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Title: The Media Monopoly 6th Edition by Ben H. Bagdikian ISBN: 0-8070-6179-4 Publisher: Beacon Press Pub. Date: 24 March, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.2 (15 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: do you still think the government governs?
Comment: In his book, The Media Monopoly, Ben Bagdikian writes about the increasing centralization of the media by a small number of private organizations. He explains the concept, causes and consequences of the monopoly in the mass media. To begin with, the author points out that only twenty-three corporations own the eighty percent of American media (p. 21). They invest millions in different types of media for primarily two reasons: "money and influence" (p. 5). The power of these conglomerations is such that they can strongly influence the political and social views of the people, mainly through corruption and subtle persuasion techniques.
Monopoly is defined as the exclusive ownership of a service or a commodity. Ben Bagdikian applies the concept of monopoly to the media industry. Giant companies own almost every mass medium: "newspapers, magazines, books, radios, broadcast television, cable systems and programming, movies, recordings [and] video cassettes" (p. xiii). Examples of this phenomenon are Capital Cities/ABC, Gannett and Time Warner corporations, among others (p. 21,22). By buying every different medium, these powerful giants communicate messages based on the owner's interest; thus, narrowing down the available sources of information. For instance, ABC, CBS and NBC networks control the majority of the national television. In addition, another consequence of the media monopoly is that as a result of private ownership, media turned into a business. As Bagidikian says, "now magazines aren't started with the desire of someone to express what he believes; [instead], they become bland to avoid controversy" (p. 112, 85). For example, "newspapers get seventy five percent of their revenues from ads, general circulation magazines fifty percent, and broadcasting almost a hundred percent" (p.115)
The author states that one of the causes of the media monopoly is that publishers and broadcast producers never talk of the present condition of the media ownership. Gannett's editors would state slogans such as "ten choices for the reader" or "Gannett: a world of different ideas where freedom speaks", when actually, the opposite is happening (p. 75). Since 1970, Gannett has been buying local newspapers from many different regions. The strategy is simple: before buying a locally owned newspaper they promise to continue with its local news and values. They also assure that they will make it better. However, after buying it, they reduce its staff and local news, and tell the current publisher "how much he/she must produce in profits"; thus, they turn the community newspaper into one more link of their big chain where money is what counts (p. 78).
However, the media monopoly not only affects people's social views. When talking about politics, as the United States lacks of a national daily press, Bagdikian implies that "no national news medium can, by itself, serve the American voter" (p. 17). Consequently, private media guide every American citizen at the time of elections. Unfortunately, as profit is always the most prominent interest of these corporations, there are some corrupt cases in media and political history. The case Nixon - Berlin is the example he uses to illustrate how not only media depends on politics, but also how politics depends on media. When Richard Berlin was in trouble because of an antimonopoly law, he asked President Richard Nixon to exempt him and his friends from it. He wrote the President a letter in which he clearly stated how his chains would either help or not President Nixon in his political image depending on his cooperation. Of course, Berlin and his friends were quickly released from the antimonopoly law, and "President Nixon was given his political reward, the support of media organizations" (p. 98). Bagdikian's writes a clear critique about the current American media system. The role of the media has turned from an informational and editorial role to a space where to place the greatest possible number of ads in order to increase profitability. Furthermore, the author can certainly explain the serious social and political consequences that the media monopoly can have by using Gannett's and President Nixon's instances. By explaining every part of the American media monopoly, the author develops a tremendous research to prove his thesis: media are able to shape almost every aspect of our society; hence, almost every aspect of people's life.
I consider The Media Monopoly a powerful and convincing statement about the present condition of American media. Being aware of how so few corporations are able to control almost every aspect of our society, is the first step to open people's mind so they can start analyzing media effects with more criticism. At least I've tried to open mine. Also, amazed by some facts the author provides, I've started telling my friends about how the idea of a controversial media we have is now turning into a pyramid were a small top controls everything below it. Disillusion is my feeling after finishing the book. I knew that there are always persuasion techniques in most messages the media transmits; but I wasn't completely aware of how media conglomerates can affect us so powerfully. In order to continue living in a sane democracy, we need reliable and objective information. Otherwise, our citizen's life turns into a fictitious world were we could lose our freedom of thoughts.
