CHAPTER REVIEW

COMMON THREADS

One of the Common Threads discussed in Chapter 1 is the commercial nature of mass media. In thinking about media ownership regulations, it is important to consider how the media wield their influence.

During the 2000 presidential election, two marginal candidates—Pat Buchanan on the Right and Ralph Nader on the Left—shared a common view that both major-party candidates largely ignored. Buchanan and Nader warned of the increasing power of corporations to influence the economy and our democracy. In fact, between 2000 and 2012, total spending on lobbying in the nation’s capital grew from $1.57 billion to more than $3 billion.37 (See Chapter 12 for more on lobbyists.)

These warnings have generally gone unnoticed and unreported by mainstream media, whose reporters, editors, and pundits often work for the giant media corporations that not only are well represented by Washington lobbyists but also contribute generously to the campaigns of the major parties to influence legislation that governs media ownership and commercial speech.

Fast-forward to 2012. While politicians spoke of transparency and truth-telling, their campaign-funding process had few of those characteristics. In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United (2010) decision, new Super PACs (political action committees) formed that can channel unlimited funds into political races as long as the Super PACs don’t officially “coordinate” with the political campaigns. With his own Super PAC (named Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow), comedian Stephen Colbert satirized the lax standards of Super PAC rules that enable hundreds of millions of dollars to be channeled into politics while obscuring disclosure of the contributors’ identities. By December 2012, Super PACs had spent more than $644 million on the 2012 election cycle (mostly in negative attack ads), with the majority of contributions coming from a few dozen elite ultrawealthy donors. For example, Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife donated in excess of $54 million to candidates and Super PACs in the 2012 election cycle.38 In the 2014 midterm elections, billionaire Tom Steyer surpassed the Adelsons by donating at least $58 million, mostly through the NextGen Climate Action Super PAC. NPR noted that liberal climate activist Steyer was the “election’s biggest donor—that we know of,” a testament to the fact that most big donors, like conservative billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch, opt not to disclose most of their campaign expenditures because they aren’t required to do so.39 The huge influx of money was a boon for media advertising profits.

What both Buchanan and Nader argued in 2000 was that corporate influence is a bipartisan concern that we have in common and that all of us in a democracy need to be vigilant about how powerful and influential corporations become. This is especially true for the media companies that report the news and distribute many of our cultural stories. As media-literate consumers, we need to demand that the media serve as watchdogs over the economy and our democratic values. And when they fall down on the job, we need to demand accountability (through alternative media channels or the Internet), especially from those mainstream media—radio, television, and cable—that are licensed to operate in the public interest.

KEY TERMS

The definitions for the terms listed below can be found in the glossary at the end of the book. The page numbers listed with the terms indicate where the term is highlighted in the chapter.

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REVIEW QUESTIONS

Analyzing the Media Economy

  1. Question 13.1

    How are the three basic structures of mass media organizations—monopoly, oligopoly, and limited competition—different from one another?
    How are the three basic structures of mass media organizations—monopoly, oligopoly, and limited competition—different from one another?

  2. Question 13.2

    What are the differences between direct and indirect payments for media products?
    What are the differences between direct and indirect payments for media products?

  3. Question 13.3

    What are some of society’s key expectations of its media organizations?
    What are some of society’s key expectations of its media organizations?

The Transition to an Information Economy

  1. Question 13.4

    Why has the federal government emphasized deregulation at a time when so many media companies are growing so large?
    Why has the federal government emphasized deregulation at a time when so many media companies are growing so large?

  2. Question 13.5

    How have media mergers changed the economics of mass media?
    How have media mergers changed the economics of mass media?

Specialization, Global Markets, and Convergence

  1. Question 13.6

    How do global and specialized markets factor into the new media economy? How are regular workers affected?
    How do global and specialized markets factor into the new media economy? How are regular workers affected?

  2. Question 13.7

    Using Disney as an example, what is the role of synergy in the current climate of media mergers?
    Using Disney as an example, what is the role of synergy in the current climate of media mergers?

  3. Question 13.8

    Why have Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft emerged as the leading corporations of the digital era?
    Why have Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft emerged as the leading corporations of the digital era?

Social Issues in Media Economics

  1. Question 13.9

    What are the differences between consumer choice and consumer control?
    What are the differences between consumer choice and consumer control?

  2. Question 13.10

    What is cultural imperialism, and what does it have to do with the United States?
    What is cultural imperialism, and what does it have to do with the United States?

The Media Marketplace and Democracy

  1. Question 13.11

    What do critics and activists fear most about the concentration of media ownership? How do media managers and executives respond to these fears?
    What do critics and activists fear most about the concentration of media ownership? How do media managers and executives respond to these fears?

  2. Question 13.12

    What are some promising signs regarding the relationship between media economics and democracy?
    What are some promising signs regarding the relationship between media economics and democracy?

QUESTIONING THE MEDIA

  1. Question 13.13

    Why are consumers more likely to pay to download some digital content, like music and books, and less likely to pay for other content, like sports and news?
    Why are consumers more likely to pay to download some digital content, like music and books, and less likely to pay for other content, like sports and news?

  2. Question 13.14

    Why are narratives—media content—crucial to the success of a media corporation?
    Why are narratives—media content—crucial to the success of a media corporation?

  3. Question 13.15

    How does the concentration of media ownership limit the number of voices in the marketplace? Do we need rules limiting media ownership?
    How does the concentration of media ownership limit the number of voices in the marketplace? Do we need rules limiting media ownership?

  4. Question 13.16

    Is there such a thing as a global village? What does this concept mean to you?
    Is there such a thing as a global village? What does this concept mean to you?

LAUNCHPAD FOR MEDIA & CULTURE