EOTO #2

What is Media Consolidation?

Media consolidation is a major problem within the United States, and it is tactic which the government uses to control what you see and when you see it. Media consolidation is the ownership of all our major media networks are consolidated into few major corporations.  

 

How did it happen?

   

    As of 2011, 90% of mainstream media within the United States is owned by six major companies; Disney, Time Warner, Comcast, News Corp, Sony, and Viacom. This is a drastic difference from 1983 where 90% of the mainstream media was owned by roughly 50 different companies. This significant change was a result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which was introduced by Larry Pressler and was later signed into law by Bill Clinton. According to the  Federal Communications Commission, the goal of the law was to "let anyone enter any communications business – to let any communications business compete in any market against any other." During this time, the goal of the administration was to reduce the amount of power the government had within the broadcasting and telecommunication markets. This act did not accomplish what the FCC or the Clinton administration said it would, and essentially it did the opposite. This act eliminated the restrictions of how many media networks a corporation could own, resulting in six major corporations buying out all of the smaller corporations. Contrary to what the Clinton administration promised was one of there, these six major corporations now coincide with the government to control what you see and when you see it. 

Ways around it? 

    With six companies owning the majority of our news networks, there is a lack of diversity regarding what news we see. We could attempt to get news from multiple sources, however, it is likely that all of the news will be from one corporation, thus it's all probably the same thing. We can attempt to diversify our news sources by watching alternative media, opposed to mainstream media. These companies are typically not owned by one of the six major corporations listed above, and they often cover many more topics and issues that mainstream media may not focus on. 

  

    Media consolidation is a major issue today, which alters people's ability to learn about important issues and is another way for the government to interfere in our lives. Through media consolidation, the government can control what we see, when we see it, and ultimately can stop us from learning about issues they do not want us to know about.