Media Ownership

First it was AOL and Time Warner that were merging, then it was Comcast and Time Warner Cable, now it’s Time-Warner Cable and Charter Communications tying the knot, as well as Verizon and AOL. AT&T and T-Mobile tried to merge, then T-Mobile merged with MetroPCS and moved on to tie the knot with Sprint. Now it’s Dish and T-Mobile that are romancing and Microsoft has bought the hardware side of Nokia. Microsoft also now owns Skype and LinkedIn. Google owns YouTube, a mobile phone manufacturer, and a whole lot of other stuff. iHeartMedia, the former Clear Channel Communications, now owns more than 850 full-power AM and FM radio stations in the United States, making it the nation’s largest owner of radio stations. Justin Timberlake and Rupert Murdoch own MySpace. And Murdoch also owns The Wall Street Journal. Why does any of this matter?Activity
Please learn about the economics of the media industry in Chapter 13 (See Attachment) of Saylor’s Understanding Media and Culture, as well as the impetus for its vertical integration on pages 610-612 (See Attachment) and 615-616 (See Attachment). You might also look at this Prezi and find out how the Federal Communications Commission (https://www.fcc.gov/about-fcc/what-we-do) regulates the ownership and operations of the various communication and telecommunication industries. Saylor’s Understanding Media and Culture also explains how the U.S. government regulates the media (See Attachment) in Chapter 15.Then, visit the database:
Project Censored (http://projectcensored.org/censorship/media-ma/)
Take a look at who owns what in the media. Some of this information may be dated. However, it will give you an idea of how media channels are concentrated in the hands of a few major corporations. Spend some time browsing through the charts. How many CEOs’ names do you recognize? Are the companies mostly domestic firms? What surprised you?Once you have explored the numbers, read the article “Media Ownership – Does It Matter?” (See Attachment) from the Benton Foundation. (You can broaden your understanding of this topic with the media concentration stories provided by the Center for Public Integrity and the media ownership research studies curated by the Federal Communications Commission.)
Some questions for you:
Before you answer these questions, please make sure you have read the materials at all of the links in this discussion prompt. Please share what you learn about U.S. media ownership patterns and what you think its implications are in your response to this prompt. Don’t think about this discussion just in terms of news, please. Think about it in terms of music, movies and TV shows as well. Which media sectors are struggling the most to make money in the 21st century? Why is that? How do you think economics will affect the kinds of music and programming it receives? What the public knows about important issues and news? How the public gains access to culture? Will there be a difference between what wealthy people know / can afford to be entertained by and what poor people know about current issues and news / can afford to be entertained by?