Are media companies in this country too big? How big is "too big"? Is the media diverse enough and competitive enough today? And what relationship, if any, does media size have to the health of our democracy? These are the questions Adam Thierer, Director of The Progress & Freedom Foundation's Center for Digital Media Freedom, explores in "Media Myths: Making Sense of the Debate over Media Ownership." 
 
In this book, Thierer challenges head-on media critics and their claims that we live in a world of a media monopoly. "Contrary to what some media critics claim, to the extent there was ever a 'Golden Age' of media in America , we are living in it today," he argues. 
 
Thierer also debunks the arguments in favor of media ownership limits. "Such rules do little to encourage increased media diversity and competition," he says. "Indeed, more often than not, they thwart important new developments that could enhance media diversity and competition." Citizens will be better off without such regulations, Thierer argues, because their private actions and preferences will have a greater bearing in shaping media markets than arbitrary federal regulations. 
 
"No matter how large any given media outlet is today, it is ultimately just one of hundreds of sources of news, information, and entertainment that we have at our collective disposal," Thierer says. "It is just one voice in our contemporary media cacophony, shouting to be heard above the others. Information and entertainment cannot be monopolized in a free society, especially in today's world of media abundance."

Media Myths - Making Sense of the Debate over Media Ownership (Thierer-PFF) PDF

The list of books you might like