In 1983, some 50 corporations controlled most of U.S. media. As a result of mergers, the number was down to 10 by 1997. Less reporters means more fluff. John Lennon in 1980 received 59 minutes of air time. Princess Diana Spencer in 1997 received 197 minutes of air time.
More journalists now work for public relation firms than for media companies.
By definition, public relation firms put out biased news promoting the views of their corporate sponsors. Medialink, a PR firm, conducted a survey of 92 newsrooms and found that 92 of them accept VNRs supplied free by PR firms. In 1999, the mainstream media cited think tanks from the right 8,014 times, from the center 7,803 times, and from the left 1,513 times. I suggest that Kayne read Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman which looks at the various forces which filter the news. It is a 'guided market system' that we describe here, with the guidance provided by the government, the leaders of the corporate community, and the top media owners and executives.