Challenging the Media Monopoly

Economics -> American Capitalism and Social Justice Spring 12

Introduction

Media-Octopus

Challenging the media monopoly is not a new idea among activists. FAIR, the Center for Media and Democracy, the Media Education Foundation, Project Censored, and the Center for Digital Democracy are only a handful of activist organizations who have made strides in protecting consumers, educating the public, criticizing and holding corporations accountable, and exposing Big Media wrongdoing. Through accomplishing these goals, each organization remains consistent with important ideals relevent in the works of Gar Alperovitz #Gar Alperovitz's Case for Alternatives to Capitalism and the Obstacles Posed by the Media Monopoly, William Domhoff #William Domhoff's Take on the Role of Mass Media in America and Michael Yates #Relating the Media's Control to Unions. They also in turn overcome the shortcomings of capitalism in which Bowles, Edwards & Roosevelt #Overcoming the Shortcomings of Capitalism Revealed by Bowles, Edwards & Roosevelt discuss, while simultaneously reaching the ideals of social justice.

Contending Perspectives Among Scholars

Overcoming the Shortcomings of Capitalism Revealed by Bowles, Edwards & Roosevelt

Background

In the text, Understand Capitalism, Written by Samuel Bowles,Richard Edwards and Frank Roosevel,a three-dimensional approach to economics, which in simple terms is refered to as political economy, is explained. The core values of the political economy discussed are efficiency, fairness and democracy. Efficiency speaks mostly to conserving the inputs of our economic system and not being wasteful, fairness calls for equal opportunity for all, and democracy needs citizens to have equal access to resources and influence and that influence on society must be accountable for its actions. <ref ="Understanding Capitalism"> Bowles, Samuel, Richard Edwards, and Frank Roosevelt. Understanding Capitalism: Competition, Command, and Change. New York: Oxford UP, 2005. Print. </ref> By correctly following these criterions, social activists, such as those challenging the media conglomerate, can help overcome the shortcomings that have developed within capitalism.

William Domhoff's Take on the Role of Mass Media in America

Views on Media Monopoly

William Domhoff expresses his feeling on the mass media in chapter five of his book Who Rules America? : Challenges to Corporate and Class Dominance. Domhoff explains how members of the power elite and corporate America own the majority of the mass media. However, Domhoff argues that this has no real effect or influence on public opinion. If this is in fact true, then the hundreds of millions of dollars a year spent by the power elite to control public opinion are simply wasted. A large number of social activists groups exist because they do feel that public opinion is in fact greatly influenced by the mass media. These different groups take diverse approaches in order to provide insight and services publically to any citizen willing to examine the role of media in American society further. Domhoff’s beliefs and the work of these social activism groups are directly correlated because the existence of these groups serves as a main reason why Domhoff’s belief pertaining to the mass media and public opinion is true (Public Opinion is not effected by the mass media even though the majority of it is owned by the power elite). Hypothetically speaking if the mass media was the only news source available for the public, the corporate world would have a larger influence on public opinion. In actuality, the media created by social activism provides other insights on what is going on in the world today.

The work of the social activism groups previously shown in this wiki provide examples of the driving forces that provide reasoning behind why Domhoff’s believes the role of mass media is minimal in society. Both, The Media Education Foundation and Fair Organization reduce mass media authority by expanding the overall media spectrum via presenting more diversity in the news. The Center for Media and Democracy successfully limits the role of mass media by attacking the power elite (who attempts to control public opinion) through exposing corporate spin and governmental propaganda. The Center for Digital Democracy also shrinks corporate influence by informing citizens about digital marketing issues. <ref =name"Domhoff"> Domhoff, G. William. Who Rules America?: Challenges to Corporate and Class Dominance. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2010. Print.</ref>

Gar Alperovitz's Case for Alternatives to Capitalism and the Obstacles Posed by the Media Monopoly

Background

Gar Alperovitz is a social activist and political economist who advocates for positive change and reforms to our current political-economic system in order to reclaim fundamental American ideals and values that have been suppressed by the current system in the United States. In his book, America Beyond Capitalism, he specifically discusses his growing concern for the state of democracy, liberty and equality within the United States and how a combination of elements defined by our current political-economic system have had the effect of undermining the very ideals upon which the nation was founded. He defines this phenomenon as the basis of a "systemic crisis", in which “the political-economic system must slowly lose legitimacy because the realities it produces contradict the values it proclaims” [3].

In Alperovitz’s writings, he emphasizes the need for an alternative to capitalism and how the development of such an alternative system will depend on the American public’s willingness to believe that change is in fact possible and not simply the product of utopian reveries in dark times. While he acknowledges that the notion of restructuring an entire political economic system may seem a daunting, if not unrealistic task, he provides convincing evidence to refute this notion by presenting a series of creative bottom up strategies that are being implemented in communities across the United States. He demonstrates how these strategies have allowed for the empowerment of their respective communities rather than that of the corporate elite.

Views on the Media Monopoly

One element contributing to the current systemic crisis is the existence of a growing media monopoly that is enabling corporations to exercise near-complete control over the content of information that is being disseminated by mass media outlets. This movement away from the media serving as a balanced and unbiased source of information, upon which policy and opinions are often shaped, is in effect impeding the democratic process by underrepresenting the opinions of various groups that make up a significant portion of the American population.

