Like everything these days, all aspects of business are merging into a few large corporations that can rule our lives. For some, such as cell phone companies, less competition is ideal in many ways because the cell phone providers are able to provide more adequate coverage in areas than many smaller companies can. However, the opposite is true for the media. With the media there is a solid oligarchy controlling it with only a few large corporations owning the majority of television, movies, newspapers, magazines, books, radio and more. Though these corporations seem to provide services, just like cell phone carriers, there are fundamentally different in nature. The media provides information about current events, past events, ideology, and information about every aspect of our lives. With only a few companies controlling the media, it's scary the propoganda that they can force on people. Also, this oligarcy can easily squash any small company or medium that tries to supply different information. The mainstream media is so concentrated that their ideologies could easily be spread to maleable citizens, who are unsuspecting. Can we truly have freedom of speech or press if there are only a handful of people controlling it. Here are the six major media companies in the US and Europe:
VIACOM: CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, BET, Showtime, UPN, Infinity Broadcasting, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Home Entertainment, Blockbuster, Simon & Schuster
NEWS CORP: 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox News, Fox Movie Channel, Fox Sports, FX, National Geographic Channel, DIRECTV, TV Guide, The Weekly Standard, New York Post, The London Times, HarperCollins
DISNEY: Walt Disney Studios, Disney Radio, Disney Channel, Touchstone Pictures, Miramax, Buena Vista Pictures, ABC, ABC Family, ABC News, ABC Sports, ESPN, Lifetime
TIME WARNER: AOL, AOL for Broadband, CompuServe, ICQ, MapQuest, Moviefone, Netscape, AOL Instant Messenger, Warner Books, HBO, Cinemax, New Line Cinema, Time, Sports Illustrated, People, Entertainment Weekly, Fortune, Time Warner Cable, TBS Superstation, Turner Network Television, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies, Boomerang, CNN, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, The WB Television Network, Kids’ WB!, Castle Rock Entertainmen, Telepictures Productions, Warner Home Video, Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera, DC Comics, MAD Magazine
BERTELSMANN AG: Random House, RTL Television, RTL Radio, BMG, Arista Records, J Records, Jive Records, Provident Music Group, RCA Records
VIVENDI: Canal+, Universal Television, USA Network, SciFi, Universal Studios, Universal Music, Interscope Geffen A&M, Island Def Jam Music Group, MCA Nashville, Mercury Records, Universal Motown Records Group
Scary isn't it?
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