The Buggles were wrong. In 1981, the fortunately short-fused British band hit the world?s eyes and ears with ?Video Killed the Radio Star,? the first music video played on what Mark Knopfler called ?the MTV.? We are still recovering.

Although their warning felt prophetic ? a good synth line will do that ? the radio star thrived in the new environment. Just look at what ?Thriller? did for Vincent Price?s career. But MTV no longer seems to stand for ?music television,? as videos now take a back seat to reality shows about Diddy?s business ventures and wealthy kids with relationship problems. Meanwhile, internal and external pressures placed upon the radio industry are crushing the future for a seemingly archaic medium.

The Department of Justice announced Monday that a possible merger between XM and Sirius satellite radio, two major players in the communications business, posed no threat to the competitiveness of the industry. In doing so, the DOJ delivered a haymaker blow to an already anemic product. At a moment when cars can now be fitted with iPod attachments and the Internet can stream popular programming, the radio industry should not be working to divide its audience between free, local radio and paid satellite broadcasts.

While Norman Rockwell paintings are filled with images of families gathering around the radio for entertainment, few people today rely on the AM/FM dial for their news or laughs. The radio has become the medium of convenience, more comfortable than silence but less fulfilling than the television or Internet. But satellite radio is thought to be to radio what cable is to basic television. By offering commercial-free programs and American heroes like Howard Stern, they hoped to turn the radio industry into a more competitive market. It?s the free market at work, but increased competition doesn?t provide any spark if you?re selling an inferior product ? and in the eyes of many, the radio is just that.

The negative effects of the satellite radio push are most obvious in the Don Imus story. Mr. Imus is your typical blowhard, big talking, hide-behind-the-mic shock jock. Last year, when his clouded ego allowed him to make unfortunate statements regarding the Rutgers women?s basketball team, most people assumed it was the final ride for his roller-coaster career. But Mr. Imus, a basic radio version of Sirius? Howard Stern, was too big a market draw to simply be left without a job, and although CBS radio fired him, ABC was quick to pick up the pieces and glue them back into a wildly successful, bigoted mess. This idea of competition has forced the radio industry to disregard ethics and standards, which, Rush Limbaugh aside, had long been the appeal of a medium featuring NPR, Casey Kasem and the remarkably bland Garrison Keillor.

In the ruling, the DOJ says companies such as Apple provide sufficient competition to deem the merger no major threat. But Apple is the exact reason the radio industry cannot afford a merger between XM and Sirius. As separate entities, they beat up on each other for the same piece of the market, but as a conglomerate, they possess a virtual monopoly. Apple already dismantled the idea of the album, offering single songs for download over iTunes, and the iPod appears to be the greatest advancement in music technology since Marconi stuck an antenna in a box.

Of course Apple represents competition; they?re busy infiltrating every market possible. Between phones, computers and music players, it?s not hard to envision a day when we?re all eating Apples.

Fortunately, there are still several hurdles left before the merger between the two satellite companies can be finalized. The FCC, sworn protectors of Janet Jackson?s chest, need to approve the move, and it would seem strange for an organization which oversees communication networks to support a such a merger. However, no matter what the outcome, the idea of two media giants attempting to help their bottom line by running their industry into the ground is a bit disheartening.

It?s not TV but radio that will kill the radio star.

Sean Kittridge ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in journalism.