The wave of media mergers and takeovers has created a global system of near awesome dimensions. What many people see, hear and read is produced and controlled by a handful of private multinational corporations. Critics, such as Robert McChesney, contend that monopoly control of media threatens the communication needs of democratic societies.

Robert McChesney
Robert McChesney is president and co-founder of the Free Press, an organization working to increase public participation in media policy debates, and to generate policies that will produce a more democratic media. He is also professor of communications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and author of numerous books including "Rich Media, Poor Democracy" and "The Problem of the Media."