Barb Dwyer
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- May 30, 2001
- Posts
- 939
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/themes/
Interesting article on a series by PBS Frontline regarding the influence of the small group of powerful media conglomerates on society.
I believe there has been an easing up in the last few years regarding ownership of different media outlets in the same market. There used to be a specific number of radio and tv stations one company could own in any one market and also a total in multiple markets.
I have always subscribed to the idea that it behooves us all to experience a wide array of opinions and ideas in order to make sound judgments. I practice this at home by watching 3 different network news broadcasts; reading several newspapers and listening to various radio stations. In this way, I am hoping to be exposed to a variety of political and social ideas. It has worked quite well until now.
This story shows that we are now being influenced by a handful of companies and the thought of that is a bit frightening. It seems innocuous on the surface. So what if one company manages AOL, Time Warner cable, People magazine and Time magazine?
I think there was good evidence of potential problems with the recent takeovers and mergers in the music industry. The big boys all fought Napster and now we will have to start paying for the music. That isn't so bad. But the fact that only a handful of companies wield such power in the first place is scary, and the fact that they can now get together to set and fix prices (even though this is illegal and is considered conspiracy) is truly the big worry.
Then we have Disney and Viacom and NewsCorp all of whom enter various realms in the same way- they dominate all these entertainment, news and information outlets.
So, in reality, we are getting the same viewpoints, which invariably seem to come coupled with sales pitches for goods and services of the providers now. Watch ABC World News Tonight, brought to you by Disney.
How can we be sure these companies are not manipulating the information we see in order to sell us something? There was a thread the other day about the fake critic at Sony studios making up bogus positive reviews of a film. Is this disturbing trend something to worry about?
Interesting article on a series by PBS Frontline regarding the influence of the small group of powerful media conglomerates on society.
I believe there has been an easing up in the last few years regarding ownership of different media outlets in the same market. There used to be a specific number of radio and tv stations one company could own in any one market and also a total in multiple markets.
I have always subscribed to the idea that it behooves us all to experience a wide array of opinions and ideas in order to make sound judgments. I practice this at home by watching 3 different network news broadcasts; reading several newspapers and listening to various radio stations. In this way, I am hoping to be exposed to a variety of political and social ideas. It has worked quite well until now.
This story shows that we are now being influenced by a handful of companies and the thought of that is a bit frightening. It seems innocuous on the surface. So what if one company manages AOL, Time Warner cable, People magazine and Time magazine?
I think there was good evidence of potential problems with the recent takeovers and mergers in the music industry. The big boys all fought Napster and now we will have to start paying for the music. That isn't so bad. But the fact that only a handful of companies wield such power in the first place is scary, and the fact that they can now get together to set and fix prices (even though this is illegal and is considered conspiracy) is truly the big worry.
Then we have Disney and Viacom and NewsCorp all of whom enter various realms in the same way- they dominate all these entertainment, news and information outlets.
So, in reality, we are getting the same viewpoints, which invariably seem to come coupled with sales pitches for goods and services of the providers now. Watch ABC World News Tonight, brought to you by Disney.
How can we be sure these companies are not manipulating the information we see in order to sell us something? There was a thread the other day about the fake critic at Sony studios making up bogus positive reviews of a film. Is this disturbing trend something to worry about?
