Posted by Social Science Research Network
Antitrust Versus the Press: Two Systems of Belief About Monopoly
By Dirk Auer & Nicolas Petit (University of Liege)
A large body of scholarship demonstrates that press coverage is beset with biases. Contemporary media coverage of large firms operating in the digital economy suggests that some of these biases may be at work when the press describes them as “monopolies”. We test this hypothesis by analyzing a dataset of 1800 press articles dealing with monopolies and spanning 150 years. We find that the press is systematically prone to sensationalism when covering “monopolies”. Throughout the time period of our study, media coverage of “monopolies” has been disproportionately negative and pessimistic. Because antitrust authorities do not operate in isolation from the mass media, these biases may have important policy consequences.
Featured News
Court Order Temporarily Halts U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Layoffs
Feb 16, 2025 by
CPI
Nokia Poised to Gain EU Approval for $2.3 Billion Infinera Acquisition
Feb 16, 2025 by
CPI
Turkey Fines Frito-Lay in Antitrust Crackdown
Feb 16, 2025 by
CPI
Advances Bill to Strengthen Antitrust Enforcement Through AI
Feb 16, 2025 by
CPI
Intel Faces Potential Breakup as Broadcom and TSMC Explore Deals
Feb 16, 2025 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – International Criminal Enforcement
Jan 23, 2025 by
CPI
The Antitrust Division’s Recent Work to Combat International Cartels
Jan 23, 2025 by
Emma Burnham & Benjamin Christenson
Information Sharing: The New Frontier of U.S. Antitrust Enforcement
Jan 23, 2025 by
Brian P. Quinn, Casey Kovarik & Michael Tubach
The Key Role of Guidelines on Exchanges of Information Among Competitors and the Divergent Transatlantic Paths
Jan 23, 2025 by
Rosa Abrantes-Metz & Albert Metz
Leniency, Whistleblowers, and Compliance
Jan 23, 2025 by
Richard Powers, Tara O’Malley & Cory Gordon