Media Consolidation and The Negative Impact on The Internet

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It is imperative that people understand the concentration of media ownership also referred to as media consolidation. This term refers to a course of action whereby a few individuals or organizations control an increasing share of the mass media. Research reveals increasing levels of consolidation with many media industries that are already highly dominated by a very small number of organizations. Media consolidation is closely related to issues of editorial liberation, media bias, and freedom of the press (Common Cause 2007), which are usually discussed by those who view it as dangerous to society. This paper will argue that media consolidation via the Internet is disadvantageous to society, and the federal government should not keep the door open for the continuing consolidation of the electronic media. I will dispute this through discussions of the implications and effects of media consolidation on businesses and citizens, through a closer look at some proposed media consolidations of large organizations, and how we might negotiate a difference between the economic freedom of large media businesses, which may be necessary to keep them viable, and the needs of citizens for media access at a fair price.

The implications and effects of media consolidation became a topic of great debate in the late 1960s (Anderson 2002). Currently there are new writings on the topic appearing every day. Some topics of discussion include; consolidation being viewed as predecessors of global capitalism, the traditional notion of media having a public interest obligation being diminished, and how media audiences are treated as consumers rather than citizens (Anderson 2002). One topic is the positive effects on businesses with media consolidation. Th...

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...e Press. 2008. Web. 17 Sept. 2011. .

Huebsch, Russell. "Positive Effects of Media Consolidation." EHow. Demand Media Inc. 2010. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. .

Lewis, Peter H. "Uunet and MFS Plan to Merge As Internet Meets Fiber Optics." The New York Times. 1 May 1996. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. .

McChesney, Robert W. "Making Media Democratic." Boston Review. 2009. Web. 16 Sept. 2011. .

Shah, Anup. "Media Conglomerates, Mergers, Concentration of Ownership." Global Issues. 2 Jan. 2009. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. .

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