Henry Luce Funded The Hutchins Commission

The American journalist and politician Clare Boothe Luce spoke out to a group of journalists to make her statement on the press. The time Luce’s speech was presented, it was 1960; a much different time from how press runs today. Back in the sixties, press was presented in the form of newspapers or by word of mouth, whereas today press appears on a computer screen. In Luce’s speech she states, “It is- to use the big word- the pursuit of and the effort to state the truth.” (L.39). This statement concludes that the author views the whole point of the press to tell the truth. Whether the topic is on the food industry or on economics, press brings information to the people in an honest fashion. Back in this time Clare used many rhetorical

It being the leading source of news since the printing press. We put our faith in the media to report accurate facts unbiasedly. Between 1983 and now the media industry has consolidated from 50 individual companies to 6. That means that though the impression given is that there are a multitude of sources to attain information, the messages being communicated are all one in the same. The limitation of media sources cause a ripple effect of limited information, allowing these companies to control the public’s perception on

The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the U.S. government that was established in 1915 and charged with keeping American business competition free and fair. The FTC has no jurisdiction over banks and common carriers, which are under the supervision of other governmental agencies. It has five members, not more than three of whom may be members of the same political party, appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate, for seven-year terms. The act was part of the program of President Wilson to check the growth of monopoly and preserve competition as an effective regulator of business.

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

Broadcasting is media programming that focuses on many genres of television. For instance, on a broadcasting channel, you can watch a drama, comedy, and news all in the same day. The three broadcasting networks, known as “The Big 3”, are ABC, NBC, and CBS. When these broadcasting channels present news, they want to stay as close to the middle of the political spectrum as possible. The goal of a broadcasting channel is to appeal to everyone and the more neutral, fact-based information released, the more views “The Big 3” will get, resulting in more money. However, narrowcasting is media programming that is focused on a particular audience. Examples of narrowcasting networks include C-SPAN, ESPN, Fox News, and CNN. ESPN stands for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network so they specialize in sports news and cater to the sports audience. Unlike broadcasting, narrowcasting will not try to appeal to the majority of Americans, so it can lean left or right on political issues and interject slightly more opinions.

America holds the illusion of ‘land of the free and home of the brave.’ This by any means, is not true if we continue to classify big media corporations as free press. Big corporations like Fox news, CNN, Union Tribune, etc. are also referred to as mainstream media and are completely under the control of the elite 1%. Time and again mainstream media has proved as unrepresentative, only serving the ones who pay them. In a nation where democracy is valued, people rely heavily on news sources to gather information, therefore, they need sources who can provide uncensored information that enables them to make knowledgeable decisions about their government.

Baum, I 2003, The impact of ownership concentration in the media business on the quality of information delivered to the consumer, viewed on 15 October 2004, , pp. 15 & 17.

Approximately 57% of Americans get their daily news by watching some kind of nightly news on their televisions, while the internet is not far behind at at 38% (Mitchell 2016). Being a nation of conglomerate monopolies the United States has three major news stations that control a majority of the viewership, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox Television. “The big three”, as they’re know, compete every day for the highest ratings by desperately pulling and keeping in as many viewers as possible, while providing vastly different agenda backed content. Public Broadcasting Service, PBS, draws in a much smaller crowd and with it has a significantly lower budget for stories. While companies like CNN and FOX are able to spend tens of millions of dollars on 24/7

Many commercial media outlets are outsourcing many of the services that provides them their information like weather, traffic, and graphic design to name a few. Soon, there will not be a person behind the camera. The trusted news personalities that we knew growing up are slowly being replaced by young attractive faces and skimpier dresses. Most “Millennials” get most of their information via a smartphone. Listening to Tom Brokaw question and answer a politician of race related issues is not as interesting as hearing the same topic being discussed on Power 105.1 FMs “The Breakfast

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?

Commercial television regulates what we watch more than we think. It is nearly impossible to believe what we see on the news. First, the news is edited beyond belief. How are we supposed to inform opinions off a two and half minute (the average amount of minutes) story? Take the presidential campaign’s for example, we are given only ten seconds of each of the candidates debate speech and that puts anything worthwhile to say at a huge disadvantage when it comes to advancing

I will be focusing on the social responsibility theory. The social responsibility theory is categorized as one of the six models known as the “normative” theories. “The social responsibility theory allows everyone to say something or express their opinion about the media. Community opinion, Consumer action and professional ethics, Serious invasion of recognized private rights and vital social interests, Private ownership in media may give better public service unless government has to take over to assure the public to provide better media service. Media must take care of social responsibility and if they do not, government or other organization will do” (http://communicationtheory.org/social-responsibility-theory/). Although, the social responsibility

There are implications regarding production and distribution of media content to a public audience. “In the media, as in any industry, big corporations play a vital role, but so do small, emerging ones. When you lose small businesses, you lose big ideas. People who own their own businesses are their own bosses. They are independent thinkers. They know they can’t compete by imitating the big guys–they have to in- novate, so they’re less obsessed with earnings than they are with ideas. They are quicker to seize on new technologies and new product ideas. They steal market share from the big companies, spurring them to adopt new approaches. This process promotes competition, which leads to higher product and service quality, more jobs, and greater wealth. It’s called capitalism” (Ted Turner). “Today, the only way for media companies to survive is to own everything up and down the media chain” (Ted Turner). I believe that conglomerates thrive better when they aren’t in the hands of many, because the idea of the company can get changed into something it was not intended to be. With more people in the ownership, ideas can flow and possibly broaden the company, but I feel that too many people are unnecessary. In the sense of large companies, many advisors may be needed. “The