In 1983, 90% of our media was owned and controlled by 50 different companies. News is no longer a public service meant to communicate facts but a means for these companies to make profits from entertaining viewers. Created in 1934 by the Communications Act, the FCCs role is to regulate interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable throughout the United States. The importance of a news event is determined by ratings not by what is considered to be in the public's best interest.
. Critics say it hasnt done a very good job, and the proof is the existence of the Big Six.
Why should Americans be worried that only a small number of companies control so much of our media? Because with the Big Sixs enormous control over a wide spectrum of the media, from production companies to radio to television, comes the ability to dictate what events they see as newsworthy (or not) on a massive scale. Today, 90% of our news, whether we read, watch or listen to it, is dominated by six media giants:
Comcast: owns Comcast, NBC, Universal Pictures, Focus Features
News Corporation: owns Fox, The Wall Street Journal, New York Post
The Walt Disney Company: owns ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Miramax, Marvel Studios
Viacom: owns MTV, Nick Jr., BET, CMT, Paramount Pictures, Comedy Central
Time Warner: owns CNN, HBO, Time, Warner Bros.
CBS Corporation: owns CBS, Showtime, Smithsonian Channel, the Movie Channel
The merging of so many media companies into todays handful of powerhouses has been allowed, and some may say encouraged, by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an independent government agency composed of five people whose duty it is to determine media policy and law
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