Mark,

It is hard to believe that such a select few companies can control almost everything we see, hear, or read in the media. But one also has to remember that this is the way things are in many, many sectors of the economy.

In computers, how many choices of operating systems do you have? Basically, it comes down to Windows, MacOS, and UNIX (and all its various flavors).

There are oligopolistic markets in many, many products. A few huge corporations controlling most of what we get. Breakfast cereals, for one. There are dozens upon dozens of different cereals. However, only three or four companies own most of these (how many boxes can you count that have General Mills or Kellogg's logos?)

Oligopolies are everywhere, and they are extremely difficult to break through. I wish all the luck to Jet Blue, because it's going to be tough to get into the airline business. And who wants to try to create a new overnight package delivery business, competing against UPS, FedEx, and that little thing called the US Postal Service?

This business structure is simply one of the byproducts of capitalism and competition. Companies are going to get big, and they are going to buy out all the smaller competing firms, and if the firm doesn't want to sell out, then the larger monstrosity of a company will simply lower its prices until it pushes the small entity out of business. There is not a whole heck of a lot that can be done about it, other than people choosing to buy something made by another company.

-Britt