Who controls the information that you take in on a daily basis, and what role does media consolidation play in journalistic integrity and the pro-corporate bias of the mainstream news' political punditry?
The Walt Disney company has in recent days purchased the larger portion of 21st Century Fox, with the exception of Fox News. The owner of the right-wing news outlet has stated his desire to return the organization to its "lean, aggressive, challenger" roots. The New York Times reports that Disney made the purchase for $52.4 billion, while The Guardian details a "$66 billion deal", including "$52.4 in stock, $13.7 in debt". The Walt Disney Co. is by far the largest film production company in the US, with 26.3% of all US box office sales in the country.
How come we have to get something trending to talk about it ? and we only talk about things that are trending ? Yeah, repealing net neutrality sucks, but we havent said shit on the shared monopoly there is in telecom. Disney just bout out 20th century FOX yall that was $52b !
Maybe we should consider that these huge corporations have invested so much money into media to decide what gets trending in general, save for some exceptions. So point is, the stuff that is trending is probably not what matters or demands attention, its closer to the opposite
The merger of 21st Century Fox and Walt Disney was praised by Donald Trump, who congratulated Murdoch on his decision. Trump has not taken the same approach to another merger that is happening simultaneously however; Namely, that of Time Warner and AT&T. More on that in a moment. The "top Democrat on the antitrust subcommittee", Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minn. called for a meeting on the matter, and while none has been scheduled yet, a hearing has "not been ruled out", meaning there may not be one, and this buyout while continue as though there is nothing at all disconcerting for one company to wield this much of the media landscape.
Simultaneously, another consolidation is taking place which will have an exponentially larger impact on journalism, mass media, and the information we take in on a daily basis. AT&T announced back in October of 2016 that it would acquire Time Warner, a gigantic media conglomerate that already controls HBO, "Turner Broadcasting System" which owns CNN, and Warner Bro's, making it the second-largest media host in the US, behind Comcast. I went to CNN's own page to note how it was reported by the companies own subsidiary, and found on the page that in discussion with anti-trust lawmakers, the companies in question have stated that the exclusion of CNN from the merger would be a "nonstarter". The indication that the news organization is such a paramount part of the arrangement brings the network's own feud with Trump into light, and brings to light also Trump's feelings about the merger.
Alan Wolk of Forbes suggests that "the key to the Fox-Disney deal is actually Comcast", and he may be partly on to something, as he recalls that with the purchase of 21st Century Fox comes a 30% share in Hulu, a recent competitor to Netflix, as the company attempts to break into the newest manifestation of internet television entertainment. Comcast also wields substantial power in the media landscape as the number one provider of news and information on current affairs. Universal Filmed Entertainment, NBC Universal, NBC News, and MSNBC are all owned by Comcast, who also owns "Xfinity", and hosts its own news programs on its own cable server. Media outlets being owned by companies that host media outlets, like Comcast, no doubt affects the coverage of mergers by news outlets that would otherwise hold these corporations accountable for decisions that affect both the economy, and the way information is digested by the American people, as we are led to believe by MSNBC, CNN, and Fox "News" that mergers lead to innovation, when exactly the opposite is true.
Also to consider is that a large part of the funding for cable television and mainstream news media is subsidized by investors, and advertising. When the 6-o-clock news is "brought to you in part by ExxonMobil", it may present hurdles in identifying issues with the fossil-fuel industry that might not report on oil spills and criminal disregard for native lands. It only exacerbates the swaths of ignorant people that live in denial of climate change. When your evening news is "brought to you by" a corporation, and you only get your news from corporate entities, do not be surprised if you end up with a pro-corporate political view and your nation slips into aristocracy in front of your eyes. Do not then be surprised if the majority of your voters turn a blind eye toward a candidate taking money from Wall Street if you only get your news from the "Wall Street Journal".
Economically, the end of #NetNeutrality , & unchecked media consolidation, creates monopoly profits for an elite few at the expense of the consumer & job creation.
In authoritarian kleptocracies, there's a consolidation of power at all levels- that's happening now in the courts, govt agencies, law enforcement agencies, the media, and houses of wor$hip~ How much are Americans willing to "taste" before they're force fed the entire swamp? https://t.co/hkML6aAiKf