In our consumption of media, we are given the illusion of choice.
Back in 1983, upwards of 50 companies owned 90% of the media in America. Today, that number is down to six. These “Big 6” corporations (Comcast, News-Corp, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, and CBS) control almost all of what we watch, read, or listen to.
You may think that because you watch a different channel or read a different news article than your friend you are getting a more trustworthy report, but the reality is, what you are consuming is controlled by these same six companies. Some of you might think this is a non-issue, but when 90% of what we consume comes from only six companies, how can we ever trust that what they are telling us? That’s why now more than ever, it is so important to fact check and do your own research before believing it as an absolute truth.
https://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6
I have read articles and seen videos regarding the topic of media manipulation. I believe that companies alter stories in order to earn profit in everything. As you watch the news, many people go about it after believing they have learned factual information. There many instances in the news where stories overlap, thus making it seem credible. A great example of controlled media is an instance where multiple different news channels said, “This is very dangerous for our democracy”. This can be seen in the following link at the 20th minute.
I think this is a terrible phenomenon, a healthy society should not only have the same voice. People living in this state are like frogs at the bottom of a well. They think they know all the information in the world, but in fact they know all the voices that the government wants them to hear. I am very touched by this aspect, because I find that the media in the United States like to report on China. For example, the people in Tibet are oppressed by the Chinese government, or the people in Xinjiang are treated unfairly. But in fact, my parents are doing business with many Tibetans, and they also considered buying real estate in Tibet before. Many Tibetans are not oppressed. Tibetans often have more preferential policies to make their business easier to succeed, and their children’s college entrance examination is easier to get to a good university in China. The so-called concentration camp in Xinjiang is just a training center. Help local people get some special skills they need for their jobs. The U.S. government often wants Americans to know that China is not good. But the same thing happens in China, where there are all sorts of dirty aspects of the United States on the Internet, which are not seen in the United States.
Source:https://www.libertyparkpress.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america/
I find it crazy reading your post that at only six companies control almost all of our media today. They really can just choose what we see and read. I always knew the big six especially Disney owned more companies than just the Disney media, but was not aware truly how much these companies own. I linked a chart at the bottom which really puts into perspective how much power these companies have. It shows what some of the media sources that are owned by the big six and they are some big name companies that I did not think were owned. Seeing how many companies they each own is kind of scary to me. It makes me wonder if they are going to keep buying and could eventually get to smaller than six companies. If so this is something that needs to be stopped before get worse.
Source
https://www.vox.com/2018/1/23/16905844/media-landscape-verizon-amazon-comcast-disney-fox-relationships-chart
It’s indeed a astonishing data that decreasing from 50 companies to only 6. From my point of view, this is not a very good phenomenon (maybe will become less in the future). The first problem need to concered is that the truth of what we hear and see. As you said, 90% media is controlled by six companies.Then the information we receive will be full of their subjective consciousness. So the authenticity of these news needs to be verified before we believe it firmly. However, nowadays, lots of people usually trust the first things or news they hear or see. Then the media often make the original information ambiguous in order to attract public interest. In this case, people are likely to be misled if they don’t try to get this information from other sources. Secondly, from the article I quoted, because the media is controlled only by six corporation, it might become difficult for people to find new things on the TV or other channels. So the limitation of novelty and diversity of information is one of the negative effects of this change.
Source: https://www.morriscreative.com/6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america/
Choices in the media are becoming more and more selective as the days move on. We see company after company either buying another one out, or a merge. For example Disney in the last decade has bought both Marvel and LucasFilm studios. I realize those are entertainment companies, but is shows how Disney is buying everything we watch. Disney also owns Fox Studios, the History channel every aspect of ABC etc…. The Same applies to Comcast as they own NBC. I am a firm believer in Capitalistic system over other systems, but it too like Congress needs to have checks and balances. There is no reason for Disney, an entertainment company to buyout a news station broadcasting station. It could lead to biased reporting.
Sources: https://www.webfx.com/blog/internet/the-6-companies-that-own-almost-all-media-infographic/
It is very intimidating to imagine how these six companies could manipulate public opinions toward something or political issue. The age of people who start to use the internet becomes lower and lower, and such media monopoly could be dangerous for the young generation who spend a huge amount of time on social media. While they are scrolling through their social media, their values are gradually affected or shaped by what the media told them. There is a theory called Tittytainment—80 percent of people in the world could be entertain and numb by social media which controls by the top of 20 percent to eliminate the social class’s conflicts. How to create a diverse and inclusive internet is the key to break the trap.
source:
https://medium.com/@danieljcantagallo/superfluous-populations-tittytainment-and-the-future-of-capitalism-e8e2132a9cd0
I think the biggest issue is the U.S.A. allowing these corporations to monopolize the industry. Capitalism needs to be reformed in my opinion, because the bigger companies are monopolizing everything. However, I do agree with you that this can be scary and it’s important to fact check. However, although the media is owned by a few companies, they have a lot of different views. I think we’ll always have divisive television/media like FOX vs CNN because of the polarization in this nation. While it’s true that the media has the ability to tell us what issues are most important (agenda setting theory) in reality it is up to us how to determine those results. We have a choice in what media (if any) are consumed, and we get to choose how we think. I think people forget that sometimes.
Source: https://aflcio.org/about/leadership/statements/media-monopolies-threat-american-democracy
I this this certainly is a cause for concern. I also recently discovered that Disney owns a majority of Hulu and all of ESPN. So Disney’s sphere of influence is certainly scary.What is interesting to see is Netflix as a platform is strongly competing against these giants like AT&T( with HBO ) and Comcast along with Disney. What Is refreshing to see in Netflix is viewers have the opportunity to find something completely unique that either doesn’t meet Disney’s “family friendly ” criteria or just didn’t the attention it deserved. Therefore, if someone truly wanted to get away from the now and move beyond any political or social subtext, they still have Netflix. What is important to note is that it is not enough to rely on just one company to be such a fierce competitor. We need more “Netflixes” to pop out and give Disney a run for their money. If we don’t and Netflix happens to lose it’s race against Disney, the democratization of entertainment as we know it, may not exist in the coming future.
SOURCE:https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/disneys-monopoly-netflixs-impact-on-movies-and-other-defining-trends-in-global-cinema-this-decade-7816861.html
It seems crazy to how only six companies can own 90% of the media market. It doesn’t feel like it because there are so many companies that we use that have different names, but if you look into who actually owns that company, it will likely lead back to one of those six.
The website I linked has a large infographic on it showing just what these companies do. One crazy fact I saw on it was the fact that News Corp owns the top newspapers on three whole continents. It really shows the illusion of how many options we have, but they are all narrowed down to just a few companies.
Source: https://www.morriscreative.com/6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america/
This is so interesting, but also so scary. Its also crazy the the number shifted from close to 50 companies owning the media to 6 companies just about 40 years. That a huge decrease. Although it feels like we have unlimited access to a wide range of resources, that isn’t the case at all. The 6 companies that own all of the small corporations control and regulate all of the content that is put out.
This infographic linked does a really good job of visually representing “The Big 6” and all of their counterparts. It really puts things into perspective. Knowing this information should really make people think about the news and content they are consuming.
sources: https://www.webfx.com/blog/internet/the-6-companies-that-own-almost-all-media-infographic/