Preview

The Negative Impact of Conglomeration of Media Companies on Audiences

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1053 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Negative Impact of Conglomeration of Media Companies on Audiences
Wedian Ibrahim
May 13, 2012 The Negative Impact of Conglomeration of Media Companies on Audiences

The word conglomeration is defined as the formation of a large company by the merging of separate and diverse small firms. Media conglomerate is a large company or corporation formed by merging of different small media outlets such as TV, radio, newspapers, and internet. Big companies tend to buy out other smaller companies in the market to increase their revenue by increasing their viewership, and to control the smaller companies’ resources. This creates media oligopoly by which few firms dominate the market. This media conglomeration is threatening democracy because of its negative impact on audiences. Those negative effects are profit becoming the main focus of conglomerates effort, media bias, and elimination of local media.

The most important negative impact of the conglomeration of media is that profit becomes the main focus of corporate effort. Ivan Fecan, CEO of CTV, says: “If we can’t make money, we have no reason to exist.” (Mirrlees 1).This leads to reduced program quality and hyper-commercialism. Media companies became commercially driven and loyal to their sponsors not to the public interest. Audiences became products rather than consumers because media companies sell them to advertisers. Therefore, space for news and important information shrank to make room for advertisements. Conglomeration of media also leads to reduced quality of programs because they shift the interest of audiences to less important news such as celebrity scandals. When celebrity Anna Nicole Smith died in 2007, cable news net-works gave more coverage to her death than any other important news such as war in Iraq (Baran 38). Bill Moyer, a journalist, says: “As conglomerates swallow up newspapers, magazines, publishing houses and broadcast outlets, news organizations are folded into entertainment divisions. The news hole in the print media shrinks to



Cited: [1] Mirrlees, Tanner. The Bullet. Relay: E-Bulletin No.261. Socialist Project. 16 Oct. 2009. 23 April 2012. Web. <http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/261.php> [2] A Near East Cultural and Educational Foundation (NECEF) Report. Media Bias in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Canadian Print Media Coverage, 2004. Toronto: 2004. 23 April 2012. Web. <http://www.journalismproject.ca/en/attachments/NECEReportColour.pdf> [3] Baran, J. Stanley. Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy and Culture.7th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2012. Print. [4] Gross, Tom. “The Media War Against Israel.” National Post. 2 Aug. 2006. 24 April 2012. Web.<http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/issuesideas/story.html?id=b0d85941-2565-4b47-b853-4041944114ee> [5] Robock, Karen. “The Death of Canada’s Oldest Newspaper.”Ryerson Review of Journalism. March 2004. 24 April 2012. Web. <http://www.rrj.ca/m3754/> [6] Toynbee, Polly. This is an Emergency. Act Now, or Local News will Die. The Guardian. 24 March 2009. 12 May 2012.Web. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/24/regional-newspapers-lay-offs> [7] Sturgeon, Jamie. Local TV Stations at Risk of Shutting Down, Bell Warns.FP Tech Desk, Telecom.16 April 2012. 12 May 2012.Web. <http://business.financialpost.com/2012/04/16/local-tv-stations-at-risk-of-shutting-down-bell-warns/>

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    This article discusses the broad future of newspapers. He knows times are changing, and that he would like to think that himself as well as the Inquirer doing well, despite the other outlets that are now available. He feels they cover the important stuff. The way things are these days, the media entities more and more are financially entangled with the teams that are supposed to be covered. Television and radio…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In “The Hostile Media Phenomenon” by Vallone, Ross, and Lepper there is a section dedicated to the perception of bias. They wrote about a study conducted about Pro-Israelis and Pro-Arabs and whether or not they perceived news segments as biased, and sure enough each side was blaming the other side for being biased against them (Vallone, 1985). Now I as an individual take the side of my Grandmother, one that acknowledges that there are biases among many media sources and that we all must be aware of it. But I don’t think it is a wise choice to ignore those with dissenting opinions. This brings me to another point made by Marie, she is a very compassionate person and is very sensitive to negative speech and rhetoric. She made her stance on media bias in my interview by saying “Yes, I think our media - MSNBC in liberal direction and FOX in conservative - are bias”. She also stated that there are very polarizing reporters in both sides of the media’s political spectrum such as Rachel Maddow being liberal and Glen Beck being…

    • 1437 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The holdings of the Big 6 Giants clearly prove that the media industry is dominated by a few firms in oligopoly. I am sure that most people are unaware of the fact that only a few conglomerates dominate mainstream media. Nonetheless, it is clearly true—the nine current media conglomerates together own more than 90% of the media market. In determining how oligopoly in the media industry affects the messages that people receive, its necessary not only to look at the market share controlled by conglomerates in aggregate, but rather by each conglomerate. I contend that if a single conglomerate controls a substantial portion of the media market, it carries huge control over peoples perceptions and values as a whole.…

