Policy.

The main topics that I will be discussing in this post are vertical integration, net neutrality, and news deserts. All of these aspects of US policy has shaped our nation as we know it today.

Vertical Integration is the "combining of manufacturing operations with source of materials and/or channels of distribution under a single ownership or management especially to maximize profits." Vertical Integration is usually at different stages of production. This is where backward integration occurs, which is when a company controls products used in the production of its products. As the company moves closer to the sources of raw materials, forward integration can be seen. This is when a company owns the distribution and retailing of its products. Complete integration, when a firm controls all components, occurs when the production is closer to the final product. 

Net Neutrality is the basic principle of policy that prohibits internet service providers (ISPs) from speeding up, slowing down or blocking any content, applications or websites you want to use. Back in 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created a legal foundation supporting Net Neutrality; however, on December 14, 2017, the FCC's Republican majority approved Chairman Ajit Pai's plan to eliminate the Net Neutrality protections. Supporters of the Net Neutrality rules from the Obama Administration have taken the FCC to court to overturn its repeal decision. The issue of States vs. Government has also come into play in the Trump administration’s legal efforts to block the state of California from enforcing its own net neutrality legislation. California law, which is regarded as the strongest in the nation because it prohibits some ISP activities the FCC’s original rules did not, was passed last year. A major legislature regarding net neutrality is the Restoring Internet Freedom Order. This order reverses the Title II framework to spur "Investment, Innovation, and Competition" while increasing transparency to protect consumers. The government feels that net neutrality is beneficial because of consumer protection, transparency, and the fact that it removes unnecessary regulations to promote Broadband Investment.
News Deserts a community that is no longer covered by daily newspapers. The term emerged in the United States after hundreds of daily and weekly newspapers were closed in the 2000s and the 2010s. Currently, newspaper circulation is down sharply, and so is employment in the newspaper industry. Financial cutbacks have led to the shutdown of nearly 1,800 daily and weekly newspapers since 2004. About 70 percent of the newspapers that have died since 2004 were in suburban areas of metropolitan areas that historically offered many news choices, the researchers say, but counties with no coverage at all tend to be rural. There are some things being done about this issue. Facebook, whose success has contributed to the news business’ decline, announced Tuesday it would invest $300 million over three years in news initiatives with an emphasis in local coverage. At Ohio University, professor Michelle Ferrier, director of the Media Deserts Project and a pioneer in studying fading newspapers and online efforts to replace their journalism, went beyond research and announced the launch of ZipIt.news as communications hubs to serve 20 rural communities in southeast Ohio.