Megalomania in the Media
Megalomania is the best way to describe the corporatization and consolidation of the world’s media today. The majority of media outlets are owned by a handful of megalomaniacs who are obsessed with wealth and power. The world’s media is being concentrated and monopolized by fewer and fewer companies. These companies share the common agenda to take over the world. The merge of Comcast, Universal Studios, and the remaining assets of General Electric’s National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), is one such example. This merge, like so many others can impact society in several ways.
The Comcast- NBC Universal merger is on the most successful in recent times. Comcast, ...view middle of the document...
Some popular networks include E!, Bravo, G4, MSNBC, and the Golf Channel. Their broadcast Television division operates networks that serve audiences in all 50 states. NBC Entertainment develops and schedules programming for prime-time, late-night, and daytime. NBC provides more than 30 hours of television news programming a week, including NBC Nightly with Brian Williams, Today, and Meet the Press. Some of the networks primetime newsmagazines include Dateline, and Rock Center with Brian Williams. NBC is the only broadcast news division with an affiliated cable channel, MSNBC which provides global, 24/7 coverage of news events (Steinberg, 2009).
In addition to television, the Comcast Corporation is growing an online presence. XFINITY offers high-speed internet in addition to Wi-Fi. XFINITY.com/TV allows people to watch XFINITY cable television online wherever they are and whenever they want. They have increased their communication range by partnering with Skype and Verizon Wireless. NBC News Digital operates several online news sites including NBC News.com, NBC Latino.com, NBC Politics.com, Today.com, and Nightly News.com. They also own several digital media outlets including Daily Candy, Fandango, and iVillage (Copps, 2013).
Comcast, with such a plethora of media outlets reaches millions of consumers in their homes, and on their mobile devices. There is no denying that consumers can get hundreds of channels on cable, and plug into thousands of websites. Due to corporatization and consolidation, people get their news and views from only a handful of media outlets, and therefore diversity suffers. This lack of meaningful competition and diversity in the marketplace means fewer diverse voices and fewer employment opportunities. For Example, the Comcast Corporation has thousands of media outlets, but they all represent only one opinion and point of view. The new consolidated Comcast Corporation is a media giant that is monopolizing the market. Media giants seek out the largest audience and advertising base, while stealing independent voices that are less able to sustain themselves financially.
In addition, the vertical merge elements between Comcast and NBC Universal resulted in several negative impacts on society and the media market as a whole. Considering Comcast consisted of all broadband...