Media Ownership

Viacom, AOL/TW, Disney, Clear Channel, News Corp. These five business own most  of the media that  the population is exposed too. From children to adults, programming is owned by these five businesses. Radio, TV Stations, TV channels are owned by these five companies individually. They have many different ways to get there media across to screens. Legally without breaking rules provided by the FCC these businesses have consolidated and own stakes in many other branches.

Disney is a huge industry, that is widely known and so is the perfect example. These businesses unknown to many have a part in a lot of different projects that are not widely known. For example ESPN, History channel, Marvel, Biology channel is either owned or partially owned by Disney. The Washington Post, a huge owner in the newspaper industry, owns Kaplan Inc. Kaplan is a profit organization based in New York that deals with education. The point of mentioning these examples is that media ownership is not always broadcasting for the masses. It has to be investigated almost like it is hidden. A lot of the time things that are owned by these companies, that don’t have anything to do with the primary theme. It is just for consolidation and money.

http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart : Website which broke down who owns media into simple summaries. 

Clear Channel is the largest radio station group owner. Is this a problem? They own and have the right to decide what we as the people listen to and what is broadcasting through our radio. Big business and money is the sole purpose for these five businesses. The money brought in by these businesses is enormous, with few females in leadership roles.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/insidelocalnews/behind_women.html

 “One possible reason for this lack of representation is obvious. The television business is a male-dominated industry, with only 1.9% of television stations owned by women, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. According to the RTNDA, 92% of television news directors are Caucasian, and 80% of all news directors are men. The average number of minorities on staff is said to be at 8.6%, also according to the RTNDA” This quote was taken from the pbs.org website. Women and minorities in the media are not represented as a large portion. Women are used as objects to sell and aren’t represented fairly. Minorities are represented through stereotype, which the person on screen is mistakenly taken as the race representative of the race. Thus they end up being the face that generalizes races present in society. 

An alternative media source is needed to broadcast without biased opinion. This suggest that mainstream media chooses what the public sees based on excitement, gore, and ratings. An alternate source would provide in detail what is actually going on in the world. It would give insight to reality and challenge mainstream media on the culture, stereotypes, and images they present to the public.

http://www.ithp.org/ is an alternative media site. This sight is widely known and updated frequently on news that relates and is important to the masses. Alternate sources are out there for people to look at. These sources can be successful for their exposure of the real and what actually is happening.