Home
Used to be, if you wanted more power, you just went out and conquered. Alexander the Great plowed through Persia, the Romans gobbled up the known world, Attila plundered the Romans. No lawyers, no accountants, no dog and pony show for the nightly news. Back then, they called it war.
These days they call it a ''merger,'' but the underlying philosophy is much the same: the bigger, the better. And over the past year, showbiz has witnessed enough mergers (proposed or otherwise) to make the Huns look laid-back. In April, Seagram bought MCA. In July, Disney bought ABC. Next day, Westinghouse bought CBS. A month later, Time Warner merged with Turner Broadcasting to create an $18.7 billion media empire, the biggest in the world.
In short, Hollywood has never seen such a quick succession of power grabs. For those perplexed by this brave new world of ''global synergy'' and ''vertical integration,'' take heart: Entertainment Weekly's sixth annual Power Issue will help you keep track of who's up and who's down-and what it all means. Yes, you'll see big changes. (A year ago, who'd have guessed that Ted Turner or Michael Ovitz would play second fiddle to anyone?) You'll also see no change at all. (White guys still run almost everything.)
And if you're nervous about the Orwellian implications -- wondering, perhaps, about a world in which a handful of mammoth corporations control all channels of communication, including the magazine you're holding -- relax. No one knows if these mergers will wind up making companies richer and more powerful or just give them more headaches. Besides, history teaches us a lesson about empires: There's always a pack of barbarians at the gate eager to do a little downsizing.
WRITTEN AND REPORTED BY: Erica K. Cardozo, Steve Daly, Jeff Gordinier, Dana Kennedy, Gregg Kilday, Albert Kim, Curt Feldman, Nisid Hajari, Tiarra Mukherjee, Chris Nashawaty, Tim Purtell, Laura C. Smith, Dan Snierson, Daneet Steffens, Anne Thompson, Louis Vogel, Bret Watson, and Chris Willman
