Are Big Corporations Taking Over The Media?

02/05/2007 at 12:00 p.m.

In January, 2002 a freight train derailed in Minot, ND. The spill created a cloud of poisonous gas. Emergency officials contacted local radio stations to tell people what to do. But they couldn't reach anyone. The Clear Channel Corporation ran six radio stations in Minot with almost no local staff. Desperate residents could hear nothing about the impending disaster on their local radio stations. There were a thousand injuries and one death.

Today on The Conversation sociologist Erik Klinenberg uses the Minot story as an example of how he believes corporate consolidation is killing local news. He delves into media consolidation in the Seattle area. Is local news media being strangled by corporate consolidation? Or are new media options providing more resources to local information? What will the Democratic takeover in Congress mean for regulation of the broadcast media? We'll talk about these questions and more with Erik Klinenberg, author of the new book Fighting for Air.