Blogs >> Entrepreneurship >>
Who Controls the Media?
The following is adapted from The Global Media: The New Missionaries of Corporate Capitalism by Edward S. Herman & Robert W. McChesney, London: Madhyam Books, 1997.
The 1990s has witnessed a dramatic restructuring of national media industries and corporate mergers. The result of which is the emergence of the global commercial media network, which is dominated by ten mostly U.S.-based transnational media conglomerates (TMCs) such as Time Warner, Disney, Bertelsmann, Viacom, Sony, Dutch Philips, and News Corporation (owner of Star). This global media system is an indispensable agent of the globalizing, exploitative market economy as a whole.
Why is this significant? The centralization of power is leading to the disappearance of a central requirement of democratic societies -- diversity of ownership and ideas in the public sphere. The imposition of a commercial model of communication demands streamlining of production and economies of scale. It means less competition, fewer alternative choices, and greater emphasis on simplistic formulas (featuring violence and titillating sexual images) that can easily penetrate more markets. Return on investments, attractive consumer demographics, and low cost, rather than program quality and local needs, drive decisions. The global media system runs on advertising revenue (from other large companies) and is responsible primarily to their shareholders. There is no accountability to the general public.
At the same time, TMCs are taking over much of the discretionary powers of the government. The self-protective power of TMCs within developing countries is increasing from their growing command over information flows, political influence and the ability to set the media-political agenda. TMCs are further strengthened though international aid from the IMF or World Bank which is often tied to privatization (along foreign guidelines) of national communication industries. Countries who have tried to object to foreign media programming, advertising, or products have seen their aid frozen or decreased.
If we hope to break this media monopoly and redefine/construct democratic media spaces, teachers and educators must begin to play a greater role in the media debates.
|
|
