There has been some controversy in recent times over what is perceived as a crisis in Western publishing.
The general complaint is that conglomerates or large corporations--having bought and merged a significant number of key publishing houses or bookstores--now exercise unprecedented influence over various aspects of publishing, from editorial decisions to the market share of bestsellers.
This influence, critics argue, has led not only to a decline in quality of published books, but, among other things, the consolidation of politically conservative opinions, a drastic reduction in competition and in numbers of independent businesses, and a superabundance of transient, non-noteworthy literature.