The merger of Time Warner and America Online (AOL) created a monolithic media corporation that was twice as big as its closest rival, Viacom. The newly formed AOL Time Warner promised to redefine the nature of media itself. Such promise reshaped the industry when the merger was finalized in 2000, but two years later after the retirement of Time Warner chief Jerry Levin and a 2002 $54.2 billion loss, promises seem unmet (Who’s 69). AOL Time Warner is struggling without capitalizing on the “synergies” promised by merger. The AOL online service is sputtering, investors are weary, and an advertising slump is affecting the industry worldwide. Expanding AOL’s high-speed services, striking a deal with AT&T, and clarifying two messy cable partnership contracts from the 1990s are current challenges for the company. Regardless of AOL Time Warner’s struggles and challenges, the company is still worth more than $121 billion and remains the world’s biggest media conglomerate (Who’s 69). Because of its size, economic clout, and extensive media pipeline for content, the company enjoys enormous clout in negotiations. More significantly, the company faces ethical issues involved in its power relations with those who wish to distribute their product through its extensive media network. Warner Cable, HBO, the WB Network, AOL, Warner Music Group, Warner Brothers Films and Television, and Time, Inc. are all content carriers owned by the company which reach more than 147 million subscribers (Who’s 69). Such extensive market power and media pipelines threaten the integrity of journalism and threaten to limit consumer choice. At worst, such media power represents a threatening force that could be used for propaganda purposes. At best, the company’s enormous clout intimidates content providers, subscribers, and rivals. Professor Mark Miller of Johns Hopkins University argues that such large and diverse media companies undermine t...