Items Tagged With Media

My inner contrarian says, "read all about it!"  My inner value investor says, "run away!"

The debate continues on the merger of XM (XMSR ) and Sirius (SIRI ) Satellite Radio as the case again comes before the Senate Committee on Commerce for round four since its original proposition in February. Opponents argue that the merger will create a monopoly, leaving a sole provider for satellite service to consumers. This, they argue, will lead to increased prices and decreased content. Advocates argue that the merger is necessary in order to compete against other technologies, including terrestrial radio, MP3 players, CD/DVD etc. The inference is that the battle between the two small companies for the limited audience is splitting the market and preventing its advance against the other technologies.

Unless you've turned off your TV or sworn off the Internet for the past couple of weeks, you probably know about the recent Don Imus controversy.  If you haven't heard about it, the long-time radio shock jock made an off-hand comment on the air about the Rutgers women's basketball team, referring to the predominantly African-American players as "nappy-headed hos."  CBS (CBS) initially suspended Imus for two weeks, then fired him in the wake of serious public backlash led by Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.  The uproar over the incident reminded all of us about the thin line between free speech and unwarranted verbal venom.