It is in this way that the corporate elite are able to support their own interests, thereby contributing to their wealth, and invoke censorship as needed to prevent threats to their interests, while maintaining the claim that they are providing a service to the masses. In a system that allows the few this degree of control over the many, the loss of liberties is imminent.

Alperovitz contends, based on the findings of prominent conservative sociologist Robert Nisbet that "[liberty] can be enhanced by weakening the state… [or] it can be enhanced by protecting or bolstering the position of the individual.” He continues, “A critical way to support the individual… is to nurture the kinds of “intermediate institutions” that stand between the lone individual and the state, thereby providing both social support and a buffer against centralized power” [35].

In support of this hypothesis, social activists have long been devoting their efforts and resources to counteracting these potentially disastrous side-effects of maintaining a capitalistic system, through the creation of a number of diverse initiatives aimed toward addressing the underlying issues contributing to the problem, as well as challenging the perpetrators and holding them accountable to their actions.

Yates Relating the Media's Control to Unions

Views on Media Monopoly

As Michael Yates describes in his text, employers, especially those in big corporations, rarely have a favorable view of unions. They do not see them as beneficial or necessary. This is because it takes away a portion of the control that employers hold over their employees. Corporations have been shown to also exhibit control over the media. As a result, unions are rarely presented in a favorable light in the media. News stories talk of violence breaking out during a strike, but it is seldom discussed that that strike was started by employers in the first place. Understanding that this unfavorable view has been perpretrated by corporation is very important for unions workers. They must be educated on the fact that their employers lie whenever it is in their interests and that repeated propaganda has disguised and hidden the very nature of the American society.

The way in which the American society has been threatened by the corporate elite in terms of union portrayal is directly mimicked in the......................................

Social activists understand the same notion

Activist Organizations

FAIR: Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting

Background

FAIR is a national media watch group. The organization is anti-censorship and calls for more diversity in the media. they scrutinize modern media practices and work to defend the jounalists who voices are constantly muzzled. FAIR works with both journalists and activists across the country to construcitvely critize news outlets as well as provide hard hitting journalism of their own. FAIR sees issues within manymedia businesses including, corporate ownership, advertiser influence, official agendas, telecommunication policy, the PR industry, pressure groups, the narrow range of debate, censorship and finally sensationalism. <ref name= "FAIR 100">"What's FAIR?" FAIR: Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=100>. </ref>

Author's Perspectives

Alperovitz

Though Alperovitz does not explicitly discuss the Media Monopoly in great detail, it is clear that his beliefs fall in line with those of FAIR. Like Alperovitz, FAIR believes that while gradual steps must be taken in order to incite sustainable change to the current political-economic system, that structural reform is crucial to the maintenance of the foundation of values upon which the United States was built. On their website, FAIR further specifies that "structural reform is ultimately needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent public broadcasting and promote strong non-profit sources of information." <ref name= "FAIR 100" />

Center for Media and Democracy's PR Watch

Background

The Center for Media Democracy (CMD) is a non-profit investigative reporting group that focuses on exposing corporate spin and government propaganda. The public interest group is national, independent, non-partisan and accepts no government or for-profit corporate funding. <ref name= "PR Watch">"About Us." Center for Media and Democracy. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://www.prwatch.org/cmd>. </ref>

Ways in which CMD Educates the Public:

• Publishes online magazines, PR Watch and The Spin
• Manages SourceWatch
• Launches original investigations
• Supports strategic public education campaigns

Media Education Foundation: documentary films. challenging media.

Background

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The mission of the Media Education Foundation is to inspire the American public to critically think about the social, political and cultural impact on mass media, through documentary films. The foundation is a non profit organization, which aspires to help shape the way young people think about race,class, gender, health and political participation in Democracy in order to strengthen the voice of independent, non-corporate media. From examples of misogeny and sexism within pop culture to the war on oil, the MEF tries to spark discussions in the classroom about some of the most complex, yet critical issues of our time. <ref name="MEF">"About MEF | Media Education Foundation." About MEF. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://www.mediaed.org/wp/about-mef>.</ref>

Project Censored: Media Democracy in Action

Background

Project Censored was founded by Carl Jensen in 1976. The organization's mission is to present students and the public with the News stories that are underreported, ignored, misrepresented, or censored by the US corporate media. They also make it their priority to educate students on the role of free press in a free society. Over the past 30 years, through their partnership with SSU, Project Censored has trained over 1,500 SSU (Sonoma State University) students in investigative research in order to protect the American public against modern censorship. The organization defines modern censorship as subtle, yet constant and sophisticated manipulation of reality in our mass media outlets. The orgnization's list of the top 25 most censored nationally ranked news stories tries to counteract corporate media censorship as best as it can.<ref name= "Project Censored"> "ABOUT | Project Censored." Project Censored. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://www.projectcensored.org/about/>. </ref>

Center for Digital Democracy

Background

The Center for Digital Democracy (CCD) is a leading consumer protection and privacy organization who is at the forefront of research, public education, and advocacy for protecting consumers. They aspire to keep consumers, as well as policy makers and the press, informed on contemporary digital marketing issues.<ref name= "CDD"> "About CDD." Center for Digital Democracy. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://www.democraticmedia.org/about-cdd>.</ref>

Issues Researching

• Digital health issues
• Digital marketing
• Digital Privacy
• Youth digital marketing

Author's Perspectives

Yates

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