buyouts, monopolies. Unthinkable.
That's really a fine chart, well done.