Concentration of media ownership 240400 222013385 2008-06-27T03:53:04Z JMyrleFuller 2068487 /* By corporation */ {{Cleanup|date=May 2007}} '''Concentration of media ownership''' (also known as '''media consolidation''') is a commonly used term that refers to the majority of the media outlets being owned by a small number of [[Conglomerate (company)|conglomerate]]s and [[corporation]]s &mdash; especially by those who view such consolidation as detrimental, dangerous, or otherwise problematic &mdash; to characterize ownership structure of [[mass media]] industries. These individual media industries are often referred to as a '[[Media Institution]]'. Media ownership may refer to states of [[oligopoly]] or [[monopoly]] in a given media industry, or to the importance of a low number of [[media conglomerate]]s. Large media conglomerates include [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]], [[National Amusements]], [[Time Warner]], [[Viacom]], [[News Corp]], [[Bertelsmann AG]], [[Sony]], [[General Electric]], [[Vivendi SA]] and [[Lagardère Group]]. For example, movie production is known to be dominated by major studios since the early 20th Century; before that, there was a period in which Edison's ''Trust'' monopolized the industry. The music and television industries recently witnessed cases of media consolidation, with [[Sony Music Entertainment]]'s parent company merging their music division with Bertelsmann AG's [[BMG]] to form [[Sony BMG]] and TimeWarner's [[The WB]] and CBS Corp.'s [[UPN]] merging to form [[The CW]]. In the case of Sony BMG, there existed a "[[Big Five]]" (now "[[Big Four]]") of major [[record company|record companies]], while The CW's creation was an attempt to consolidate ratings and stand up to the "[[Big Four]]" of [[United States|American]] [[network television|network (terrestrial) television]]. There may also be some large-scale owners in an industry that are not the causes of monopoly or oligopoly. [[Clear Channel Communications]], especially since the [[Telecommunications Act of 1996]], acquired many [[radio station]]s across the United States, and came to own more than 1,200 stations. However, the radio broadcasting industry in the United States and elsewhere can be regarded oligopolistic regardless of the existence of such a player. Because radio stations are local in reach, each licensed a specific part of airwave by the [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] in a specific local area, any local market is served by a limited number of stations. In most countries, this system of licensing makes many [[markets]] local oligopolies. The similar market structure exists for [[television]] broadcasting, cable systems and [[newspaper]] industries, all of which are characterized by the existence of large-scale owners. Concentration of ownership is often found in these industries. In the United States, data on ownership and market share of media companies is not held in the public domain. Academics, for example at MIT Media Lab and NYU, have struggled to find data that show reliably the concentration of media ownership. ==Debates== {{POV-section|date=December 2007}} Concentration of media ownership is very frequently seen as a problem of contemporary media and society. When media ownership is concentrated in one or more of the ways mentioned above, a number of undesirable consequences follow, including the following: *Commercially driven, ultra-powerful mass market media is primarily loyal to sponsors, i.e. advertisers and government rather than to the public interest. *For the general public, there are less diverse opinions and voices available in the media. * If only a few companies representing the interests of a minority elite control the public airwaves of 300 million Americans, then calling them "public airwaves" is only lip service. *For minorities and others, fewer opportunities are available for voicing their concerns and reaching the public. *Healthy, market-based [[competition]] is absent, leading to slower innovation and increased prices. It is important to elaborate upon the issue of media consolidation and its effect upon the diversity of information reaching a particular market. Critics of consolidation raise the issue of whether monopolistic or oligopolistic control of a local media market can be fully accountable and dependable in serving the public interest. If, for example, only one or two media conglomerates dominate in a single market, the question is not only that of whether they will present a diversity of opinions, but also of whether they are willing to present information that may be damaging to either their advertisers or to themselves. If it is in the best interests of the media conglomerates not to run a story or