.jpg)
10:37 AM
zimbio
Is the media controlled by a group of transnational corporations? Do a few powerful media tycoons oversee the entire global commercial media system? This is an idea some of us may have heard before. In fact, the issue of censorship is a subject which has been rigorously debated in the United States for quite some time now. Famous news anchors, reporters, talk show hosts and congressman including Dan Rather, Steve Wilson, Jane Akre, Montel Williams and Newt Gingrich have been quoted bashing the corporate media machine. Robert McChesney of fair.org wrote an article in November of 1997 in which he stated: " It is a system that works to advance the cause of the global market and promote commercial values, while denigrating journalism and culture not conducive to the immediate bottom line or long-run corporate interests." So, is there a conspiracy to control the media? Lets begin by take a look at a few video clips.
(Clip of Dan Rather discussing corporate media ownership and censorship)
Rather explains how the white house put pressure on his boss when reports concerning Watergate surfaced. He also describes the commercial news media as a corporate money making machine, claiming the current news model in America is highly flawed and corrupt.
(Story by Steve Wilson and Jane Akre describing Fox news censorship)
Steve Wilson and Jane Akre described how foxnews pulled one of their stories off air. They claim they were bribed by foxnews to cut their exclusive story which detailed the use of bovine growth hormone by Monsanto corporation. Eventually, they were fired.
(Montel Williams gets upset with Fox and Friends news coverage)
Montel Williams gives an example of how the corporate media avoids certain issues of importance. He explains how the media is biased and covers up relevant news by discussing celebrity gossip.
(Newt Gingrich on media manipulation in politics)
Newt Gingrich gives a good example of how the media can be biased and used for political purposes.
(Former governor Jesse Ventura discusses corporate media censorship)
Jesse accuses the media of covering up government lies and claims the mainstream media cannot be trusted. He says major news organizations today are into "creating news" not reporting it. He also says the mainstream media in the United States has been monopolized by a giant corporate media system. He claims the Huffington post censored one of his articles as well.
(Rupert Murdock admits manipulating media)
In this clip, the owner and chairman of News Corporation (a global media oligarchy) describes how news can influence politics. He also explains how disclosing well thought out views and opinion can shape future agendas.
OK, we have now viewed videos of several public figures who openly admit a hidden agenda is taking place within the highest levels of our corporate media. Now, we will discuss the corporations which make up this global media conglomerate.
1. Disney: 2009 $36 billion
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world, but according to snorpes.com, some of Disney's animated family films have drawn fire for having sexual references hidden in them. Among the films named where The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Lion King. The company has also been accused of human rights violations linked to working conditions in some of their factories.
Disney Assets include:
1. Walt Disney pictures
2. Touchstone pictures
3. Hollywood pictures
4. Marvel studio and comics
5. Pixar Animation studios
6. Buena Vista International
7. Patagonik Film Group
8. Walt Disney Home Entertainment
9. Hollywood Records
10. Mammoth Records
11. Walt Disney Records
12. ABC, Inc.
13. Lifetime entertainment services
14. A and E television network
15. NBC Universal
16. ESPN
17. Hyperion Books
18. The Baby Einstein Company
19. Disneyland and Disneyworld
This list is just a small percentage of what the Walt Disney company owns.
2. Time Warner:
Time Warner (formerly AOL Time Warner) is the world's second largest entertainment conglomerate in terms of revenue. Time Warner hosts most of its major operations in film, television and publishing.
Time Warner Assets include:
1. New Line Cinema
2. Time Inc.
3. HBO
4. Turner Broadcasting System
5. The CW television network
6. Warner Brothers
7. Cartoon Network
8. Boomerang
9. Adult Swim
10. CNN
11. Castlerock Entertainment
12. Cinemax
13. TBS and TNT
14. Rocksteady Studios
15. Time Inc- which includes 100's of magazines
As you can see, Time Warner also controls multiple media outlets throughout the world.
3. News Corporation: 2009 $30 billion
News Corporation is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2008, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009. News Corporation is owned by the infamous Rupert Murdoch who has been known to Censor his media outlets.
News Corporation Assets include:
1. 20th Century Fox
2. Fox Television Studios
3. Fox Broadcasting Company
4. Fox News Channel
5. National Geographic Channel (50%)
6. Speed Channel
7. Star TV [India & Greater China]
8. GameSpy
9. Hulu
10. IGN
11. Myspace
12. New York Post
13. The Times UK
14. Australian Associated Press 45% (plus many other newspapers in Australia
15. The Wall Street Journal
16. Dow Jones and Company
17. National Rugby League (50%)
18. Jamba: Mobile Entertainment
Now we're starting to see a trend!
4. Viacom
Viacom, short for "Video and Audio Communications" is a United States-based media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television. As of 2010, it is the world's fourth-largest media conglomerate.
In February 2007, Viacom sent upwards of 100,000 DMCA take down notices to the video-sharing site YouTube, alleging large-scale copyright infringement. Many YouTube users responded by creating the slogan "Fuck Viacunt". 60–70 thousand of the non-infringing videos were erroneously removed under the auspices of copyright infringement.
Viacom Assets include:
1. Paramount Pictures Corporation
2. MTV
3. Nickelodeon
4. CME
5. VH1
6. Spike
7. BET
8. Comedy Central
9. Bubba Gump Shrimp Company
10. The teenage mutant ninja turtles
11. Atom Entertainment
Now that we have seen how many companies control these avenues of information, it's easy to understand how a few media groups could censor so much content.
5. Bartelsmann
Bertelsmann AG is a transnational media corporation based in Gütersloh, Germany. The company operates in 63 countries and employs 102,983 workers (as of December 31, 2009) Most people are not aware of this media giant because its main services are based overseas.
Bartelsmann Assets include:
1. Sonopress in Germany, North America, Latin America, South Africa, and Australia
2. Arvato mobile, systems, and finance
3. Bertelsmann BookClub (China)
4. BMG music service
5. BCA Great Britain
6. Bookspan (USA) (50%)
7. RTL.de, RTL.nl, sport.de, turbo.fr
8. UFA Film and TV Productions
9. Fremantlemedia
10. RTL Television (Germany)
11. n-tv (Germany)
12. RTL (Netherlands)
13. National Geographic (Poland)
Bartelsmann also owns multiple media outlets in America (publishing, ect.)
Now these corporate commercial media giants are merging together on projects and buying up real estate on the Internet, which would make the task of finding uncensored media even more daunting. In conclusion, let us end this article with a quote from the Bill of rights, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." (The first article of the Bill of Rights)
If you enjoyed this article, feel free to subscribe.
More Stories on The Real News:
0 comments:
Post a Comment