Need for more data on concentration

[Joe Shea <joeshea@netcom.com>]

	I put out this press release today, which was picked up by the
local CBS all-news outlet KFWB.  You would do me a favor if you passed it
on to anyone who might be able to increase the flow of information on
economic concentration. 

Best,

Joe Shea				|	1812 N. Ivar, No. 5
Editor-in-Chief				|	Hollywood, CA  90028-5025
The American Reporter			|	(323)467-0616
http://www.american-reporter.com	|	joeshea@netcom.com

"The first daily newspaper with original content to start on the Internet."
		             -- Adam Gaffin, Internet World (Sept., 1995)

________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                              CONTACT:  JOE SHEA
DECEMBER 29, 1998                                     (323)467-0616			

	   CENSUS BUREAU 7 YEARS BEHIND ON CONSOLIDATION DATA

	LOS ANGELES -- The U.S. Census Bureau, which provides key 
economic data to the Dept. of Commerce and the Executive branch -- will 
be 7 years behind in reporting economic consolidation statistics when the 
New Year arrives, and won't be able to assess the effects of the vast 
mergers that are reshaping the world's financial landscape until the end 
of the year 2000 or later, a Census Bureau spokesman has told 
Hollywood-based online daily newspaper editor Joe Shea in a series of 
e-mail exchanges.
	"Our [economic data] folks derive these data once they finish 
releasing all the state, city and county data, which means a considerable 
wait. Their schedule says
end of 2000," Census Bureau spokesman Neil Tillman told Shea, who had 
requested data gathered by the Bureau that shows how many companies 
divide up the lion's share of revenues in the nation's major economic 
sectors.
	Despite the obvious importance of such data to Americans when 
mergers are 
occurring on a scale unparalleled in human history, the data is not 
reported quickly due to a lack of funding, Tillman said. 
	"Writing about this is a good idea: statistical activities are 
usually not seen as a hot topic by most folks on Capitol Hill when 
they're voting on the budget. The Bureau does what its resources permit. 
The more Congress sees a need the more perhaps they will vote us," he 
said.  
	For Shea, the lack of data is another frustrating issue in a 
decade-long quest
that began as an effort to measure the degree of consolidation in the 
American economy after the merger wave of the 1980's. Merger activity, 
which normally comes in waves that last about 10 years, have been 
occurring at a rapid for two decades now and are actually speeding up, 
Shea said.
	"You see the mergers like the one between Citigroup and Travelers 
that created a $700 billion company, or the Exxon-Mobil merger that 
created a vast new oil company, or watch the defense industry shrink from 
21 major firms to 5, and you
have to ask yourself where we stand.  How far has consolidation gone? How 
many economic sectors are dominated by just one or two companies? Who has 
the statistics?"
	While most people think the Census Bureau only keeps track of population,
it measures economic data, too, including some of the most sensitive 
market-moving statistics released each month by the Dept. of Commerce. It 
also keeps data on personal income and analyzes it in monthly releases. 
	The Census Bureau has assured Shea that nothing is being 
deliberately kept from the public, but Shea questions the political 
decisions that hold back adequate funding for better reporting of the 
consolidation data.
	"The current economic situation has no impact on the Bureau's 
willingness to
furnish these reports. We just collect the data and churn out the 
reports; the vagaries of the market have no effect on this process," 
Tillman told Shea.
	The online editor, who won a U.S. Supreme Court case last year 
that expanded freedom of the press to online publuications, says he 
blames big corporations and politicians for the slow collection and 
reporting of consolidation data.
	"I think a lot of corporations are worried that the public feels 
their range of choices is growing narrower as a result of all these 
mergers," he said.  "I think they may communicate that to their 
representatives in Washington, who make funding decisions accordingly -- 
particularly with a Republican Congress that is more concerned about 
corporate health than consumer choice."	

		              -30-

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