And this is where we should see the long knives coming out

[-mmm-]

The big media overlords arent going to like this.

Link

Obama eyes media with promise of antitrust push

By Jeff Mason Mon May 19, 9:14 AM ET

PENDLETON, Oregon (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama said on Sunday he would pursue a vigorous antitrust policy if he becomes U.S. president and singled out the media industry as one area where government regulators would need to be watchful as consolidation increases.

"I will assure that we will have an antitrust division that is serious about pursuing cases," the Illinois senator told an audience of mostly senior citizens in Oregon.

"There are going to be areas, in the media for example where we're seeing more and more consolidation, that I think (it) is legitimate to ask...is the consumer being served?"

Obama, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination to contest November's presidential election against Republican Sen. John McCain, criticized President George W. Bush's administration for lax supervision of major mergers, though he did not cite specific examples or companies.

"We're going to have an antitrust division in the Justice Department that actually believes in antitrust law. We haven't had that for the last seven, eight years," Obama said.

"Some of the consolidations that have been taking place, I think, may be anti-competitive."

Obama advisers have also said he would crack down on any competition lapses in the energy sector that have resulted from big corporate mergers.

In a position statement for the American Antitrust Institute issued previously, Obama highlighted drug and insurance companies, saying his administration would work to prevent agreements that kept cheaper generic drugs from entering the market.

He also said his administration would ensure that drug and insurance companies were not abusing monopoly positions by instituting "unjustified" price increases.

Obama told reporters a new approach to antitrust policy in general may be needed.

"We live in a globalized economy and we probably have to update how we approach antitrust to figure out what is truly uncompetitive behavior on the part of monopolies or oligopolies and what are just big successful companies that need to be big in order to compete internationally," he said.

(Editing by Chris Wilson)

[P562045]

I would hope he would look at the book monopoly as well. Look at all the income he made from just telling his story.

[StockTrader]

I assume we can agree that having all businesses as monopolies would be a bad idea. However, why can I not assume that people realize that some businesses can not exist without being a monopoly.

For further reading, look into cable companies, power companies, etc.

Nick