Who owns the media? there are many different answers to this question, of course we as a people own the media, and we have ownership over the Internet, but there are also many large corporations that own the media, after I looked at The Media Channels Ownership Chart, it was interesting to see the major companies that run the mass media system. These six large corporations: Time Warner, Viacom, Walt Disney, News Corporation, Bertelsmann, Vivendi Universal and Time Warner. All of these names all ring a bell, but I never thought of them as the corporations that run our mass media production today.
For example The Walt Disney Corporation owns 29 Radio stations, 10 major news stations (ABC Television & Radio), the corporation also owns almost all of the major Film Producing companies such as Miramax, Touchstone, Buena Vista and others as well. These companies on the media ownership chart cover mostly television, radio, book publishing as well as large film companies. All the companies I assumed were large entities of their own, such as ABC are actually owned by these large corporations, so small public television stations are owned by larger companies with more power. Although these are some of the biggest corporations that run the mass media today, we as a people have a choice of what kind of media we choose to watch and listen too.
Internet is one of type of media that is not covered by these companies, the Internet it is a free world, there is no controlling what you can look at, what information is available and what information you can make available. When we use the Internet, it is almost automatic to us what websites we go to and what information we wish to see. This concept is called automaticity; "automaticity is a state where our minds operate without any conscious effort from us" (Media literacy 7). When one accesses their favorite sites on the Internet, it is almost an automatic action, like going to facebook or aol. These automatic routines are ingrained in our head so we get to choose what media we want to watch and enjoy.
In the textbook "Media Literacy", chapter one addresses the fact that we live in a media saturated world. This means we are constantly surrounded by all different kinds of media, television, commercials, advertisements, Internet and radio. It is our job to choose and filter what kind of media we choose to follow or listen to. One of the most powerful media devices is the television. "Television is still by far the dominant medium at 275 minutes per day" (Media Literacy 5). This means that we as a people watch on average about 275 minutes of television a day. That is a lot of television, so each individual needs to stop their 'automatic pilot' of just watching TV and filter out the stations that they don't want to watch, they have to be selective. So going back to the idea about the Media and ownership chart and all the networks, one can be media literate and choose what networks they agree with and enjoy watching. Although there are advantages to just watching whatever station is on, "it helps us get through many great decisions without the effort" (Media Literacy 8). But once one can be media literate and understand and comprehend media in an effective way, their automatic pilot will not be on anymore and they will be creating and making their own decisions.
For example The Walt Disney Corporation owns 29 Radio stations, 10 major news stations (ABC Television & Radio), the corporation also owns almost all of the major Film Producing companies such as Miramax, Touchstone, Buena Vista and others as well. These companies on the media ownership chart cover mostly television, radio, book publishing as well as large film companies. All the companies I assumed were large entities of their own, such as ABC are actually owned by these large corporations, so small public television stations are owned by larger companies with more power. Although these are some of the biggest corporations that run the mass media today, we as a people have a choice of what kind of media we choose to watch and listen too.
Internet is one of type of media that is not covered by these companies, the Internet it is a free world, there is no controlling what you can look at, what information is available and what information you can make available. When we use the Internet, it is almost automatic to us what websites we go to and what information we wish to see. This concept is called automaticity; "automaticity is a state where our minds operate without any conscious effort from us" (Media literacy 7). When one accesses their favorite sites on the Internet, it is almost an automatic action, like going to facebook or aol. These automatic routines are ingrained in our head so we get to choose what media we want to watch and enjoy.
In the textbook "Media Literacy", chapter one addresses the fact that we live in a media saturated world. This means we are constantly surrounded by all different kinds of media, television, commercials, advertisements, Internet and radio. It is our job to choose and filter what kind of media we choose to follow or listen to. One of the most powerful media devices is the television. "Television is still by far the dominant medium at 275 minutes per day" (Media Literacy 5). This means that we as a people watch on average about 275 minutes of television a day. That is a lot of television, so each individual needs to stop their 'automatic pilot' of just watching TV and filter out the stations that they don't want to watch, they have to be selective. So going back to the idea about the Media and ownership chart and all the networks, one can be media literate and choose what networks they agree with and enjoy watching. Although there are advantages to just watching whatever station is on, "it helps us get through many great decisions without the effort" (Media Literacy 8). But once one can be media literate and understand and comprehend media in an effective way, their automatic pilot will not be on anymore and they will be creating and making their own decisions.
Potter, W. James. Media Literacy. 4th ed. Minneapolis: Sage Publications, Inc, 2007. Print.
5 = Decent analysis
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