Rating: 5
Summary: A frightening picture of increasing media concentration
Comment: When Bagdikian wrote his first edition of "The Media Monopoly" in 1983, noting that just 50 corporations controlled over half of the media outlets in the United States, many called him an alarmist. Now in its fifth edition, Bagdikian is able to give (uhappily, I'm sure) his critics a resounding "I told you so" by noting that the number of media-monsters dominating over half of America's media landscape has shrunk from 50 to ten.
The situation that Bagdikian describes is so dire that it makes one wistful for the good old days of those orginal 50 corporations in 1983.
Bagdikian makes a clear and effective case demonstrating how this media concentration subverts democracy.
"The Media Monopoly" is an important book that deserves to be read by anyone who thinks that our 500-channel cable universe and the Internet mean that we are living in a fully-informed, democratic society.
I look forward to any potential sixth edition of "The Media Monopoly" with dread.
Review by Richard Huffman
Rating: 4
Summary: Attack of the Libertarian Media
Comment: The cover of this book reports that when Bagdikian published the first edition in 1983, it was dismissed as "alarmist." But he has been vindicated, as the book has reached its sixth edition and the problems he first articulated have become far worse in the ensuing years. The media monopoly problem is far from alarmist. It's alarming. Bagdikian deserves major credit for first publicizing the troubling trend of consolidated media ownership by huge mega-conglomerate corporations. Now we are down to six major media owners. Bagdikian proves that the media have been enslaved to the will of advertisers for decades anyway, as most forms of media make far more money from selling ads than from the members of the public who consume their offerings. But the problem is currently worse than ever as the focus is no longer the public interest, but boosting short-term profits, which has just about eliminated the search for truth or any long-term social focus.
The problem with this edition of the book is that the only current portions are the foreword and afterword, in which Bagdikian outlines where things stand today (that is, worse than ever). Otherwise, the main body of the book appears to be mostly the third edition from 1990. This leads to outdated information and conclusions that are a serious problem for such a quickly developing subject. Although Bagdikian is now more than eighty years old, this work would benefit significantly from a thorough re-write of the main text, rather than the piecemeal additions to the foreword and afterword that supposedly indicate a "new" edition. (Note that plenty of other more modern books have stolen Bagdikian's thunder and cover the issue equally well.) Also, Bagdikian is frequently guilty of attention-grabbing polemics and sarcasm while making his points. This is unnecessary as the facts can speak for themselves.
Regardless, this book is monumentally important not only for its investigation into inequitable corporate control of the media, but also Bagdikian's great insights into the ensuing political and cultural effects on society. This includes everything from the greater costs of goods caused by excessive advertising (a direct contradiction of classic capitalist theory), to the dumbing down of public knowledge of important social issues. In fact, the modern America media is not liberal, despite what close-minded politicians tell you. It's libertarian in its rush for total profit-driven focus and financial control of those same politicians. The general increase in social apathy and malaise among citizens indicates what is wrong with the mainstream media, and the culprit is the relentless and cruel rush for short-term profitability. Public knowledge is the key to a healthy democracy, and corporations have destroyed that for much of America. Worship your new corporate masters. [~doomsdayer520~]
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Title: Rich Media, Poor Democracy: Communication Politics in Dubious Times by Robert Waterman McChesney ISBN: 1565846346 Publisher: New Press Pub. Date: October, 2000 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Conglomerates and the Media by Erik Barnouw, Eric Barnouw, Thomas Frank ISBN: 1565844726 Publisher: New Press Pub. Date: September, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Corporate Media and the Threat to Democracy (Open Media Pamphlet Series) by Robert Waterman McChesney ISBN: 1888363479 Publisher: Seven Stories Press Pub. Date: April, 1997 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
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Title: Manufacturing Consent : The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Noam Chomsky, Edward S. Herman ISBN: 0375714499 Publisher: Pantheon Books Pub. Date: 15 January, 2002 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Media, Markets, and Democracy by C. Edwin Baker ISBN: 0521009774 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 05 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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