Tim Wu's The Master Switch

Listen to The Master Switch by Tim Wu on Audible. https://www.audible.com/pd/B004964ZKM?source_code=ASSOR1500219210011

#DingDong decided to ruin the party on the #DirtyBird site with a $44 billion offer to purchase it. Considering his partners, the Saudis,  the UAE, and Larry Ellison, it seemed pretty obvious before the deal closed that an anti-democratic cabal was making a bold move to control the public square, legally. So I endeavored to resist.

That #DingDong was willing to light his $22 bil stake and his investor's money on fire, and put his core business at risk, made it abundantly clear that the move wasn't about profits but about controlling the political narrative with respect to the rise of authoritarianism and fascism in America. This is the context in which I discovered Tim Wu's legal history of the media industry, with its "Manichean" dichotomy of centralized and decentralized control.

Tim Wu broadened my perspective by revisiting the evolution of America's media / communications industry. I was unaware that key players sought control of a Master Switch, which could be used to decide who has access to mass communications.