We’ve all played the game
Monopoly, in which you try to dominate
the entire board.The
media industry, on the other hand, is considered an oligopoly, which is when a small
number of companies owns a large number of media outlets. This causes fewer opportunities
for unique ideas to be generated, which causes less diversity in the media.
The conglomeration of media
allows corporations to promote their own products without the public’s awareness. With the media being owned by few major conglomerates, problems have
a risen through various forms of biases ◦Bias
of Inclusion ◦Bias of Revision◦Bias of Omission
Coverage in the news that
favors the parent company of the channel. This includes crosspromotion, which is when a media conglomerate promotes
its productonits various other subsidiaries. ◦For
example, a Disney movie was promoted on ABC, ABCFamily, and ESPN
In order to appropriately gauge the various bias found in the media,
one must become media literate. Diversify where you get your news. This will allow you to spot what
biases are found on various channels. It is important to know which outlets are owned by whom, which will
over all allow you to see messages that may be included or excluded based on outlet
sowned by the same parent company. In order to become media literate, you must become aware.