Many media conglomerates, such as Disney and AOL-Time Warner, have expanded tremendously in recent years with sales and productions. Witnesses to these expansions have begun to raise several questions on whether this growth is becoming a positive or negative development for American media in our society. If corporations continue to flourish in this direction, only a few powerhouse companies will hold complete control over much of the country’s media content. Major issues that would come about due to heading down this route would be the risks of initiating economic monopolies, having consumer prices raise drastically, and the struggle to regulate media bias in our society. From many viewpoints, I find that media consolidations dominating every …show more content…
These economic terms refer to when either a single company or several companies dominate and hold complete control over the production and distribution of products in a particular industry. Minor outlets in this situation would not exist. One of the most crucial issues that these circumstances would lead to is a decline in democratic and societal viewpoints. The media conglomerates become the main voice for all decision making because there is no more competition. Patricia Lancia of Wilfred Laurier University wrote an article that was posted in an archive for Ohio University that focused on the reduced accesses that monopolies create for communities. Patricia writes, “Without access to the media as a tool of communication, then, the vast majority of citizens are denied the opportunity to participate in discussions that affect the policies of the environment in which the larger public sphere exists and in which they live.” Lack of alternate perspectives becomes a direct result of a monopoly. To think about how only a small handful of company executives are ultimately making huge decisions for millions of people is unbelievable …show more content…
Many business and companies owners, as well as some critics, are in favor of more media conglomerates. They believe that with fewer media outlets controlling what’s released, the public will be provided with more of what they want to see. The most popular programs determined by the viewers would continue to run. The counterargument to this side would be that although the media seems like they are serving the public, they are actually more focused on other aspects. Ultimately, the main goal of the media is to make a profit. In order to make a profit, programs would need to be sponsored. Journalist Anup Shah addresses this entire argument in his article, “Media and Advertising”. Basically, the article centers on how funds for advertisements are what keep media programs running. Eventually, corporations become solely reliable on their sponsors. Quoted by Ben H. Bagdikian for his book The Media Monopoly, Chuck Blore stated, “Advertising is the art of arresting the human intelligence just long enough to get money from it,” (Bagdikian 185). As mentioned earlier, money is one of our societies’ driving forces. However, in the event that something might be reported on that the advertiser did not approve of could result in several damages to the business. As the company-sponsor relationship would be over, the media outlets would also risk major losses in revenue because they are not gaining any money. Instead of
Michael Parenti (2002) declares media in the United States is no longer “free, independent, neutral and objective.” (p. 60). Throughout his statement, Parenti expresses that media is controlled by large corporations, leaving smaller conglomerates unable to compete. The Telecommunications Act, passed in 1996, restricted “a single company to own television stations serving more than one-third of the U.S. public,” but is now overruled by greater corporations. (p. 61). In his opinion, Parenti reveals that media owners do not allow the publishing of stories that are not beneficial and advantageous. Parenti supports his argument very thoroughly by stating how the plutocracy takes control over media in multiple ways: television, magazines, news/radio broadcasting, and other sources.
In 1996, Congress passed the Telecommunications Act thereby lifting restrictions on media ownership that had been in place for over sixty years (Moyers 2003; Bagdikian 2000: xviii). It was now possible for a single media company to own not just two radio stations in any given local market, but eight. On the national level, there was no longer any limit on the number of stations a company could own – the Act abandoned the previous nation-wide ownership cap of forty stations (20 FM and 20 AM). This “anti-regulatory sentiment in government” has continued and in 2004 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a new rule that would allow corporations to own “45 percent of the media in a single market, up from [the] 35 percent” established by the 1996 Act (Croteau & Hoynes 2001: 30; AFL-CIO 2004). Companies can now also own both a newspaper and a television station in the same city (AFL-CIO 2004). This deregulation has led to a frenzied wave of mergers – most notably the Viacom/CBS merger in 1999, the largest in history (Croteau & Hoynes 2001: 21). Ownership of the media has rapidly consolidated into fewer and fewer hands as companies have moved to gobble up newspapers, television stations, and radio stations across the country.
B) The critical issue is that Comcast, the biggest internet and cable provider in the nation, is seeking to become even bigger in merging with Time Warner Cable, the second biggest company in the market. This merger will increase the influence Comcast has on TV channels and internet content providers, leaving consumers with fewer alternatives and will reduce competition to the amount where Comcast will control two thirds’ of the cable TV market and about 40% of ...
Over the centuries, the media has played a significant role in the shaping of societies across the globe. This is especially true of developed nations where media access is readily available to the average citizen. The media has contributed to the creation of ideologies and ideals within a society. The media has such an effect on social life, that a simple as a news story has the power to shake a nation. Because of this, governments around the world have made it their duty to be active in the regulation and control of media access in their countries. The media however, has quickly become dominated by major mega companies who own numerous television, radio and movie companies both nationally and internationally. The aim of these companies is to generate revenue and in order to do this they create and air shows that cater to popular demand. In doing so, they sometimes compromise on the quality of their content. This is where public broadcasters come into perspective.
