You probably know the old saw, attributed to
A.J. Leibling, "Freedom of the press belongs to the man who owns one" (some other fine gems from him at that link also).
These days, of course, "the press" is better understood as "the media"- which is why access to media, and ownership of media, are such critical issues for we who care about preserving (what's left of?) our republic.
Below the flip: links to one of the best writers on this topic today (& not just analysis -- action plans).
Harold Feld, a lawyer with the Media Access Project, has a blog called "Tales of the Sausage Factory" on Wetmachine.com, in which he disects pending legislation, court cases, FCC rulings, and the like.
Two of his recent articles, Fighting Big Cable (and why it matters) and Telecom Act rewrite -- I've always depended on the kindness of monopolies are particularaly worthy of attention.
We've all seen what happens when the government/dominant party has its own dedicated cable channel (i.e. Fox News). Now imagine what things would be like if Fox were the ONLY news channel. If that sounds farfetched to you, then I respectully suggest that it's time you got better acquainted with some of the bills making their way through Congress. You won't find a better guide than Harold Feld.
Disclaimer: Wetmachine is my site & Harold is a friend of mine.