Chapter 3 Synopsis

Media Ownership: Concentration and Conglomeration


In chapter three, Media ownership: Concentration and Conglomeration focuses on ownership and control of the everyday media. This passage deals with media ownership in the sense how a shift moved towards concentration and conglomeration when dealing with the structure of many media type industries. When investigating the increased concentration of the media, the concepts of the “public sphere come into play and how it is applied to the internet.
Non-profit, public or private ownership influences the content that the media may portray. The continuum of media ownership can show the differences between the three ownerships. Community based ownership, which could be represented as local radio can be organized on a non-profit level using specific interest groups (pg 89). Not-for –Profit media attracts small audience that have budgets that they try to meet the needs of a community. State ownership has a certain control over television, newspaper and radio. Media can also be privately owned. Media can be owned by families, companies, and also individuals. As the media ownership grows, alliances form with other larger companies, which could potentially causes risks. As concentration increases, it is said that many faults may be hidden within the” media world”. At the same time media ownership is increasing within both concentration and conglomeration (my 92).
Society is filled with many media outlets that depend on the economy. When looking into the aspect of the economy perspective of the media, is had been changing throughout history. The political economy preservative has two main aspects which are the cultural production and the cultural consumption (my 102). Examining the relationship between the structure of ownership and cultural production is very important when tying them together with political economist.
Trying to understand the importance of the changing patterns in media ownership is essential. The reading explored the aspects of concentration and conglomeration and how it has lead to an uproar in the media industry. Throughout history the media had changed dramatically. The main change had occurred in the structure of the media. The media has altered to the channels of “reality” television and has created a entirely new outlook on the media (pg104). It has created more profit for companies and has put a new preservative for new and more inventive twist on the media. As conglomeration increases the media space becomes filled with the ways of advertising and outlets of communication.