I've really been meaning to discuss media in America, and now I'm finally getting around to it. Televised news programs are where the majority of our country gets their day to day news, and if not that, they go to those same programs' websites. Print media is pretty much dead, as technology continues to grow and change, and major news/media has been compromised by corporate America. So how can we trust the news anymore?
Over the past 30-40 years, America has grown more and more conservative in the idea that we need corporate deregulation. Even liberal representatives have supported and allowed for industry/corporations to govern much of the country, and the news media is a part of that. Every major news company is owned and regulated by a larger corporation, which may or may not allow certain things to be aired on TV. In a way, Americans are never really getting the full story, because of political bias and corporate ties to the news. Fox News, CNN, NBC, ABC - all of these are owned by giant companies, where their CEO decides what news the public gets to hear. I'll go ahead and break down how this all works, because the average American citizen has no idea.
Let's start out with Faux News, and no that's not a typo. Faux News Channel, the conservative equivalent to CNN, is a 24 hour news channel that is ranked as one of the most watched news channels in the country. It is known for the extreme conservative bias on all stories and programming, bringing in some very insane people like Bill O'Reilly and Glen Beck to host shows. But whether or not Faux tends to hire complete morons, they are controlled by a large corporation called News Corporation. Rupert Murdoch, ranked 117 wealthiest man in the world, is the CEO of News Corp. and one of the most powerful men in America. Is it really a good idea to have someone like this in charge of what news you get to hear everyday? Of course Murdoch is known for his ties to wall street, I mean he owns the Wall Street Journal! So what happens when wall street is responsible for our country's economic collapse and its bankers and CEOs receive massive bonus's and tax breaks? Well, Faux News is going to paint a very pretty picture, fabricating the truth to make the entire situation seem okay - which is what they do every day, fabricate the truth.
But its not just the conservatives who are in the wrong here. CNN, a very liberal media, is responsible for political bias as well. Owned by Time Warner (another large media conglomerate), CNN usually brings a very liberal spin on its stories. Time Warner runs a large portion of the entertainment industry in America, including Warner Bros Studios, HBO, Time Magazine, etc. This large company controls the news it allows to be aired on its programming just like News Corp. does with Faux, which allows for the viewer to not get the truth in news.
Now a recent example of this would be with NBC. NBC, of course, is another liberal news channel. After the public found out that General Electric, one of America's largest corporations, paid no taxes in 2010 after gaining $14 billion dollars in revenue - NBC remained the only news programming not to cover the story. Why is that? Because GE owns NBC. How can we trust our news programming if large corporations get to dictate, what is acceptable news and what isn't?
Broken down a little more, there are basically 6 corporations that run the ENTIRE entertainment industry, who in turn also run a large portion of America. News Corporations, Time Warner, Walt Disney Company, Viacom, General Electric, and CBS Corporation - all have divided up the entertainment industry in America across the board. They own the film companies, the record labels, the TV programming - if you turn on your TV and go through every single channel, chances are that these six companies own 90% of your stations.
On top of entertainment ownership, which is the tip of the iceberg, these corporations have their hands in much more. They produce, own rights to, or distribute internet capabilities and energy resources, and even have a strong influence in politics. With six major corporations, comes basically 6 CEOs (some companies have more than others, this is just for example) - which is 6 people to control everything you watch on TV, everything you hear on the radio, and everything you see in a movie theater. 6 people! Do you really want your entertainment and world knowledge being controlled by 6 people? I know I don't. There is a reason we have such a divided nation. There is a reason we have such a misinformed nation. The establishment media in our country has been compromised and is merely used to keep Americans asleep, while corporations like these dictate our daily lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment