Digital Media

Jenkins talks about how the consumption of media products is a collective process, in other words, the collective intelligence is seen as an alternative source of media power. He describes how within popular culture, the collective meaning making is shaping and changing the ways religion, education, laws, politics, advertising and how the military operate (4). Jenkins discusses a process called “convergence of modes”, he explains that media and communication are becoming interconnected like the telephone and television.

The media shouldn’t be owned by corporations or viewership numbers. The television is a power platform that is broadcasted directly into the homes, and minds, of almost every American. It has the ability to come into people’s lives to

Media corporations have been merging into fewer (and larger) entities which are better able to control the flow of information to the public. Because of their size and power, they can prevent unfavorable coverage of their activities in the media outlets they own. In 1983, 50 corporations controlled the vast majority of all news media in the U.S. In 1992, fewer than two dozen of these corporations owned and operated 90% of the mass media; controlling almost all of America's newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations, books, records, movies, videos, wire services and photo agencies. Now only 5 huge corporations - Time Warner, Disney, Murdoch's News Corporation, Bertelsmann of Germany, and Viacom (formerly CBS) - now control most of the media industry in the U.S. General Electric's NBC is a close sixth. Democracy can't exist without an informed public. We rely on unbiased news from independent

“Media change does not necessarily result in equilibrium. It sometimes creates more than it destroys. Sometimes, it is the other way around. We must be careful in praising or condemning because the future may hold surprises for us” (Postman 29). Media critic Neil Postman published those words in 1985 in his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Yet, as we find ourselves in 2015, his insight seems written for today. In our age where society is still elusively trying to grasp and figure out what place new media and technology hold within our lives, and where debating the merits and flaws of an increasingly technological society seems to be a hot-button issue, Postman had already commented on such

Are you aware that six corporations control 90% of the media In America? The Media Industry is changing everyday, companies must continually change the way they deliver products to the public. Some of the best examples of how companies are using new media to distribute products are Carnival Films, and Youtube. Carnival Film is the production company behind Downton Abbey. You Tube is a video sharing sight that started out as a place for John Q. Public to post his home movies. YouTube has become an internet phenomenon and a distribution point for features film, music videos and TV shows. It is important to understand how the companies use the internet to air the products. More important to us the consumer is to understand who owns

Today’s media is far too consolidated. In 1983, fifty companies owned 90% of the media, but in 2011, that same 90% was owned by just 5 (1). This is why I propose that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lower the limit on the amount of market share that an organization can own; moving us closer to an ‘ideal democracy’. I also add the stipulation that if media was struggling to find a foot hold in the market, the FCC could grant all media outlets non-profit status; however, this stipulation is simply a clause in case breaking up outlets had unintended consequences and this will not be explored through this paper.

As media consumers, we need to become more discerning of what we watch, read and listen to.

“The Power Elite” by C. Wright Mills deals with the question of whether or not there are people who control society. The author suggests that a collection of people from different aspects of government, such as the military, industrial, and political sectors, all play a role in dictating public sentiment and action. He also takes into account that it is likely that the leaders from each element of control may not intentionally operate in the same interest and at times may work against each other. However, it is evident that there are minds and entities that exert control over the population and the establishments, schools and churches, which they flock to in the pursuit of knowledge. There is nothing to suggest that there are not individuals

Six corporations, managed by 232 individuals, now own and run 90% of U.S. mass media news outlets, in a 14%, America the illiterate, voting population.

Although the presence of competition between the various media providers is good, America’s media industry is faced with a major concern of oligopoly. There are special interest groups that have a grip on the country’s media companies such as major television channels and broadcasting. Statistics show that a large part of what Americans view, hear, or read is controlled by a few corporations that own major television and radio stations, as well as newspapers (Bennett, 2004). For instance, there are six big corporations that dominate the American media industry. First, News Corp, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, an Australian-born media tycoon, owns the wall Street Journal, DirecTV, and Fox Television, among others (London, 2015). Second, General electric owns Universal Vivendi and the National Broadcasting Corporation (London, 2015). Third, the Cable News Network is owned by Time

2. Croteau, D & Hoynes, W (2003). Media Society: Industries, Images and Audiences ((third edition) ed.). Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press. pp. 305–307.

Throughout the years, popular culture has grown into an intellectually battle. Steven Johnson affirms that “the popuIar media steadily, but almost imperceptibly”, made “our minds sharper”. Johnson can be looked as an ideal example of the good impact the media has on its people. He doesn’t judge the negative advertisement, the numerous crimes presented on a daily basis or the violent television dramas but he explains how these are just a shell, a mantle and underneath it reveals a machinery meant to challenge and develop people’s mind.

Over the centuries, the media has played a significant role in the shaping of societies across the globe. This is especially true of developed nations where media access is readily available to the average citizen. The media has contributed to the creation of ideologies and ideals within a society. The media has such an effect on social life, that a simple as a news story has the power to shake a nation. Because of this, governments around the world have made it their duty to be active in the regulation and control of media access in their countries. The media however, has quickly become dominated by major mega companies who own numerous television, radio and movie companies both nationally and

Until the 1980s, the control of the media was in the hands of the national government. From then, the control shifted to private outlets and by the 1990’s, there were more than fifty multinational companies who controlled it (“Mass Media”). Today, only about six major companies control the larger fraction of media in America (Williams, Par. 1). Norman Solomon wrote in the New Political Science Journal that most reporters and editors work for just a few huge companies. These journalists and editors are on the payroll for “mega-media institutions”, of which, only about six exist (Solomon 297). How much will the public learn if these companies generally control the output of information?

"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." This quote by A.J. Liebling illustrates the reality of where the media stands in today's society. Over the past twenty years there has been an increase in power throughout the media with regard to politics. The media's original purpose was to inform the public of the relevant events that occurred around the world. The job of the media is to search out the truth and relay that news to the people. The media has the power to inform the people but often times the stories given to the public are distorted for one reason or another. Using slant and sensationalism, the media has begun to shape our views in society and the process by which