Media Conglomerates, Mergers, Concentration of OwnershipAuthor and Page information * by Anup Shah * This Page Last Updated Friday, January 02, 2009 * This page: http://www.globalissues.org/article/159/media-conglomerates-mergers-concentration-of-ownership. * To print all information e.g. expanded side notes, shows alternative links, use the print version: o http://www.globalissues.org/print/article/159Some nations can influence and control their media greatly. In addition, powerful corporations also have enormous influence on mainstream media.In some places major multinational corporations own media stations and outlets. Often, many media institutions survive on advertising fees, which can lead to the media outlet being influenced by various corporate interests. Other times, the ownership interests may affect what is and is not covered. Stories can end up being biased or omitted so as not to offend advertisers or owners. The ability for citizens to make informed decisions is crucial for a free and functioning democracy but now becomes threatened by such concentration in ownership.
The idea of corporate media itself may not be a bad thing, for it can foster healthy competition and provide a check against governments. However, the concern is when there is a concentration of ownership due to the risk of increased economic and political influence that can itself be unaccountable……………..It is useful to remind ourselves that free expression is threatened not just blatantly by authoritarian governments and all those in the private sector who fear public exposure, but also more subtly by the handful of global media conglomerates that have reduced meaningful diversity of expression in much of the globe.
— Gerald Caplan, Advancing Free Media, Open Markets, Open Media forum, November 1997
Media Conglomerates, Mergers, Concentration of Ownership — Global Issues
