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The trouble with localism
• Local owners often aren’t independent
• Publishers reward friends, punish enemies
The trouble with localism
• Local owners often aren’t independent
• Publishers reward friends, punish enemies
• Corporate money can help duringbad times
The real issue
• What matters is journalism’s standing with ownership
(Murrow, Paleyand Stanton atCBS in 1946)
Ben Bagdikian
• Survivor of the Armenian holocaust
• First ombudsman of the Washington Post
• Played a key role in publishing the Pentagon Papers
“The Media Monopoly”
• In 1983, Bagdikian worried that 50 corporations controlled much of our media
• Today, the number of corporations has shrunk to five
Monopoly effects
• Dozens of cable channels, but handful of owners
• Company officialssit on eachothers’ boards
Monopoly effects
• Dozens of cable channels, but handful of owners
• Company officialssit on eachothers’ boards
• Journalism becomes a tiny part of what the corporation does
Kovach and Rosenstiel
• “Journalism’s first duty is to citizens”
• But what do you do when ownership believes the first duty of the news division is to maximize profits?
Time Warner
• 2007 revenues: $46.4 billion
• CNN, AOL, HBO, Time, Sports Illustrated, People, Warner Bros.,books and the Atlanta Braves
Walt Disney Corporation
• 2007 revenues: $35.5 billion
• ABC, ESPN, Disney Channel, television and radio stations, movie studios, books, music, magazines and theme parks
News Corporation
• 2007 revenues: $28.6 billion
• Fox network, TV stations, satellite, movie studios, MySpace, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Weekly Standard
Viacom/CBS
• 2007 revenues: $25.7 billion
• CBS network, television and radio stations, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, BET, Nick, books, music and movie studios
Bertelsmann
• 2007 revenues:$19 billion
• Columbia Records, Random House books, television stations, radio stations and magazines throughout Europe
General Electric Company
• 2007 revenues: $173 billion
• NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, television stations, movie studios, Telemundo
• Weapons, aircraft, nuclear power plants
New York Times Company
• Boston Globe, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Boston.com, Boston Red Sox(17 percent), New England Sports Network (14 percent), Metro Boston (49 percent)
Eastern Massachusetts
• First generation• Second generation• Third generation
– One local owner for all papers
– Fidelity Capital– Boston Herald
Eastern Massachusetts
• First generation• Second generation• Third generation• Fourth generation
– One national owner for all papers
– GateHouse Media owns papers across the United States
Reasons for concern
• Coverage in the corporation’s interest– GE and nuclear
power plants– Dennis Kucinich
and the debates– Disney’s theme-park
workers
Reasons for concern
• Coverage in the corporation’s interest
• But …– Clear Channel
and Minot wasan urban legend
Reasons for concern
• Coverage in the corporation’s interest
• But …– Clear Channel
and Minot wasan urban legend
– Ben Compaine shows thereis no monopoly
Countervailing trends
• A.J. Liebling worried about local monopolies, which no longer exist
• Internet has created vast array of choices
Countervailing trends
• A.J. Liebling worried about local monopolies, which no longer exist
• Internet has created vast array of choices
• Nonprofit and local ownership
Countervailing trends
• A.J. Liebling worried about local monopolies, which no longer exist
• Internet has created vast array of choices
• Nonprofit and local ownership
• Bloggers talk back to the media
Encouraging diversity
• Regulate radio and television until the Internet takes over
• Preserve net neutrality