I've talked about this recently but it bears mentioning again (and again and again). I found another good article about the upcoming changes to FCC regulations against media consolidation. If the changes proposed by the industry are accepted, you'll be getting your news and entertainment from even fewer sources, and new sources will have a harder time getting entry.
Here are some examples of who own what right now (and expect these lists to grow substantially if the FCC changes the law):
(complete lists are available at the Columbia Journalism Review's Web site, www.cjr.org/owners):
-- AOL Time Warner: The largest Internet service provider (37 million customers), the second largest cable company, HBO, CNN, TNT, TBS, the WB Network, Warner Bros. Studios, Castle Rock Entertainment, New Line Cinema, music labels Atlantic, Rhino, Elektra and Warner Bros., book publishers Little Brown & Co., Time Life, and Book of the Month Club, and the largest U.S. magazine company, publisher of Time, People, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, Money, Entertainment Weekly, and many others, and the Atlanta Braves, Hawks and Thrashers sports teams.
-- Viacom: CBS and UPN networks, MTV, VH1, Showtime, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET; Infinity, the second largest radio network (including KCBS, KLLC and KITS in the Bay Area); 34 television stations (including KPIX-TV, Channel 5 in the Bay Area); Paramount Pictures, Simon & Schuster book publisher, Spelling Entertainment, and other entertainment and publishing holdings.
-- News Corp.: The Fox network and Fox News Channel, 22 television stations, 20th Century Fox film and television studios, TV Guide, the Weekly Standard, the New York Post (and other newspapers in England and Australia), book publishers Harper Collins and William Morrow, the Los Angeles Dodgers, with stakes in the Los Angeles Kings and Lakers and New York Knicks and Rangers sports teams.
-- Walt Disney Corp.: ABC television network, 10 television stations and 53 radio stations (including KGO TV and radio in the Bay Area, and KSFO-AM); Disney Channel and stakes in A&E, ESPN, the History Channel, Lifetime and other cable channels; Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Miramax Films; Buena Vista Music Group; Hyperion and Miramax books; theme parks and a cruise line.
-- Hearst Corp., the owner of The Chronicle, is among the companies that have asked the FCC to ease restrictions. Privately held Hearst owns 12 daily newspapers, 17 U.S. magazines, 27 television stations, and stakes in A&E, ESPN, the History Channel, Lifetime and other cable channels, among other media holdings.
If you care to offer your input on trying to prevent this, check the links I provided in the first article or check out MoveOn.org, another grassroots effort to mobilize people to action calling for the FCC to fulfill its mandate to set policy that benefits the public interest.
Posted by Nutrimentia at May 13, 2003 07:05 PM | TrackBack