Researching Media Institutions:

Researching Media Institutions:

Media Conglomerate-  A media conglomerate is a company that owns large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies, and the Internet.

Public Service Broadcasting- Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions.

Globalisation- Is the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale.

Oligopoly- Is where a group of people own a large amount of companies. Not owned by one individual holding all the power. (Remember Monopoly objective!)

Convergence- Is the merging of both old and new media and can be seen as a product or a system e.g a mobile phone acting as a computer.

Synergy- Is where two or more things work together in a way that produces an effect greater the sum of their individual effects.


1) What are the top 5 media conglomerates in the world and what range of companies do they own?

No.1 Comcast Corporation (owns)-NBC Universal, MSNBC.
No.2 The Walt Disney Company (owns)-American broadcasting company (ABC), ESPN.
No.3 Time Warner Inc (owns)-American on-Line (AOL), CNN, Warner Bros Studios.
No.4 Viacom (owns)-Nickelodeon, Spike TV, Comedy Central.
No.5 News Corporation (owns)-20th Century Fox, Fox Sports 1 and 2.

2) What criticisms have been made against media conglomerates?

Media conglomerates have been criticised because of the fact that they own so many companies and hold so much power that they dominate the market leaving little opportunity for larger companies. Example of a media conglomerate to do this is Google. Its own 65% of the Internet base.

3) How has the expansion of companies led to a concentration of media ownership?

The expansion of many large media companies to woning smaller companies mean that there is little ownership left available. These large companies own the smaller companies giving all the power to one individual. An example of this is the amount of power and companies held by the Murdoch family.