When it comes to distribution of media and communication to the public, media ownership plays and funding in contemporary media practice plays a large role. While it may seem that the origins of media come from a variety of networks, media ownership challenges this perception of diversity. A majority of companies are owned by large conglomerates, such as Disney and Viacom. Because of these conglomerates, media presented by networks owned by these conglomerates may be for the sake of journalism or information, but to cater towards what the conglomerate deems as favorable to them.
As discussed, The Walt Disney Company is one of the major media conglomerates. Because of this, they have control over the media that they own. Not only do they have control over the Walt Disney films that they have created, but they also have control over media of several other networks or companies due to Disney buying them out. For example, Disney bought Marvel, Fox, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and several other companies. Because of this, they have the ability to control production and distribution of media under their names. This means that they can choose to make certain aspects of their media as accessible or as inaccessible to the public as possible. Many of Marvel’s and Lucasfilm’s works can only be found on Disney’s streaming service, Disney+. With this limited access, the public may not have access to information that they need. Another major media conglomerate is Viacom. They own networks such as CBS, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV, and more. When a conglomerate has a large amount of power and influence in the media, they could possibly do harm to much smaller networks or independent creators. For example, Viacom is commonly known for filing copyrights strikes against creators on YouTube. Most commonly, creators on YouTube will create videos that revolve around the topic of a show owned by Viacom—such as SpongeBob SquarePants or The Fairly Odd Parents—but it will be original enough to be protected by the fair use doctrine. However, the fair use doctrine may be ignored and Viacom may decide to file a copyright strike because of the creator using unaltered clips from the show in question in their video. Filing a copyright strike removes the video from the platform and harms independent creators. With the power that the conglomerate holds, they have the ability to remove other forms of media created by independent users, which could be a form of abuse to the media industry. In conclusion, media ownership and funding in contemporary media practice could potentially be harmful to smaller or independent networks when they are being overshadowed by the major media conglomerates. These conglomerates have massive influence over the media being consumed by the public and should use their power for the benefit of its consumers, not to take advantage of them.
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AuthorJ. Coronado Archives
April 2021
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