allow a particular opinion, but in the best interests of the public interest to run it, it arguably makes better business sense to opt for the former over the latter. On the local end, reporters have often seen their stories refused or edited beyond recognition, in instances where they have unearthed potentially damaging information concerning either the media outlet's advertisers or its parent company. For example, in 1997, the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate in [[Tampa, Florida]] fired two reporters and suppressed a story they had produced about one of the Fox network's major advertisers, [[Monsanto]], concerning the health effects of [[Bovine Growth Hormone]] (BGH). Monsanto took action after Fox and threatened to sue over the story. Another example would be the repeated refusal of networks to air "ads" from anti-war advocates to liberal groups like MoveOn.org, or conservative groups like United Church of Christ, regardless of factual basis. A recent famous case was [[Super Bowl XXXVIII]] wherein CBS refused to air an ad criticizing the growing federal budget deficit but aired a spot celebrating the White House National Drug Control Policy. Consequently, if the companies dominating a media market choose to suppress stories that do not serve their interests, the public suffers, since they are not adequately informed of some crucial issues that may affect them. If the only media outlets in town refuse to air a story, then the question becomes, who will? Critics of media deregulation and the resulting concentration of ownership fear that such trends will only continue to reduce the diversity of information provided, as well as to reduce the accountability of information providers to the public. The ultimate consequence of consolidation, critics argue, is a poorly-informed public, restricted to a reduced array of media options that offer only information that does not harm the media oligopoly's growing range of interests. For those critics, media [[deregulation]] is a dangerous trend, facilitating an increase in concentration of media ownership, and subsequently reducing the overall quality and diversity of information communicated through major media channels. Increased concentration of media ownership can lead to the censorship of a wide range of critical thought. Another concern is that consolidated media is not flexible enough to serve local communities in case of emergency. This happened in [[Minot, North Dakota]], in 2002, after a [[train]] filled with [[anhydrous ammonia]] derailed. None of the leading radio stations in Minot carried information on the derailment or evacuation procedures, largely because they were all owned by [[Clear Channel Communications]] and received automated feeds from the corporate headquarters in [[San Antonio, Texas]]. Scores of people were injured and three people died {{Fact|date=August 2007}}. Some typical counter-arguments to the criticisms above include the following: *Increased competitiveness due to the larger capital of the owners, especially to compete against some of the global, giant media conglomerates *Reduced cost of operations as a result of consolidation of some functions *More segmented or differentiated products and services to respond to a wider variety of demands better. ==An opposite evolution: massive diversification via citizen media== On the other hand, a '''massive diversification of media''', thanks to the Internet, materialized by millions of [[website]]s, [[Internet forum|forums]], [[blog]]s and [[wiki]]s is taking place. That evolution, often labeled [[citizen journalism]] or [[citizen media]], makes it possible for practically everybody to be a media creator, owner and actor, instead of a passive user. Citizen media gradually take audiences out of the traditional media and weaken the role of information professionals. Traditional media are slowly trying to adapt by becoming more "participative", asking their readers or watchers to send their own news. Citizen media cannot however function with the same kind of in depth reporting that brick-and-mortar organizations have, in the form of funded research and expert analysis. Nor is the internet immune to media consolidation. The largest telephone and cable companies which own the infrastructure of the internet have been accused of attempting to control the speed in which users can access various websites. ==Media consolidation in particular countries== ===Australia=== {{See|Media ownership in Australia}} Controls over media ownership in Australia are laid down in the ''Broadcasting Services Act 1992'', administered by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). Even with laws in place Australia has a high concentration of media ownership. Ownership