Through the process in which the media chooses which stories they decide to cover sets the agenda for what is considered newsworthy and important (Boundless, "The Mass Media"). The ultimate shaping of public opinion is through the decision of what stories are covered the media, because the media can legitimize or marginalize either the entire story or parts of it (Smith, "Agenda-Setting, Priming & Framing"). The public believes in the media, so when the media decides to cover one story over another they are deciding what the public should be thinking about. As Briggs and Burke explain through Innis’s theory that “each medium of communication tends to create a monopoly on knowledge” which in turn for those ruling the monopoly produces a profit and set the public agenda (Briggs and Burke, 6). Similarly to the intellectual monopoly of medieval monks based on parchment, there is a monopoly on traditional media today; six people own 90% of the media that is viewed (McCarty). Ultimately, these six people have been deciding what is considered newsworthy which in effect determines what the public thinks about (Boundless, "The Mass Media"). Through the decisions of what is considered newsworthy, viewers also decide their opinion based off of social desirability or what they perceive the popular opinion to be which is all derived from the media and what they consider important (Boundless,
Conflict theory claims that advertising does not sufficiently address issues of inequality in society. (Brime, Roberts, Lie, Rytina 2013, p.462) There are five major media outlets that form a monopoly of the media industry in Canada: CTVglobalmedia Inc. owned by Bell Canada, Rogers Communications Inc. Controlled by the Rogers family, Shaw Communications controlled by the Shaw family, CBC/Radio Canada, and Quebecor Inc. Controlled by the Péladeau family. (Brime, Roberts, Lie, Rytina 2013, p.462-463) CBC/Radio Canada is the only publicly owned media company in Canada, whereas, approximately 90% of the media in Canada is privately owned. (Brime, Roberts, Lie, Rytina 2013, p.464) This allows for 90% of advertising content to be chosen by wealthy corporations. In an American study, 93% of newspaper editors admitted to advertisers attempting to influence news stories and 37% admitted that advertisers have influenced their stories. (Brime, Roberts, Lie, Rytina 2013,
Before examining media practices, let’s establish what the major news networks are and who owns them. As most Americans know, ownership of media outlets is largely centralized around 6 main networks or mergers. Since 2000 the “Big Six” conglomerates (as they are often referred to) account for ninety percent of all media ownership including television, radio, newspapers, internet, books, magazines, videos, wire services and photo agencies. (Adams) In 2001, America Online (AOL) and Time Warner merged to become the world’s largest media organization. AOL Time Warner accounts for twelve television companies including Warner Brothers, 29 cable operations companies across the globe including CNN and Time Warner Cable, 24 book brands, 35 magazines including Time and Fortune, 52 record labels, the Turner Entertainment Corporation which owns four professional sports teams, and provides AOL internet services to 27 million subscribers in fourteen countries. In addition, the conglomerate owns multiple theme parks and Warner Brothers stores in thirty countries across the globe. AOL Time Warner is chaired by Steve Case, with Gerald Levin as CEO and boasts 79,000 employees worldwide. AOL Time Warner’s multi-faceted conglomerate brings in $31.8 billion in revenues annually. (New Internationalist)
In a time ravaged by war and depression, the great Walt Disney created a fairy tale world in which Americans could escape the disheartening truth. What started out as a mouse frolicking across a screen, has become a corporate giant steamrolling across America, consuming children’s imaginations and belief systems along the way. In the movie Mickey Mouse Monopoly (2001), it is stated that Disney controls a majority of America’s media, and because of this, the public suffers because they are presented with an extremely limited worldview. On the surface, Disney appears to be a wonderful, innocent form of entertainment appropriate for the entire family. Disney’s simp...
As a young girl, I spent hours watching my favorite television station, Disney Channel. Disney Channel offered a tight knit array of sitcoms and movies. Through my growing infatuation with the channel, I learned about its partnering radio station and its theme parks. Although Disney is widely recognized for its television shows, movies and theme parks, Disney plays a larger role in media as a whole. Walt Disney is the largest media conglomerate in the world and rakes in billions in profits annually through its variety of media outlets. Through economic convergence, single companies, like Disney, have interests across and within many kinds of media. This ultimately limits the variety of perspectives being let out into the public. By having
The ownership and national culture of media system is the basic cause of the different media systems of the United States and China. Media system of the United States is considered as a free-market system. Large corporations control most the print media and the entire American broadcast media and, and wealthy individuals own these corporations. In 2012, The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the US, with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., Time Warner, Viacom CBS Corporation and NBC Universal ranking second, third and so forth respectively (Lutz, 2012). Together, the "big six" dominate 90% news, radio, magazines, movies and other entertainments in the United States. The Walt Disney Company owns 10 television stations, 277 radio stations, Pixar Animation, and other entertainments. This large and diverse proportion of media holdings make sure that the power of speech is on peoples` side. Thus, the American government has less power to interfere the free speech of media industry.
Thomas, L. L., & Litman, B. R. (1991). Fox broadcasting company, why now? An economic study of the rise of the fourth broadcast `network.'. Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 35(2), 139.
Countless articles have been written on false advertising on television. Most of these articles target specific instances of fraudulent behavior, but some do address the television industry as a whole. These articles for the most part seem to be complaining about politicians (more so than the advertisers themselves) and the fact that "it is not politically palatable"(Miller) to make more stringent laws against fraudulent advertising. This means that politicians are not willing to make stricter laws for fear that they might come back to haunt them later. It is that topic that seemed to come up most in articles on false advertising.
One of the fundamental roles of the media in a liberal democracy is to critically scrutinise governmental affairs: that is to act as a watchdog of government to ensure that the government can be held accountable by the public. However, the systematic deregulation of media systems worldwide is diminishing the ability of citizens to meaningfully participate in policymaking process governing the media (McChesney, 2003, p. 126). The relaxation of ownership rules and control, has resulted in a move away from diversity of production to a situation where media ownership is becoming increasing concentrated by just a few predominantly western global conglomerates (M...
There are many contradictory arguments about cross-media ownership. Some people said it is an effective way to manage media company. Also, some people argue that a media company can offer high quality information and product since they have broad network and huge capital. This information and product cannot be made with small capital. However, there are concerns that media concentration affects our society negatively.
...ing diversity, impeding real competition, forcing smaller players out of the market, and contributing to reinforce conservative views of the world, marginalizing dissent or content that does not generate profit or which is seen as challenging to capitalist values. Although the media industries are not exclusively American anymore, but are largely owned by various Western corporations (Japanese, German, British, American).