    • 518 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The United States of America guarantees freedom of speech for every man and woman. This rudimentary right, ratified in 1791, still stands today; however, controversial speech faces censorship. In the book, Freedom of Speech: Mightier Than the Sword, author David Shipler argues that conversing about controversial topics can bring a better understanding of the issue. In the final section of the book, Plays, Shipler discusses one of the most controversial topics of the past seventy years: the Israel-Palestine conflict. While touching on the history of the conflict, Shipler discusses the censoring Israel-Palestine plays.…

    • 284 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The use of “walls,” such as that of Wall-street, conveys two important key points about western culture. The use of walling, in the modern sense, or the use of architectural rectangular prisms, is a very western invention, which in-part symbolizes the denaturing of western society. The second important feature brought about by walls is their confining nature, such as the prison that Bartleby finds himself in near the end of the novel. “Walls” are eventually associated with death itself, moving from bartleby’s dead-wall reveries (his staring at the wall during work) to conjoining the two words into one, making deadwall. Melville also employs walls as not only physical barriers, but as mental barriers, eventually diminishing bartleby to simply existing.…

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The media has always been an important aspect in people’s lives. Everyone always wants to know the latest news and what’s going on in the world. A few decades ago, the main forms of communication were newspapers and radio. Now days, people have plenty of options to receive news whether from radio, cable networks, or online. This has opened doors to many media outlets, which has created news to be more biased. In a society where information used to be interpreted by few to many, this has now changed shifts to where information has become much more inclusive and more people have the chance to get their voices heard making the media much more biased than ever before.…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    * Schechter, D., (2001) Covering Violence: How Should Media Handle Conflict? peace.ca/coveringviolence.htm 01st Nov 2010…

    • 2600 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    Media fragmentation is defined as “a trend to increasing choice and consumption of a range of media in terms of different channels such as web and mobile and also within channels, for example more TV channels, radio stations, magazines, more websites. Media fragmentation implies increased difficulty in reaching target audiences” (Chaffey, 2007). This is clearly a way of further breaking up media industries to create more choices. According to the University of Syracuse Convergence Center website, media convergence can be defined as “the coming together, into a single application or service, of information content from sound broadcasting, telephony, television, motion pictures, photography, printed text, and money” (2009). This is clearly a consolidation of media industries in order to meet specific demands created by specific consumers. These are two different scenarios that share a unique relationship. One will eventually lead to the other. The presence of one is the direct result of the other. However, which one leads? This is the digital media/entertainment industry’s casual dilemma .Which comes first? The different digital media/entertainment industries have all shown these two conditions at some time in their existence: the never ending cycle. Media/entertainment industries are under constant change and constant pressure to keep up with both technological advances and shifts in consumer behaviors. In order to…

    • 2309 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    There are economic arguments that have been put forward such as the laws of supply and demand (Croteau & Hoynes 2001, p. 67), economies of scale and scope (Doyle 2000, p.22) along with Weinstein’s (2004, pp 161-164) argument of diversity due to audience maximization and profit goals. However these arguments appear to benefit the industry but are unable to unequivocally show the benefits to society and the public interest. It appears that under the laws of supply and demand there will be a decrease in the quality of the news and information provided and it will be targeted toward the most profitable audiences (Champlin & Knoedler 2006, p. 139, Chomsky 2006, p.2, McChesney 2003, p. 130). They fail to address why media owners are not going to abuse the increase in power afforded to them through further consolidation both in political influence and influence of content. Finally the five voices safeguards that senator Coonan (2006a) is proposing does allow for further industry concentration and are weak as it will allow a media proprietor to control the major media platforms in a market provided there are other proprietors still in the market. As there is no comprehensive evidence to prove that relaxation of the media ownership regulations will not be detrimental to…

    • 1946 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Policymaking and the Media

    • 8143 Words
    • 33 Pages

    Bibliography: Auerbach, Y. & Y. Bloch-Elkon (2005). Media framing and foreign policy: the elite press vis-à-vis US policy in Bosnia, 1992–95. Journal of Peace Research, 42, 83-99.…

    • 8143 Words
    • 33 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    In 50’s, there are over 500 media companies in America, but through many integrations, there are only 6 major media institutions in America and they dominate nearly 98% of the market in America. “The media monopoly” written by Ben Bagdikian in 1983 criticized that the concentration of the media institution in America is fundamentally anti-democratic.…

    • 1491 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Steroids and Athletes

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Jacobs, W. (2011). Counterpoint: Athletes have the same rights as all other Citizens. Points Of View: Drug Testing For Sports, 3.…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Rodman, G. R. (2010). Mass media in a changing world: History, industry, controversy (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.…

    • 1518 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    References: *Croteau,David, Hoynes, William, Milan, Stefania, 2012, Media/Society: Industries, Images, and Audiences, SAGE Publications Inc., California.…

    • 2258 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    One of the impacts that can be seen due to media ownership is there is no pluralism in the media system. Throughout the world, media pluralism is considered as a very important element for democracy. This is because media can ensure diversity especially in opinion and viewpoint of society of cultural, religion and ethnic diversity. In other words, pluralistic media is also considered as independent media. There are various concepts highlighted for media pluralism which are:…

    • 1802 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays