Every week we see a new headline highlighting a new deal, acquisition, or merger of some big-name media companies. It’s nearly impossible to pin down an accurate map of these ownerships, as new deals are so frequently changing the corporate media landscape. Sometimes, especially in the short-term, these deals can appear to work out well for the consumer. More often, however, they can prevent innovation and competition at best, while outright undermining our democracy at worst.
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There really is no more exemplary candidate than AT&T. I would wager that most people my age are unaware that AT&T was founded by none other than Alexander Graham Bell, originally being called the Bell Telephone Company. Bell gradually accrued market dominance by either refusing to work with and/or buying out competitors, eventually rebranding to the American Telephone & Telegraph Company. Even after the formation of the Federal Communications Commission, AT&T continued to control the entire industry, growing ever steadily. Eventually, however, AT&T ballooned to the point of getting hit with anti-trust lawsuits, and while some consumers were annoyed with the consequential inconvenience, the splitting of the monopoly into 7 smaller companies generated competition that directly resulted in answering machines, three-way calling, and caller ID – all innovations modern phones would be nearly unrecognizable without.
For much of history, anti-trust litigation in media has been largely aimed at telephone providers, though the TV industry was not far behind. Over the last decade or more, citizens and policymakers have been concerned about the potential democracy-undermining effects of big media consolidation. In addition to the growing number of news deserts in America, we are at an increasing risk of not being able to find different viewpoints by changing the channel:
If the last four years have taught us anything, it’s that we should be very, very concernedwith transparency in our media; when the news paints a misleading picture of the outside world, we end up with massive percentages of the population being genuinely delusional, which inevitably informs how they think, behave, and of course, vote. And while phone and TV companies are still key entities to keep an eye on, laws have also shifted toward the new frontier of mass communication: the Internet. Google, Amazon, and Facebook are noteworthy examples of a few companies owning a massive portion of what we see on the internet, with a staggering percentage of the population receiving not just their news, but also their casual entertainment from these handful of entities.
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These corporations – notably, corporations with political persuasions – have the ability to bend the will of the nation to their own. What they do matters, and will effect your life directly. Fortunately, your voice matters, too. Just about the only thing that has repeatedly prevented corporations from dangerously monopolizing our media has been an outpouring of opposition from the public, be it through public hearings or writing to congress. As of the writing of this article, it was newly announced that controversial FFC chairman Ajit Pai will be stepping down from his position with Joe Biden’s nomination, and some digital rights groups are concerned about reigniting the fight for net neutrality. In any case, it is clear that media consolidation will continue to pose dangers and challenges as our methods of communication continue to evolve.
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