Determining The Relevancy of the News Media in Our Lives
(Op-Ed)
The relevancy of the news media in our lives must be based on a political
analysis which is accurate, non-partisan and based on facts rather than fiction.
One view currently being pedaled is that “all news needs to be balanced”. In theory,
all news needs to be balanced. But what has “news balancing” meant. It has
become the common practice of putting apples and oranges in different baskets without
any attempt to examine their internal atomic structure. In the end we learn
nothing because we are not given enough information to determine what dominate political
trend is occurring within each apple and orange.
This type of approach has become a common
trend in CNN’s reporting. The central idea behind this approach is to say
little or nothing so that they will not piss off their viewers and loose
advertising dollars. The most dangerous
trend occurring in our politics is the drift toward right-wing extremism, but
all we hear is how liberal and conservative forces are equally responsible for
our broken politics.
Another dangerous trend can be
linked to Fox news which is owned by News Corporation. They feed their
listeners with what I call “Cool Aid News”. They have combined real news with entertainment
and “Radio Shock Jocks” News. Many
Americans who get their news on the fly are unable to separate real news from
entertainment news, so they eventually fall victims to lies and falsehoods. For
example, many news reporters do not question the fact that President Obama is a
citizen, not a socialist or Moslem, but a large minority of Fox News listens
has brought into this lie. As long as Americans continue to drank the “cool aid,
the advertising dollars continue to roll in.
NBC, ABC and MSBC tend to provide a
more accurate, balanced approach of the News, but listeners should critically
examine their reporting also. Rather than have reporters providing
entertainment news as real news, they tend to rely on a cadre of liberal and conservatives
reporters who provide it’s listeners with choices based on real news. If
listeners are given the real facts and choices, they will be in a better position
to determine the relevancy of the news in their lives and make better
decisions.
Below is a list of the 10 biggest
news outlets. The list was provided by Joseph Milord who is a journalist major
at Rutgers University
The 10 biggest News Outlets
Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA
German media giant Bertelsmann starts our list
off with nearly $21 billion in revenue and over $800 million generated in
profit. Die flagship media company in Europe makes its name with assets that
include the RTL Group, one of the biggest television broadcasters in Europe;
Gruner + Jahr, the biggest magazine publisher in Europe; and Random House, the
biggest book publisher in the world. Its multifaceted approach to media
ownership and great standing in Europe makes
it one of two international selections on this list.
Gannett Company Inc.
Having grossed over $5 billion in
2012, and on track to top that number in 2013, Gannett just makes this list at
the no. 9 spot. Gannett makes its name in the newspaper business with ownership
of USA Today, the country’s second largest publication by circulation, and many
other publications: such as, the Detroit Free Press and The Indianapolis Star,
which makes it the largest publisher in the United States. Gannett also owns
over 20 local television stations with various NBC, CBS and ABC affiliates
owned in different states. Online, Gannett maintains ownership of Cars.com and
a 50% stake in Career Builder.
CBS Corporation
After spinning off into its own
company from Viacom in 2006, CBS has mainly controlled the network television
and radio broadcasting side of the business. With the most watched network
under its name, CBS of course, the corporation has been able to generate over
$14 billion in revenue and $1.3 in profit. CBS owns a 50% stake in the CW
network, which it shares with Time Warner, while it fully owns Showtime, CBS
Radio and Simon & Schuster, one of the big four of print publishers. CBS
also owns its own sports network.
British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc
Hailing
from across the pond on the shores of England
Sky owes a large portion of its success
to the large amounts of revenue it has been able to garner with televising
rights for the English Premier League with Sky Sports, having valued those
rights at $3.5 billion over two years to air 116 live soccer matches. Sky shows
many of the U.S.
Liberty
With a relatively modest $11
billion in revenue and nearly $2 billion in profit, Liberty Media makes the
list at no. 6 on our list of the media big boys. Its chairmen, John Malone,
counted Starz and Encore, which combined had about 50 million subscribers,
amongst his biggest assets in 2012, while most of the money that Liberty has
been able to make has been garnered through investment in other companies, such
as Barnes & Noble (17%) and Sirius-XM (49%). Liberty Media also owns very
minor shares of Time Warner and Viacom, while Malone also owns the Atlanta
Braves. Starz has since been spun-off into its own company, Starz Inc.
News Corporation
The
apple of Rupert Murdoch’s eye, News Corp enters our list at the no. 5 spot.
News Corp’s counts the Fox Network and 20th Century Fox amongst its biggest
cash cows, while its news division, the fair and balanced Fox News ranks as the
no. 1 cable news network in America U.S. with Wall Street Journal, the largest paper
in America
It
must be mentioned, though, that News Corporation makes this list on a
technicality as, after earning nearly $34 billion in revenue and over $1.1
billion in profit in 2012, the company has split into News Corp and 21st Century Fox, though they are both
still owned by Murdoch. News Corporation also owns a 36% stake in Hulu, the
biggest piece of the pie that it shares with Comcast/NBA and Disney/ABC, which
each owns 32% of the website.
Viacom
Coming
in at no. 4 is the company that, quite literally, owns the music television
game, with control over MTV, VH1 and BET. With nearly $15 billion in revenue
and over $2 billion in profit, Viacom also has its stake in the movie-making
business with Paramount Pictures. The company, in its current form, was created
when it split from the old Viacom in 2006 along with the CBS Corporation. Viacom
also counts Nickelodeon, Spike and Comedy Central among its assets
Time Warner Inc.
Time Warner actually suffered a
loss in revenue of nearly $29 billion in 2012, but still come in at no. 3
having earned over $3.5 billion profit. The company has been downsizing in
recent years, having seen America On-Line (AOL) and Time Warner Cable spin off
into their own distinctly independent companies in recent, while Time Inc., the
division of Time Warner that controls it’s magazines such as Sports
Illustrated, People, and (you guessed it), Time magazine, is expected to become
independent by the end of 2013.
Time Warner will, however, be
holding onto its biggest assets such as the Turner networks TBS, TNT, HBO, CNN
and Warner Brothers studios, while they also own a $50 million stake in the CW
Network. Time Warner also owns the DC Comics series, which allowed them to
produce their most recent cinematic success, “Man of Steel,” and compete in the
sports network circuit with ownership of NBA TV.
The Walt Disney Disney Company
With revenue topping $42
billion and profits of over $5.5 million, Disney comes in at second amongst our
list of biggest media conglomerates. The House of Mouse includes many of
today’s big boys in its family, the most notable of which are the American
Broadcasting Company (ABC), its movie-making division Walt Disney Pictures, as
well as Pixar, and the Entertainment Sports and Programming Network, otherwise
known as ESPN. Its ownership of Marvel Comics puts it head to head with Time
Warner in the battle of super-hero motion pictures, which it won in 2012 as
“The Avengers” grossed over $1 billion in box offices. Disney also has a 50%
stake in the A&E Networks.
Comcast Corporation
Comcast is your top dog amongst media conglomerates in 2013, as
the only company to reach over $6 billion in profit and with nearly 50% more
revenue than nearest competitor Walt Disney in 2012, having earned over $62.5
billion. Comcast received its biggest boost in trying to rise to no. 1 in
taking over NBC Universal in 2010, which also gave them a significant advantage
over Disney who still have yet ascend its own cable news network (ABC News) to
a level where it can compete with the likes of Comcast owned MSNBC.
Comcast also
does battle with Disney on the movie and theme park with Universal Studios.
Comcast will add a significant asset to its NBC Sports division when it begins
broadcasting Barclays Premier League matches live in August, a deal they
secured with a three-year $240 million dollar offer
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