But now let's look at media power in Western Australia, where Perth may soon join Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin in becoming a one newspaper town.

Perth's population of two million is currently served by two big papers:

The Sunday Times, which publishes one day a week and is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and the West Australian, which publishes Monday to Saturday and is owned by Kerry Stokes' Seven West Media.

But if consumer watchdog, the ACCC, gives its bark of approval, those two papers' newsrooms and reporting staff will be merged into one with union fears of widespread job losses.

And Stokes's Seven West Media, which also owns Channel Seven, will end up running both the mastheads

CHRIS WHARTON: We're a six day publisher now, this rounds out the seven days. We've got excess printing capacity and it makes sense. — Channel Seven, News, 27 May, 2016

Commercial sense maybe to Stokes and Murdoch but Swinburne University's Professor of Journalism Andrew Dodd is horrified at the prospect, telling Media Watch:

This is nothing short of disastrous. It simply should not be allowed to happen. It's extremely unhealthy for a democracy to allow all news to be in the hands of one organisation. — Associate Professor Andrew Dodd, Journalism Program Director, Swinburne University, Statement to Media Watch, 26 May, 2016

But, looking on the bright side, former WA attorney-general Jim McGinty reckons it could be worse, telling Media Watch:

If some right-wing ratbag got a hold of the totality of news in WA, I think it would be of greater concern. — Jim McGinty, Former WA Attorney-General, Statement to Media Watch, 27 May, 2016

Who on earth could he have in mind?

So, will it happen? Well, probably yes.

The ACCC is required by law to block any merger that:

... would have the effect, or be likely to have the effect, of substantially lessening competition in a market. — Competition and Consumer Act (Section 50)

But one could argue that the Sunday and daily papers don't really compete. And the watchdog is likely to be told that the Sunday Times will close if the merger does not go through.

Sales of the paper are down almost half in the last 10 years, from just under 350,000 to around 180,000.

So it's not in great shape.

But what about diversity of opinion I hear you ask. Well, sadly it's not the ACCC's job to safeguard that, as the watchdog's former investigator Michael Terceiro told Media Watch.

The ACCC won't be looking at, 'what does this mean for readers?' The question in its mind is 'what does it mean for advertisers and other related businesses?' It's not a question of 'what variety of opinions are expressed in the newspapers?' — Michael Terceiro, Former ACCC lawyer, Statement to Media Watch, 27 May, 2016

And that is a shame because, The West Australian has a history of throwing its considerable weight around.

In the state election of 2005, for example, the paper was brutally anti-Labor ... with an audit by Peter Van Onselen-then a political scientist- finding that 13 of its campaign front pages were anti the Labor Government or pro the Opposition.

While only two leaned the other way.

At the time, Labor's AG Jim McGinty branded The West "the nation's most inaccurate and dishonest newspaper".

And former Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke complained it was "a disgrace to reasonable, objective journalism".

McGinty, who sits on the state's Independent Media Council, says the paper is now behaving itself.

But, as Dr Joseph Fernandez, head of Curtin University's Journalism School, observes, monopolies are never good for news.

Having a monopoly of any kind means one or too few players are in control. In the news industry this would mean this player or these players get to decide what stories get told, how they get told, and what resources will be available for the telling of those stories. — Dr Joseph Fernandez, Head of Journalism Dept, Curtin University, 27 May, 2016

So what other players does Perth now have?

Well, the top-rating TV network is Channel Seven, owned by Kerry Stokes, and it already shares its newsroom with The West Australian. So not too much diversity there.

But there is also Channel Nine, Channel Ten, the ABC and talkback radio.

The Australian and Financial Review are also available.

And there are currently three online news-sites, thewest.com.au, owned by Stokes, WA Today, owned by Fairfax, and Perth Now, which will be taken over by The West Australian if the merger goes through.

Whether that's enough to stop The West Australian and Seven calling the shots if it wants to, who knows?

But newspapers still employ more journalists than anyone else and drive the news agenda.

And we don't believe it's good for Western Australia to have so much media power in so few hands.

And WA Premier, Colin Barnett, clearly agrees:

COLIN BARNETT: To have the two newspapers in one hands, I think, reflects a lack of competition in the media. — Channel Seven, News, 27 May, 2016

It also reflects, of course, how hard it is to make money in the media nowadays.