The Nation October 9, 2000 The Threat to the Net By Jeff Chester <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> By any standard, the proposed merger of America Online and Time Warner, currently under review in Washington, is enormous. Even in this era of mega-mergers, the marriage of the world's largest Internet service provider (ISP) and the largest media conglomerate (which directly controls almost one-fifth of the nation's cable subscribers and which, through a relationship with AT&T, has a stake in another 30 percent) stands out above the rest. What we don't see, however -- or rather won't see, so extensive is the web of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and "co-branded properties" that ensnares the mass media today -- may be the biggest story of all: the transformation of the Internet into a collection of commercially driven "walled gardens": http://thenation.com/issue/001009/1009chester.shtml -30- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN-ANNOUNCE: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network - Announcements -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=unsubscribe%20laamn-announce> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=subscribe%20laamn-announce> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=subscribe%20laamn-announce-digest> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?subject=laamn-announce> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn-announce> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive3: <http://archive.tao.ca> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- <home.labridge.com/~laamn> | LAAMN | <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
