Transcript Media concentration presentation

Media concentration
A 21st-century conundrum:
Fewer owners, more voices
The trouble with localism
• Local owners often
aren’t independent
The trouble with localism
• Local owners often
aren’t independent
• Publishers reward
friends, punish
enemies
The trouble with localism
• Local owners often
aren’t independent
• Publishers reward
friends, punish
enemies
• Corporate money
can help during
bad times
The real issue
• What matters is
journalism’s
standing with
ownership
(Murrow, Paley
and Stanton at
CBS in 1946)
Ben Bagdikian
• Survivor of the
Armenian holocaust
• First ombudsman of
the Washington Post
• Played a key role in
publishing the
Pentagon Papers
“The Media Monopoly”
• In 1983, Bagdikian
worried that 50
corporations
controlled much of
our media
“The Media Monopoly”
• In 1983, Bagdikian
worried that 50
corporations
controlled much of
our media
• Today, the number
of corporations has
shrunk to five
Monopoly effects
• Dozens of cable
channels, but
handful of owners
Monopoly effects
• Dozens of cable
channels, but
handful of owners
• Company officials
sit on each
others’ boards
Monopoly effects
• Dozens of cable
channels, but
handful of owners
• Company officials
sit on each
others’ boards
• Journalism becomes
a tiny part of what
the corporation does
Kovach and Rosenstiel
• “Journalism’s first
duty is to citizens”
Kovach and Rosenstiel
• “Journalism’s first
duty is to citizens”
• But what do you do
when ownership
believes the first
duty of the news
division is to
maximize profits?
Time Warner
• 2007 revenues:
$46.4 billion
• CNN, AOL, HBO,
Time, Sports
Illustrated, People,
Warner Bros.,
books and the
Atlanta Braves
Walt Disney Corporation
• 2007 revenues:
$35.5 billion
• ABC, ESPN, Disney
Channel, television
and radio stations,
movie studios,
books, music,
magazines and
theme parks
News Corporation
• 2007 revenues:
$28.6 billion
• Fox network, TV
stations, satellite,
movie studios,
MySpace, Fox
News, Wall Street
Journal, New York
Post, Weekly
Standard
Viacom/CBS
• 2007 revenues:
$25.7 billion
• CBS network,
television and radio
stations, Comedy
Central, MTV, VH1,
BET, Nick, books,
music and movie
studios
Bertelsmann
• 2007 revenues:
$19 billion
• Columbia Records,
Random House
books, television
stations, radio
stations and
magazines
throughout Europe
General Electric Company
• 2007 revenues:
$173 billion
• NBC, MSNBC,
CNBC, television
stations, movie
studios, Telemundo
• Weapons, aircraft,
nuclear power
plants
New York Times Company
• Boston Globe, Worcester Telegram &
Gazette, Boston.com, Boston Red Sox
(17 percent), New England Sports Network
(14 percent), Metro Boston (49 percent)
Eastern Massachusetts
• First generation
– More than 100
individually owned
papers
Eastern Massachusetts
• First generation
• Second generation
– A half-dozen or so
regional groups
Eastern Massachusetts
• First generation
• Second generation
• Third generation
– One local owner for
all papers
– Fidelity Capital
– Boston Herald
Eastern Massachusetts
•
•
•
•
First generation
Second generation
Third generation
Fourth generation
– One national owner
for all papers
– GateHouse Media
owns papers across
the United States
Reasons for concern
• Coverage in the
corporation’s
interest
– GE and nuclear
power plants
– Dennis Kucinich
and the debates
– Disney’s theme-park
workers
Reasons for concern
• Coverage in the
corporation’s
interest
• But …
– Clear Channel
and Minot was
an urban legend
Reasons for concern
• Coverage in the
corporation’s
interest
• But …
– Clear Channel
and Minot was
an urban legend
– Ben Compaine
shows there
is no monopoly
Countervailing trends
• A.J. Liebling worried
about local
monopolies, which
no longer exist
Countervailing trends
• A.J. Liebling worried
about local
monopolies, which
no longer exist
• Internet has created
vast array of choices
Countervailing trends
• A.J. Liebling worried
about local
monopolies, which
no longer exist
• Internet has created
vast array of choices
• Nonprofit and local
ownership
Countervailing trends
• A.J. Liebling worried
about local
monopolies, which
no longer exist
• Internet has created
vast array of choices
• Nonprofit and local
ownership
• Bloggers talk back
to the media
Encouraging diversity
• Regulate radio and
television until the
Internet takes over
Encouraging diversity
• Regulate radio and
television until the
Internet takes over
• Preserve net
neutrality
Encouraging diversity
• Regulate radio and
television until the
Internet takes over
• Preserve net
neutrality
• Encourage an
ownership culture
in which news
comes first