Posted on 08/02/2022 10:31:23 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
WASHINGTON — The government and publishing titan Penguin Random House exchanged opening salvos in a federal antitrust trial Monday as the U.S. seeks to block the biggest U.S. book publisher from absorbing rival Simon & Schuster. The case comes as a key test of the Biden administration’s antitrust policy.
The Justice Department has sued to block the $2.2 billion merger, which would reduce the Big Five U.S. publishers to four.
The government’s star witness, bestselling author Stephen King, is expected to testify at Tuesday’s session of the weekslong trial in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Mr. King’s works are published by Simon & Schuster.
At Monday’s opening session, opposing attorneys for the two sides presented their cases before U.S. District Judge Florence Pan.
Justice Department attorneys called the merger “presumptively wrong” because it would shrink competition and, inevitably, the vital public discourse that books help engender. Penguin Random House countered that the new company would “enhance” competition because the combined company could turn out books more efficiently.
The government contends that it would hurt authors and, ultimately, readers if German media titan Bertelsmann, of which Penguin Random House is a division, is allowed to buy Simon & Schuster, the fourth-largest publisher, from U.S. media and entertainment company Paramount Global. It says the deal would thwart competition and give Penguin Random House gigantic influence over which books are published in the U.S., likely reducing how much authors are paid and giving consumers fewer books to choose from.
The publishers counter that the merger would strengthen competition among publishers to find and sell the hottest books, by enabling the combined company to offer bigger advance payments and marketing support to authors. It would benefit readers, booksellers and authors, they say.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
Even worse is the hidden control over used book stores that’s been going on for centuries. Novels promoting traditional values, or texts containing negative data and anecdotes on psychotropic drugs have been destroyed.
taxes are taxes....companies will invest less...give smaller raises...and no matter what...the consumer always pays.
whoops...wrong thread
It’s still a useful reminder.
It is increasingly easy for people to self-publish and self-promote.
The imprimatur of Penguin or Simon & Schuster probably doesn't mean all that much anymore.
Is Penguin or Simon & Schuster either considered conservative?
There are companies that print on demand so only those books that will actually be read (or placed on bookshelves for vanity purposes) will be created.
“Justice Department attorneys called the merger “presumptively wrong” because it would shrink competition”
But having NO COMPETITION by giving government control of certain sectors of the economy is a great leap forward in progress and human rights?
Is that how it works?
Monopolies are bad for the business of the nation. Look at what they’ve done to newspapers.
Anti-Trust?!?!?! What’s that?!?!!?! I suspect this won’t be blocked.
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