Media diversity may seem alive and well in the 500-channel plus world of national digital cable, but it's dead and gone in Wichita Falls, Texas. Three of the five TV stations in this small marked town are owned and operated by a single company.

The strategy does not promote competition, in advertising or news, but it is convenient. "They will group the stations together at hugely discounted rates,'' said Craig Draper, president of the DesignWorks Group, a Wichita Falls ad agency. "It's a lot easier from my standpoint, where I don't have to have three meetings.''

For the unwired of Wichita Falls, this is the world of information at their fingertips. This and the town's one paper, run by the Scripps multichannel media conglomerate.

Relying on the diversity of brands (and not necessarily viewpoints) available over subscription delivery methods like sattelite, cable, and the 'net is telling the residents of Wichita Falls to eat digital cake.