The nation's largest television networks and cable operators have emerged victorious with a federal court ruling mandating that the FCC reconsider limits on how many stations a network may own. FCC Chair Michael Powell (son of Colin Powell) is expected to water down - if not abandon - the National Television Station Ownership Rule, setting off yet another round of station shopping sprees by media mammoths.

Since deregulation began 20 years ago, relaxations in ownership rules have brought rapid consolidation, drastic budget cuts in news departments, closing of foreign bureaus, elimination of balanced coverage and a pervasive mentality that values ratings over serious reporting - replacing true journalism with tabloid TV.

Even the Pentagon is entering the infotainment fray. It has reached a deal with Hollywood producers whose crews will trail troops in Afghanistan to produce the newest genre of "reality TV." Meanwhile it has shut the door on real reporting by repeatedly denying legitimate TV news teams any opportunity to accompany patrols.

The House has laid the groundwork for deregulation of the Internet by easing anti-trust tenets of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. For Americans who don't - or can't afford to - subscribe to high-speed service, a deregulated Web would involve a complicated struggle for access to content freely enjoyed today.

Meanwhile, alleged misinformation has dealt a fatal blow to the credibility of a new Office of Strategic Influence dedicated - ironically - to covertly spreading misleading information in foreign media (both friendly and foe) as part of an aggressive media-based campaign to discredit regimes abroad and promote U.S. policies.

How does deregulation affect the quality and accuracy of our news media? Can we have true freedom of the press when a few corporations own all venues? Why does the military grant special access to Hollywood but not the press corps? How can we tell what's right or real when fact and fallacy become indistinguishable?