of national and the newspapers of each capital city are dominated by two corporations, [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s [[News Corporation]], (which was founded in [[Adelaide]]) and [[John Fairfax Holdings]].These two corporations along with [[West Australian Newspapers]] and the [[Harris Group]] work together to create [[Australian Associated Press]] which distributes the news and then sells it on to other outlets such as the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]. Although much of the everyday main stream news is drawn from the Australian Associated Press all the privately owned media outlets still compete with each other for exclusive [[Pop culture]] news. Rural and regional media is dominated by [[Rural Press Limited]] which is owned also by [[John Fairfax Holdings]], with significant holdings in all states and territories. [[Daily Mail and General Trust]] operate the [[DMG Radio Australia]] commercial radio networks in metropolitan and regional areas of Australia. Formed in 1996, it has since become one of the largest radio media companies in the country. The company currently own more than 60 radio stations across New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia. There are rules governing foreign ownership of Australian media and these rules are being considered for loosening by the current [[Howard Government]]. According to [[Reporters Without Borders]] in 2004, Australia is in 41st position on a list of countries ranked by Press Freedom; well behind New Zealand (9th) and United Kingdom (28th). This ranking is primarily due to the limited diversity in media ownership. The problem has even created a show in it self ''[[Media Watch (TV program)|Media Watch]]'' on a government funded station [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] (ABC) which is one of two government administered free to air channels the other being [[Special Broadcasting Service]] (SBS). ===Canada=== Radio and television ownership in Canada is governed by the [[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission|CRTC]]. The CRTC does not regulate ownership of newspapers or Internet media, although ownership in those media may be taken into consideration in decisions pertaining to a licensee's broadcasting operations. Apart from the public [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] and [[Community radio|community broadcasters]], media in Canada are primarily owned by a small number of companies, including [[CTVglobemedia]], [[Canwest Global Communications|Canwest Global]], [[Rogers Communications|Rogers]], [[Shaw Communications|Shaw]], [[Astral Media|Astral]], [[Newcap Broadcasting|Newcap]] and [[Quebecor Inc.|Quebecor]]. Each of these companies holds a diverse mix of television, cable television, radio, newspaper, magazine and/or internet operations. Some smaller media companies also exist. In 2007, CTVglobemedia, Astral Media, Quebecor, Canwest Global and Rogers all expanded significantly, through the acquisitions of [[CHUM Limited]], [[Standard Broadcasting]], [[Osprey Media]], [[Alliance Atlantis]] and [[Citytv]], respectively. Due to Canada's smaller population, some types of media consolidation have always been allowed. In small markets where the population could not adequately support multiple television stations competing for advertising revenue, the CRTC began permitting [[twinstick]] operations, in which the same company operated both [[CBC Television|CBC]] and [[CTV television network|CTV]] affiliates in the same market, in 1967. This model of television ownership was restricted to smaller markets until the mid-1990s, when the CRTC began to allow companies to own multiple television stations in large markets such as [[Toronto]], [[Montreal]] and [[Vancouver, British Columbia|Vancouver]]. As of 2007, almost all Canadian television stations are owned by national media conglomerates. Most, in fact, are directly [[owned-and-operated station|owned and operated]] by their associated networks, although even private [[affiliate]] stations are mostly owned by non-network conglomerates rather than local companies. These acquisitions have been controversial; stations in smaller markets have frequently had their local news programming cut back or even eliminated. For instance, CTV's stations in [[Northern Ontario]] and in [[Atlantic Canada]] are served by a single regional newscast for each region, with only brief local news inserts for headlines of purely local interest. This, in turn, has contributed to the rise of independent local webmedia such as ''[[SooToday.com]]'', ''[[The Tyee]]'' and ''[[rabble.ca]]''. Many, though not all, Canadian newspapers are also owned by the same media conglomerates which own the television networks. Companies which own both television and newspaper assets have strict controls on the extent to which they can merge the operations. The issue of newspaper ownership has been particularly controversial in Canada, especially in the mid-1990s when [[Conrad Black]]'s [[Hollinger Inc.|Hollinger]] acquired the [[Southam Newspapers|Southam]] chain. Black's 1999 sale of the Hollinger papers resulted in an increase in the diversity of newspaper ownership, with new ownership groups such as [[Osprey Media]] entering the business, but was even more controversial because the CRTC, waiving its former rules against broadcasting companies acquiring newspaper assets, permitted Canwest Global to purchase many of the Hollinger papers. The ''[[Toronto Star]]'' is a partial exception to this — it is owned by an independent company, but is itself a part ''owner'' of CTVglobemedia. In radio, a company is normally restricted to owning no more than three stations in a single market, of which only two can be on the same broadcast band. (That is, a company may own two [[FM radio|FM]] stations and an [[AM radio|AM]] station, or two AMs and one FM, but may not own three FMs.) Under certain circumstances, [[local marketing agreement]]s may be implemented, or the ownership rule may be waived entirely. For example, in [[Windsor, Ontario]], CTVglobemedia owns all of the city's commercial broadcast outlets, due to the city's unique circumstances — being in the immediate environs of the [[Metro Detroit]] market in the [[United States]], Windsor has historically been a difficult market for commercial broadcasters, so the CRTC waived its usual ownership restrictions to help protect the Windsor stations' financial viability. When licensing a new broadcast outlet, the CRTC has a general (but not strict) tendency to favour new and local broadcasters. However, in the modern media context such broadcasters often struggle for financial viability, and are often subsequently acquired by larger companies. The CRTC rarely denies the acquisition applications. Canada also has strict laws around non-Canadian ownership of cultural industries; a media company in Canada may not be more than 20 per cent foreign-owned. Under new rules announced in 2008, the CRTC limited companies to two types of media in a given market — a company may, for example, own television and radio assets in one city, or radio and newspaper, or television and newspaper, but may not own all three simultaneously. As well, with the ownership of cable [[specialty channel]]s increasingly consolidating under the same few media conglomerates that own most of the country's conventional television stations, the CRTC also imposed a [[market share]] cap: no company can own broadcasting assets holding more than 45 per cent of the country's total television viewership<ref>[http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080115.wCRTC0115/BNStory/robNews/home "CRTC puts new restrictions on media ownership"], ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', [[January 15]], [[2008]].</ref>. ===Europe=== {{Expand-section|date=June 2008}} ====United Kingdom==== In the UK, [[Rupert Murdoch]] owns best-selling tabloids [[News of the World]], [[The Sun]] as well as the broadsheet [[The Times]] and [[Sunday Times]], and satellite broadcasting network [[BSkyB]]. [[Daily Mail and General Trust]] (DMGT) own The [[Daily Mail]] and [[The Mail on Sunday]], The [[Evening Standard]], [[Ireland on Sunday]], and free London daily [[Metro]], and control a large proportion of regional media, including through subsidiary [[Northcliffe Media]], in addition to large shares in [[ITN]] and [[GCap Media]]. ====Republic of Ireland==== [[Independent News & Media]] (CEO: [[Tony O'Reilly]]) owns many national newspapers: the ''[[Evening Herald]], [[Irish Independent]], [[Sunday Independent]], [[Sunday World]]'' and ''[[Irish Daily Star]]''. It also owns 29.9% of the ''[[Sunday Tribune]]''. ====Germany==== [[Axel Springer AG]] is one of the largest newspaper publishing companies in Europe, claiming to have over 150 newspapers and magazines in over 30 countries in Europe. In the 1960s and 1970s the company's media followed an aggressive conservative policy (see [[Springerpresse]]). It publishes Germany's only nationwide tabloid, [[Bild]] and one of Germany's most important broadsheets, [[Die Welt]]. Axel Springer also ownes a number on regional newspapers, especially in [[Saxony]] and in the [[Hamburg Metropolitan Region]], giving the company a de-facto monopole in the latter case. An attempt to buy one of Germany's two major private TV Groups, [[ProSiebenSat.1]] in 2006 was withdrawn due to large concerns by regulation authorities as well as by parts of the public. The company is also active in [[Hungary]], where it is the biggest publisher of regional newspapers, and in [[Poland]], where it ownes the best-selling tabloid [[Fakt]], one of the nation's most important broadsheets, [[Dziennik]], and is one of the biggest shareholder in #2 private TV company, [[Polsat]]. [[Bertelsmann]] is one of the world's largest media companies. It ownes [[RTL Group]], which is one of the two mayor private TV companies in both [[Germany]] and the [[Netherlands]] and also owning assets in Belgium, France, UK, Spain, Czech and Hungary. Bertelsmann also ownes [[Gruner+Jahr]], Germany's biggest popular magazine publisher, including popular news magazine [[Stern (magazine)|Stern]] and a 26% share in investigative news magazine [[Der Spiegel]]. Bertelsmann also ownes [[Random House]], a book publisher, #1 in the [[English-speaking world]] and #2 in Germany. ====Italy==== [[Silvio Berlusconi]], the [[Prime Minister of Italy]], is the major shareholder of - by far - Italy's biggest private TV company, [[Mediaset]], Italy's biggest magazine publisher, [[Mondadori]], and Italy's biggest advertising company [[Publitalia]]. One of Italy's nationwide dailies, [[Il Giornale]], is owned by his brother. Berlusconi has often been criticized for using the media assets he owns to advance his political career. ===United States=== {{POV-section|date=December 2007}} ====History==== Prior to 1927, public airwaves in the United States were regulated by the [[United States Department of Commerce]] and largely litigated in the courts as the growing number of stations fought for space in the burgeoning industry. The Federal [[Radio Act of 1927]] (signed into law [[February 23]], [[1927]]) nationalized the airwaves and formed the [[Federal Communications Commission|Federal Radio Commission]] (later named the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC) to assume control of the airwaves. The [[Communications Act of 1934]] refined and expanded on the authority of the FCC to regulate public airwaves in the United States, combining and reorganizing provisions from the Federal Radio Act of 1927 and the [[Mann-Elkins Act of 1910]]. It empowered the FCC, among other things, to administer broadcasting licenses, impose penalties and regulate standards and equipment used on the airwaves. The Act also mandated that the FCC would act in the interest of the "public convenience, interest, or necessity."<ref>"[http://www.fcc.gov/Reports/1934new.pdf The Communications Act of 1934 ]." United States Public Law.</ref> The Act established a system whereby the FCC grants licenses to the spectrum to broadcasters for commercial use, so long as the broadcasters act in the public interest by providing news programming. Lobbyists from the largest radio broadcasters, ABC and NBC, successfully petitioned to attach a cost to the license required to broadcast, and were thus able to "price out" many amateur broadcasters that had previously existed. Such was the precedent for much of the following regulatory decisions, which have mostly focused on the percentage of a market deemed allowable to a single company.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} The [[Telecommunications Act of 1996]] set the modern tone of "deregulation," a relaxing of percentage constrictions that solidified the previous history of privatizing the utility and commodifying the spectrum. The legislation, touted as a step that would foster competition, actually resulted in the subsequent mergers of several large companies, a trend which still continues.<ref name="Klinenberg0607" >{{cite web |url=http://adbusters.org/the_magazine/72/Fighting_For_Air_An_interview_with_Eric_Klinenberg.html |title=Adbusters : The Magazine - #72 The Fake Issue / Fighting For Air: An interview with Eric Klinenberg |accessdate=2007-06-29 |format= |work=}}</ref> The [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] held one official forum, [[February 27]], 2003, in [[Richmond, Virginia]] in response to public pressures to allow for more input on the issue of elimination of media ownership limits. Some complain that more than one forum was needed.<ref>Casuga, Jay-Anne. [http://www.richmond.com/business/output.aspx?id=2414262 Not Enough: FCC public hearing allows only one hour for citizen input] (Richmond.com)</ref> On [[June 2]], [[2003]], [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]], in a 3-2 vote under Chairman [[Michael Powell]], approved new media ownership laws that removed many of the restrictions previously imposed to limit ownership of media within a local area. The changes were not, as is customarily done, made available to the public for a comment period. * Single-company ownership of media in a given market is now permitted up to 45% (formerly 35%, up from 25% in 1985) of that market. * Restrictions on newspaper and TV station ownership in the same market were removed. * All TV channels, magazines, newspapers, cable, and [[Internet]] services are now counted, weighted based on people's average tendency to find news on that medium. At the same time, whether a channel ''actually contains'' news is no longer considered in counting the percentage of a medium owned by one owner. * Previous requirements for periodic review of license have been changed. Licenses are no longer reviewed for "public-interest" considerations. The decision by the FCC was overturned by the [[U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals]] in the decision [[Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC]] in June, 2004. The Majority ruled 2-1 against the FCC and ordered the Commission to reconfigure how it justified raising ownership limits. The [[Supreme Court]] later turned down an appeal, so the ruling stands.<ref>Labaton, Stephen. "[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/18/business/media/18broadcast.html?pagewanted=all Plan Would Ease Limits on Media Owners]." ''The New York Times,'' 18 Oct 2007. Retrieved on 10 Dec 2007.</ref> ====Cross-Ownership Proceedings==== The FCC voted [[December 18]], [[2007]] to relax media ownership rules, including a statute that forbids a single company to own both a newspaper and a television or radio station in the same city. FCC Chairman [[Kevin Martin]] circulated the plan in October 2007.<ref>Labaton, Stephen. "[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/18/business/media/18broadcast.html?pagewanted=all Plan Would Ease Limits on Media Owners]." ''The New York Times,'' 18 Oct 2007. Retrieved on 10 Dec 2007.</ref> Martin's justification for the rule change is to ensure the viability of America's newspapers and to address issues raised in the 2003 FCC decision that was later struck down by the courts.<ref>"[http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-278113A1.pdf Chairman Kevin J. Martin Proposes Revision to the Newspaper/Broadcast Cross-Ownership Rule]." FCC. Press Release, 13 Nov 2007.</ref> The FCC held six hearings around the country to receive public input from individuals, broadcasters and corporations. Because of the lack of discussion during the 2003 proceedings, increased attention as been paid to ensuring that the FCC engages in proper dialogue with the public regarding its current rules change. FCC Commissioners Deborah Taylor-Tate and Robert McDowell joined Chairman Martin in voting in favor of the rule change. Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, both Democrats, opposed the change.<ref>"[http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200712181340DOWJONESDJONLINE000561_FORTUNE5.htm FCC Votes to Relax Cross-Media Ownership Rule]" ''Associated Press,'' 18 Dec 2007. Retrieved on 18 Dec 2007.</ref> ==By corporation== * [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]], "New" [[Viacom]] (and its former parent [[CBS Corporation]], the former "Old" Viacom), [[TimeWarner]], [[News Corporation]], [[Bertelsmann AG]], and [[General Electric]] together own more than 90% of the media holdings in the United States.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} * Among other assets, Disney owns [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group]], ESPN, and [[Miramax Films]]. * CBS Corporation owns [[CBS]], CBS Radio (formerly Infinity Radio), [[Simon & Schuster]] editing group, a 50% ownership stake in [[The CW Television Network|The CW]], etc. * Time Warner owns [[CNN]], ''[[Time]]'', [[AOL]], a 50% ownership stake in [[The CW Television Network|The CW]], etc. * Bertelsmann owns [[Arvato]], [[Direct Group]], [[RTL Group]] (which owns [[VOX]] and [[Five (channel)|Five]] and a part in [[Métropole 6|M6]] TV channel), etc. * [[Triton Media Group]] is rapidly consolidating assets in the radio industry, acquiring [[Dial Global]], [[Waitt Radio Networks]] and [[Jones Radio Networks]], three major satellite music radio providers. *[[Lagardère Group]] owns [[Hachette Filipacchi Médias]], which is the largest magazine publisher in the world, 100% of [[Lagardère Media]], 34% of [[CanalSat]], and [[Hachette Livre]] (as well as parts in the European military aerospace [[EADS]] company). *[[Vivendi]] owns [[Canal Plus|Canal + Group]], [[Universal Music Group]] and 20% of [[NBC Universal]]. *[[Edouard Etienne de Rothschild|Edouard de Rothschild]] has 37% of French left-wing daily ''[[Libération]]'' since 2005. * Arms company [[Dassault]] owns 82% of the ''[[Socpresse]]'', which controls conservative ''[[Le Figaro]]'' (in which the [[Carlyle Group]] previously had a 40% stake), as well as ''[[L'Express (France)|L'Express]]''. * ''[[Le Monde]]'' is owned by ''[[La Vie Le Monde]]'', which also controls ''[[Télérama]]'' and other publications of ''[[La Vie Catholique]]'', as well as 51% of ''[[Le Monde diplomatique]]''. * French [[Bouygues]] company owns 42.9% of [[TF1]] TV channel, and is the [[parent company]] of [[Bouygues Télécom (company)|Bouygues Télécom]]. * [[Rupert Murdoch]], the media magnate, apart of News Corp., also owns British ''[[News of the World]]'', ''[[The Sun (newspaper)|The Sun]]'', ''[[The Times]]'', and ''[[The Sunday Times (UK)|The Sunday Times]]'', as well as the [[Sky Television]] network, which merged with [[British Satellite Broadcasting]] to form [[BSkyB]]; in the US, he owns the ''[[Fox Networks]]'' and the ''[[New York Post]]''. Since 2003, he also owns 34% of DirecTV Group (formerly [[Hughes Electronics]]), operator of the largest American satellite TV system, [[DirecTV]], and [[Intermix Media]] (creators of myspace.com) since 2005. ''See also [[Murdoch Newspaper List]]''. *[[Modern Times Group]], quoted on the [[Stockholm Stock Exchange]], owns [[Viasat]] TV network and [[Metro International]], which is the world's largest chain of free newspapers, publishing 57 daily Metro editions in 18 countries. * In the UK, [[Daily Mail and General Trust plc]] owns newspapers including the [[Daily Mail]], [[Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC]], has a 29.9% stake in [[GCap Media]] (the owner of [[Classic FM]] and other radio stations), and a 20% stake in [[ITN]], and also own regional publisher [[Northcliffe Media]]. * [[Bolloré]], owned by [[Vincent Bolloré]], who is [[Havas]]'s main share-holder and president and UK group [[Aegis Group plc|Aegis]]' first share-holder. Bolloré owns [[Direct 8]] French TV channel. * [[Arnoldo Mondadori Editore]] control a large share of the magazine publishing industry in Italy. ==See also== * [[Deregulation]] * [[Freedom of speech]] * [[Freedom of the press]] * [[Lists of corporate assets]] * [[Media democracy]] * [[Media imperialism]] * [[Media manipulation]] * [[Media ownership in Australia]] * [[Media proprietor]] * [[Monopolies of knowledge]] * [[Prometheus Radio Project]] * [[Propaganda model]] * [[Telecommunications Act of 1996]], which deregulated media in the U.S. ===Film documentaries=== * ''[[Orwell Rolls in His Grave]]'' (2004) documentary available on DVD considers media concentration in the U.S. * ''[[Beyond Citizen Kane]]'' by [[Simon Hartog]] (1993); about [[Roberto Marinho]]'s [[Rede Globo|Globo Group]] in Brazil ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.globalcitizen.co.uk/about/essays/mediaownership.doc Essay examining the reasons and consequences of media ownership] **[http://www.democraticmedia.ca/ Campaign For Democratic Media]Canadian organization fighting for democratic media. *[http://www.freepress.net/ Free Press] an organization opposing media ownership concentration *[http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/03/and_then_there_were_eight.pdf A visual representation of 25 years of media mergers] and how the biggest media conglomerates in the United States came to be *[http://www.lasarletter.net/drupal/node/10 Lasar's Letter on the Federal Communications Commission] Media ownership controversy timeline, 1996-2004 *[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14836500/ Media ownership study ordered destroyed] *[http://www.globalissues.org/HumanRights/Media/Corporations/Owners.asp Media Conglomerates, Mergers, Concentration of Ownership] *[http://www.mediachannel.org/ownership/front.shtml#chart Media Ownership Chart] by watchdog group [http://www.mediachannel.org/ MediaChannel] *[http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Why_TV_sucks.html Why TV sucks] A critique of the concentration thesis from the left *[http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=FCC+Hearing+on+Media+Consolidation,+Seattle,+Nov+2007&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv FCC Hearing on Media Consolidation, Seattle, Nov 2007] Video of public testimony Supporting Media Deregulation: *[http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-235047A3.pdf Chairman Powell] *[http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-235047A7.pdf Commissioner Martin] *[http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-235047A4.pdf Commissioner Abernathy] Opposing Media Deregulation: *[http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-235047A6.pdf Commissioner Copps] *[http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-235047A8.pdf Commissioner Adelstein] [[Category:United States communications regulation]] [[Category:Canadian media regulation]] [[Category:Mass media]] [[Category:Criticism of journalism]] [[de:Medienkonzentration]] [[fr:Concentration des médias]]