With all the events that occur in todays world, the media is the go to when we seek information. Modern media presents a quick, accessible way to obtain information on a certain subject. But ask yourself, where do I get my information? What most people do not know is that 90% of the media in America is controlled by six corporations: GE, News-Corp, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, and CBS.
Sure, there are hundreds of news networks and websites, but how much of them do you really use? Realistically, most Americans only use a couple of news sources to find their information. Trust me, I am guilty of this to. When I watch the news in the evening, I automatically go to CBS, ignoring other news stations on TV. This is because me, along with thousands of other Americans have developed brand loyalty to these companies. Due to these brand loyalties, the oligopoly of the media exists. With this comes a problem in the market. Because of this type of market, mega companies like News-Corp who own Fox and Time Warner who own CNN are in constant competition. This is a very dangerous market to have competition. We see scandals such as fake news and false accusations consistently in the media, all because of companies wanting to be more successful than the other. Without this power struggle, we would see much more factual, fair news.
Another problem with an oligopoly of the media is biases. With so few major news sources, there is inevitably biases present. Again, the Fox and CNN battle is a prime example of this. Two companies, one very far right and the other opposite, are consistently pumping out news supporting their political party. This is extremely dangerous for Americans, and is the cause of many political disputes. Companies such as these brainwash viewers to agree with them and disagree with the other, searching for brand loyalty and out competing their competition. Without this oligopoly, this would not be a problem. Although there will always be biases, the effects of articles in a non-oligopoly market will be diluted by the rest of the media.
Overall, although there will forever be an oligopoly in the media market, it must be controlled. It is dangerous, and fundamentally wrong for people's news sources to constantly compete with one another. With a market like this it is important to question, is what I'm reading factual?
https://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6
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I think that what compounds this problem is that consumer loyalty and brand loyalty is crucial when it comes to the media market, and your paragraph on biases is what causes a particular consumer to put their belief in one news source over the other. The oligopoly has barriers that exceed financial resources, which makes it more difficult for other competitors to enter the market and makes this situation particularly unique.
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