Here is an excellent article from Chronicles Magazine on the perils of gigantic media outlets. Here is a short excerpt:
Murdoch already uses his media power to influence public officials, domestic and foreign—which is a legitimate cause for worry. In 2003, Congress considered a regulation that would have required Murdoch to sell some properties. As the New York Times reported, one man who was behind the new rule was Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), an alleged conservative. Then Lott changed his mind. HarperCollins had paid Senator Lott $250,000 in advance royalties for his unheralded book, Herding Cats. Before that, Murdoch’s publishing house had offered a $4.5 million advance to House Speaker Newt Gingrich, which precipitated such vehement reproach that Gingrich returned it.
The most scandalous of Murdoch’s monkeyshines occurred in China. When he publicly proclaimed that modern media “proved an unambiguous threat to totalitarian regimes everywhere,” the Chinese Reds banned private ownership of satellite dishes, which threatened Murdoch’s Asian broadcasting venture, Star TV. No problem. HarperCollins published Deng Xiaoping’s biography, which, according to Joseph Kahn of the New York Times, included “mainly recycled propaganda about Mr. Deng.” Murdoch schmoozed with Deng’s handicapped son as well. He “chartered a jet to ferry a troop of disabled acrobats that the younger Mr. Deng had promoted to perform abroad.” And Star TV dumped the BBC because the Chicoms didn’t like its newscasts. That should worry journalists everywhere.
What I like about this is that it is not a hysterical hit piece from the left about Murdoch because he is supposedly "conservative" (which he is not). Rather, it puts Murdoch in perspective with the other media corporations and empires, they all have too much power and they are all corrupt.
What I also like is the author is not crying about how Murdoch will or will not run the news, but rather makes the case for small family owned media. An increase in the owners of media creates more choice and helps information flow better, while when it is concentrated into a few hands it removes choice, as with everything else.
2 comments:
I think the media is getting more decentralized then ever. Murdoch may be making enormous profits (most industries are right now) but the power of the "big three" networks to decide what was news and what wasn't is gone forever. You can see the old media pining for its former days of glory in the way it interprets all military action as a new Vietnam. I daresay if we fought Vietnam with the media we have today, we might have stayed and won. We didn't have Michael Yon then.
but rather makes the case for small family owned media. An increase in the owners of media creates more choice and helps information flow better, while when it is concentrated into a few hands it removes choice, as with everything else.
Indeed, as with information, as with everything else, when all in concentrated into the hands of a few with an agenda of increasing their own wealth and power, one can expect monopolization and oppression, and oh, yeah, lies, half-truths, distortions, fabrications, and misleading info.
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