New media culture and the social consequences of the "media revolution" have indeed received surprisingly little attention, considering the central role media and journalism as institutions have in society.
He recently broke with most of his fellow media moguls to speak out against the consequences of deregulated media industry mega-mergers like NBC's acquisition of Universal; he argued for more rules to stop such vertically integrated giants from choking off new voices.
He has researched extensively the uses and consequences of social media, most recently as part of the "Why We Post" project, which tracked and compared social media use in wildly disparate locations from industrial China to rural South West England.
The strategic rationale for the deal, however, also shines a new light on some of Mr. Diller's previous comments about the consequences of unfettered media mergers.
They have urged parents to speak to their children, convened a town forum on sexual assault and worked to explain the consequences of social media posts.
With elections for the national parliament around the corner, the consequences of concentrated media ownership and corrupt journalism are already on full display.
He said there had been "serious consequences" of the media coverage and singled out the News Corp press treatment of his "so-called story", which took in his criminal record, alleged drug use and absent parenting.
