HRS: Discussion 3

Who owns and controls the media? What is the difference between corporate and independent media? Why does it matter who owns the media? How do you suppose some of these factors shape the way that information and images are presented, and thereby shape popular opinion? In the United States, only 6 corporations control over 90% of the most popular media outlets and account for $430 billion every year [1]. Thos 6 corporations are: Disney, CBS, GE, News Corporation, Viacom, and Time Warner. Each of these companies have a diverse range of programming ranging from Fox (News-Crop) to CNN (Time Warner) and even the NFL (CBS). These corporations gained ultimate control of the media through a consolidation in 1983 that has left these 6 corporations in the majority of power in the media since. With these “Big 6” corporations, only 232 media executives are deciding the programming and media presence for 328 million (and more if you consider international viewers) US citizens. When contemplating corporate versus independent media, it is essential to understand that nearly all content hosts and sites are part of a corporation. By definition, independent media strives to be publications and content that are free of influence by government or corporate interests. As explained previously, corporations have a foothold in many, if not all, physical and digital spheres of media, making “independent” media increasingly more difficult to publish and view as a mainstream viewer. Independent media can also be referred to as an “alternative media”. This term indicates media outside of usual mainstreams, groups that specifically distinguish themselves in relation to the mainstream media. These independent sources can fall on both ends of spectrum and range in factuality, with misinformation increasing at alarming rates in some independent sources. The “Big 6” corporations and other large entities are chaired and managed by different executives, some common household names like Rupert Murdoch (News-Corp/Fox News and Channels) and Bob Iger (Disney/ESPN/ABC). A Fortune 500 article in 2017 [2], found that white men account for 72% (80% of positions held by men as a general demographic) of corporate leadership positions with the sample size of 16 of the year’s Fortune 500 Companies. Of the remaining leadership percent, the positions are held with: 21% Asian, 3% Latinx, 2% African American, 0.6% two or more races, 0.2% American Indian, and 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Although women and other diverse groups in these positions of leadership are growing, the gap is still assounding. It matters who owns, shapes, and controls the media because undeniably these non-state actors are influencing the thoughts and actions of everyday Americans. It is essential that the US, both corporations and independent media, allow women and people of color at the table to decide and decimate news information that responsibly influences the US.