Janine Jackson, Peter Hart, and Rachel Coen

About the author: Janine Jackson is program director of FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in the Media), an organization that tracks corporate and right-wing bias in the media, and a frequent contributor to FAIR's magazine Extra! Peter Hart is an administrator and director of FAIR. Hart also cohosts the organization's radio show CounterSpin. Rachel Coen is the former media analyst and communications coordinator with FAIR and is now a freelance writer.

In recent years a few media conglomerates have gained nearly total control over most of the nation's newspapers, magazines, and television and radio stations. Impartial investigative journalism has suffered as a result of this concentration of ownership because these companies tightly control news content to promote their conservative corporate interests. Stories favorable to advertisers are promoted while...