The media is a huge part of our daily lives. Especially these days where it seems as though we can turn off the news and 5 minutes later turn it back on to find that the U.S. is going into nuclear war (almost too scared to joke around because this is our world for the next 4 years). Back to the purpose of this article, an important question often imposed is whether or not the media is biased. Well, is it?
Back in 1983, around 50 companies controlled almost all the media consumed by the public. Today, that number has dropped to 6. Yes, you read that right. You’ve most likely heard about these companies; Disney, Comcast, CBS, Time Warner, Viacom, and News-Corp. These big 6 are the companies that control 90% of mass media. They control what you watch, what you’re informed and not informed about, what you read and what you don’t read. 232 media executives are in charge of what 277 million Americans consume, just let that sit with you for a while.
Never will you find an ABC report speaking negatively in any way about Disney or ESPN, why not? Because they are all owned by the same company. That can be applied to all 6 companies. It is right to assume that the information we are given IS biased due to it being controlled by such a small group of people. Although there may be an illusion that tells us that we have a choice whether we read Fox News or New York Post, truth is we don’t since most outlets are owned by the same people. In fact, 1 out of every 5 hours of television that you consume is broadcasted by Comcast. These are some statistics that many people seem to either not know about or completely overlook. Freedom of the press seems to not be so..free.
These huge corporations do not only own news outlets, they own movie production companies and radio. For example, Time Warner owns Warner Bros. and Disney owns Pixar. So how exactly do we let ourselves see the entire picture without letting the bias of the media influence our perception of things? My advice would be to never let yourself stick to only one source. Look at things from all different types of news outlets and TV channels. Give those smaller news outlets a chance. There are plenty of small independent media sources that are overlooked most of the time.
With that being said, I do believe that the media is a very strong and important factor in our every day life. The big 6 do not undermine it’s significance whatsoever. It is still crucial that you educate yourself on current events, whether we like to hear about politics or not it is always important to be aware. Being conscious of what is happening helps to keep you an active member of society and an involved one as well. Giving you the information you need to stand up against inequality and discrimination, maybe not against you but against people you care about. Stay informed people!
