Mainstream Media: Plural or Singular?

There are few issues more important than the concentration of our media into fewer and fewer hands. It is, after all, the mainstream media that the majority of Americans rely on to provide them with timely information and accurate analsysis of the days events. Over at the Lying Media Bastards I came across a rather interesting study conducted at Sonoma State University. They did a network analysis of the board of directors for the ten big media giants.

The team determined that only 118 people comprise the membership on the boards of director of the ten big media giants. This is a small enough group to fit in a moderate size university classroom. These 118 individuals in turn sit on the
corporate boards of 288 national and international corporations. In fact, eight out of ten big media giants share common memberships on boards of directors with each other. NBC and the Washington Post both have board members who sit on Coca Cola and J. P. Morgan, while the Tribune Company, The New York Times and Gannett all have members who share a seat on Pepsi. It is kind of like one big happy family of interlocks and shared interests.

That's 118 people having control over what you and I see and hear. That's a 118 people who basically get to determine whether or not the Downing Street Memo is important or not. And if anybody is paying attention: they are failing us. You can read more at MediaChannel.org.

The mainstream media--corporate media--have done a horrible job informing us about the important issues of the day. Instead of a serious national debate preceeding this criminal occupation in Iraq, we had a parade of old generals and pro-war people tell us about how important it was to go to Iraq. We are told again and again that the most sucessful program in our nation's history--Social Security--is doomed for failure! And when it is brought out that our president lied to us and our congress in order to take us to war, the mainstream press shrugs its collective shoulders.

Here's an issue where we can actually find common ground with many of our counterparts on the right of the aisle. Listen to your conservative friends bash the "liberal media." Never mind the fact that no such animal exists, except on the fringes. But it's a good time to take hold of the fact that the mainstream media (call it conservative or liberal for all it matters) in this country are doing a horrible job. Serious reform is needed. Below you'll find some great links to help you learn more and get involved.

• Third World Traveler Media Reform Page
• 15 Steps Toward Media Reform
• National Confrence for Media Reform
• What Liberal Media?
• Media Alliance
• The US has a liberal media
  

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