This Blog is going to focus on the ways business and politics relate, and what it means to us the public. And the first post will look at the relationship between Government and the Media industry.
This election has seemed at times as nothing more than a whirlwind of slipups and disappointments perpetrated by candidates on either side of the aisle. All of this of course was tirelessly covered by the hard working men and women who bring us the news we watch.
Have no fear though! For the people we see on TV and read online have indeed been compensated (sometimes even handsomely!) for their public services. This makes the field they work in something more than a mere hobby, referred to commonly as an industry.
Being an industry has created competition among the various corporations involved. The bottom line suddenly becomes much more important to you when there are others doing the same thing you are. It then became essential for the survival of the company to make yourself stand out to the consumer, the general population.
The corporations began using different metrics to gauge viewers interest in different programs on TV. The most of important of these were sheer numbers of people consuming their products. It was logically discovered that one of the most popular things to watch on TV was exciting material. Attempts were then made to make the news more exciting for people to watch and read, this meant being much more selective about what is covered.
Events that viewers found more exciting such as war, natural disasters, and events which happened close to where they are took the front seat, while less stimulating affairs became less popular among the broadcasting giants.
This shift was a natural occurrence in a competitive industry, and no one group or person can be directly held responsible.
There are other issues continuously developing for which the same cannot be said.
In 1983, there were roughly 50 major corporations in the media industry. (Jamess) Now however there are merely 6! Time Warner Cable, AOL, Disney, CBS, GE, and Viacom own nearly all the news outlets in the nation.
How did this happen? For decades the US Government has sought to encourage competition and discourage or even ban monopoly of any sort. The Reagan administration seemed to do the opposite things. Actions were taken in collaboration of the Federal Communications Commission to make competition harder for smaller corporations. Actions included extending television license length from three to five years, and increasing the number of television stations a corporation could own from seven to twelve within four years.
The Clinton era served to further exacerbate the issues developing in the industry. Clinton signed into law the Telecommunications act of 1996 (Telecommunications). This act was intended to undo some of the deregulations previously enacted, but instead had the effect of raising consumer prices and further discouraging competition within the media industry.
Fast forward to the present, and once again the media is under fire, this time from representatives of the Government themselves. President Donald Trump continuously lambasted the media for spouting “Fake News” against him during his campaign. More recently he went after CNN for misrepresenting the attendance at his inauguration. Unfortunately though, the Don may be focusing on the wrong people with his visceral tweeting.
Fake news as it’s known is actually not a part of the main stream media, but mostly published by single persons in order to incite anger or confusion among those who read it. One of the most popular fake articles was Pope Francis endorsing President Trump during his campaign, while one of the funniest examples I saw was one whose title read, “Evidence of Kudu virus contracted by Hillary Clinton from Cannibalism: PROOF”.
Media today is taking on many forms. Internet usage has opened a whole new outlet for corporations to capitalize from, and the few at the top are taking the vast majority of the profits.
The problem with media for me is the way the industry is structured. The Oligopolization has served to corrupt the industry as a whole from the inside. What are the other options though? We know from past and current examples (Nazi Germany/North Korea) that state run media is not a viable option either, as the same problem of noncompetition arises. Media then may do well to be treated as less of a business industry focused on profits, and more of a public good focused on bringing the people the most unbiased and even handed news as possible.
For that is the all important job of media. Informing the people is essential for a successful society. The public has immense power to affect global change, but power in the hands of the collective ignorant is extremely dangerous.
Sources
“Telecommunications Act of 1996.” Encyclopedia of the First Amendment (n.d.): n. pag.Common Cause. Web. 25 Jan. 2017.
Jamess. “Media Consolidation — Brought to You by Reagan and Clinton.” Daily Kos. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2017.