By Jessica Lee, The Indypendent

The Greenpoint-based blogger Morgan Pehme is reporting that Brooklyn residents are not happy that media mogul Rupert Murdoch is continuing to scoop up their local newspapers.

Pehme commented on news published by The New York Observer March 10 that the 31-year-old independent newspaper, The Brooklyn Paper, has been purchased by  Murdoch's News Corporation. The corporation already owns the Brooklyn Courier-Life chain of newspapers, the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal.

"Brooklynites I called for quick comment are deeply disturbed at the total media consolidation of New York City's biggest borough — especially since all the papers will now be under the control of the ultra-conservative FOX News baron," Pehme wrote on his blog, The Brooklyn Optimist. "'It's likely to put a stranglehold on independent reporting and on the ability for people to find out what's going on in their community and influence it,' said Carroll Gardens resident Glenn Kelly"

"And it's not just the residents of Brooklyn that are reeling from the sudden bombshell. There's likely to be a dramatic shake-up in both the Courier-Life and Brooklyn Paper newsrooms as News Corp. eliminates overlap between the two papers."

To learn more about the problems of media consolidation, check out the "Who Owns the Media" webpage by Free Press, a media watchdog and media education organization.