Media conglomerate

A media conglomerate describes companies that own large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies, and the Internet.

As of 2007, News Corporation is the world's largest media conglomerate with Time Warner and The Walt Disney Company ranking second and third^[1].

Sony is also a media conglomerate (its revenue far surpassing that of News Corp)^[1][2], but it involves in a diversity of other manufacture and businesses.

Contents 1 Terminology 2 Examples 3 Criticism of consolidating media groups 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Terminology

A conglomerate is, by definition, a large company that consists of divisions of seemingly unrelated businesses.

It is questionable whether media companies are unrelated, as of 2007^[update]. The trend has been strongly for the sharing of various kinds of content (news, film and video, music for example). The media sector is tending to consolidate, and formerly diversified companies may appear less so as a result. Therefore the term media group may also be applied. It has not so far replaced the more traditional usage.

Examples

Some of the largest media conglomerates include:

• Bertelsmann
• Canwest Global
• CBS Corporation (owned by National Amusements)
• Comcast Corporation
• Fininvest
• General Electric
• Hearst Corporation
• Lagardère Media
• Liberty Media
• News Corporation
• Organizações Globo
• Grupo PRISA
• Sony
• E. W. Scripps Company
• Time Warner
• Grupo Televisa
• The Times Group (distinct from Times Newspapers of News Corporation)
• Viacom (owned by National Amusements)
• Vivendi
• The Walt Disney Company
• World Wrestling Entertainment
• Bonnier Group
• Schibsted

Criticism of consolidating media groups

Critics have accused the larger conglomerates of dominating media, especially news, and refusing to publicize or deem "newsworthy" information that would be harmful to their other interests, and of contributing to the merging of entertainment and news at the expense of tough coverage of serious issues. They are also accused of being a leading force for the standardization of culture (see globalization, Americanization), and they are a frequent target of criticism by partisan political groups which often perceive the news productions biased toward their foes.

In response, the companies and their supporters state that they maintain a strict separation between the business end and the production end of news departments.

See also

• Concentration of media ownership
• Media imperialism
• Media proprietor
• Lists of corporate assets

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://login.vnuemedia.com/hr/login/login_subscribe.jsp?id=8TmyLbuzoVM845YR4%2F5pPjGzy2Lw8ombPzuzXnEUX%2BTYhiBUr%2BAjtBw0g3nszyvFRx6Z8nyeNVJN%0Aud3FgMFrHRO0EzHySx0xZKnDIXIyBx1WH5X7X%2Bu7k%2BmeN0L37u3DKIys7L6U0gs7i69tSOHY5J6U%0AXxup164Zhfw2IvQMIBiZjrixgvN0wJ4hV07Tl9S%2FqW0IVW%2FPvhB3utrcc%2FV2vquE%2BwJUPGHm%2BXp2%0AGAyZoapZkTxWMZQDtJVkIabU7tmz1fdLK6o8M%2BT%2FDC87p9qUfKvc8CLc%2FUtYkDbBCEpLPNNXZvwW%0A0dJmbgJUVY%2FoGEFKn6dW%2BXq2ERKQ2RlonIxUpLYHPT7lcchpIUsd1hhK9gicaIqzNs8s8A%3D%3D
2. ^ "Sony Corporation Annual Report 2007".

External links

• Media Institutions
• http://wethemedia.edublogs.org
• A visual representation of 25 years of media mergers and how the biggest media conglomerates in the United States came to be

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