American Mass Media and the Myth of Libertarianism: Toward an Elite Power Group Theory

This paper presents evidence of the demise of Libertarianism in the U.S. mass media system and proposes an “elite power group” model as an alternative explanation of the workings of the mass media in the United States. In sharp contrast to the structural characteristics implied by the Libertarian model, the U.S. media industry is organized as an elite power group characterized by growing concentration and conglomeration, integration with other power elites, and ability to exercise self-serving control on the government even as it is controlled by it