~ Who owns the media? Is the media fair and unbiased anymore, or are viewers the ones being programmed? Updated. ~
A recent meme of multiple media outlets including New York Times, Vanity Fair, Salon, Rolling Stone, Washington Post, AP, CBS, The Guardian and NPR, all using the word “joy” over and over to describe the candidacy of Kamala Harris has prompted many to ask “Who owns the media?” After all, it cannot be mere coincidence that, hot on the heels of many of the same outlets collectively referring to JD Vance as “weird,” suddenly they have all latched onto the word “joy” for Kamala.
Babylon Bee: Kamala Explains 93% Of Staff Quit Because They Couldn’t Handle The Joy
Who Owns the Media?
The media landscape in America is dominated by a handful of powerful corporations and individuals who hold significant influence over the content and narratives that shape public opinion. These media moguls often push a liberal agenda, using their platforms to promote progressive ideologies and marginalize conservative voices.
According to Wikipedia, the large media conglomerates operating globally include Bertelsmann, National Amusements (Paramount Global), Sony Group Corporation, News Corp, Comcast, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox Corporation, Hearst Communications, Amazon (Amazon MGM Studios), Grupo Globo (South America), and Lagardère Group. In 2022, the largest media conglomerates in terms of revenue included Comcast NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount Global. WebFX has narrowed it down to six companies that own most of the media.
At the forefront of this media consolidation are companies like Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal and its subsidiaries such as MSNBC and CNBC. These networks consistently present a liberal bias in their reporting, favoring Democratic politicians and policies while disparaging conservative viewpoints. Similarly, Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox has given them control over a vast array of media outlets, including ABC News, which has been criticized for its left-leaning coverage.
Another major player in the media industry has been AT&T, which owned Warner Media before selling it to another major player—Discovery (now Warner Brothers Discovery) , encompassing CNN, HBO, and other influential media properties. CNN, in particular, has faced accusations of peddling fake news and promoting a far-left agenda, with its anchors and contributors regularly espousing liberal talking points. Who owns Warner Brothers Discovery? Vanguard Group Inc, BlackRock Inc. and other companies own the large conglomerate. Black Rock, owned by companies including The Vanguard Group, State Street, and Bank of America (some of the largest institutional shareholders of BlackRock), would make an entire article in itself.
The Billionaires Behind the Media
Behind these corporations are powerful individuals like Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, and Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg News. Other billionaires, including Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, control cable TV networks that are powerful but not primarily news focused. These billionaire moguls use their media empires to advance their personal leftist political agendas, often at the expense of objectivity and journalistic integrity.
Journalists Lean Left
That’s not all. When you take a look at the journalists employed by these leftist-run media conglomerates, it isn’t surprising to discover they vote and donate left… heavily, according to the Center for Public Integrity. So it isn’t surprising that the left-leaning media DELIBERATELY tampers with interviews, ignores facts, and puts out misleading information frequently. See following video.
These leftist journalists get paid well, extremely well, for reporting biased information. Take NPR, a taxpayer-funded media outlet where several hosts earn nearly $500,000 a year for sticking to the party propaganda.
And it doesn’t help NPR look either professional or unbiased when CEO Katherine Maher publicly states that “Truth can be a distraction from getting things done.”
Radio Station Takeover
And it’s not just print media, television and journalist who are skewed to the left. Radio stations in the U.S. are being purchased by one of the world’s most powerful and formidable leftists: George Soros.
According to The Post, existing FCC rules, prohibit foreign company ownership of US radio stations to exceed 25% — but a filing acquired by The Post reveals Soros’ asking the commission to make an exception. And if Soros succeeds in bypassing the FCC regulations, he would gain control of Audacity and their programming potentially right before the election. Reportedly, Audacity isn’t the only radio group Soros is looking to acquire.
Problems with Censorship on Social Media
Then there is the problem with leftist bias and censorship on social media. Social media giants like Facebook and the former Twitter have come under fire for their alleged censorship of conservative voices and promotion of liberal narratives. These platforms have been accused of selectively enforcing their content policies, banning or suppressing right-wing perspectives while allowing left-wing content to proliferate unchecked. Fortunately, Elon Musk has recently made X more or less a platform for free speech, but Facebook has remained a bastion of leftist thought and socialist propaganda thanks to the agenda of owner Mark Zuckerberg. Leftist-run META also owns Instagram, What’s App, and Threads.
What Is Media Pluralism?
Media pluralism refers to the distribution and concentration of media ownership. For the media to be fair and balanced, it needs to be held and operated by a wide variety of owners, reflecting various political, cultural and social points of view as well as different journalistic and research styles. Unfortunately, today’s media is held by a small network of corporations, each network managing multiple media outlets. To make matters worse, these dominant media conglomerates share not only the same leftist values, but frequently the SAME TALKING POINTS. Case in point: the Trump/Vance ticket is “weird.” The Harris/Walz ticket is “joyful.” And the attempted assassination of former President Trump was negligently minimized by most of these same outlets.
The New York Times Company
Even publishers who are nominally conservative have become part of the problem. Take the New York Times, for instance. While left-leaning* Wikipedia says The Times leans to the right politically, it also says that The New York Times has primarily endorsed Democratic candidates, supporting a total of twelve Republican candidates and thirty Democratic candidates, and ONLY Democrat candidates since 1960. The New York Times Company owns several publications and podcasts, including “The Daily” podcast which has an AllSidesMedia Bias Rating™ of Lean Left. So, while The Times may lean to the right of other leftist-owned media conglomerates, that does not mean it truly unbiased, nor does it represents conservative values across the board anymore. So it is not surprising that The NY Times also jumped on the Kamala/joy bandwagon.
The concentration of media ownership in the hands of a few liberal elites has led to a homogenization of news and opinion, with dissenting voices being silenced or marginalized. This lack of diversity in media ownership and content has far-reaching implications for American democracy, as it undermines the free exchange of ideas and inhibits the ability of citizens to make informed decisions based on a balanced presentation of facts and opinions. It also leads to what should be news outlets acting as little more than propaganda outlets.
Recommended Reading:
- “Media Bias: A Century of Struggle” by Peter H. Gregg Summary: This book examines the historical development of media bias in the United States, arguing that the media has consistently leaned to the left since the early 20th century. Gregg provides a comprehensive analysis of media ownership, advertising revenue, and journalistic practices, demonstrating how these factors contribute to a left-leaning bias.
- “The Media Matrix: What Happens When the Media Becomes the Story” by Brent Bozell III and Tim Graham Summary: Bozell and Graham, both conservative media critics, analyze numerous news outlets and media figures, providing examples of what they perceive as liberal bias in reporting. They argue that the media often prioritizes liberal values and agendas over objective reporting.
- “Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News” by Bernard Goldberg Summary: In this book, former CBS news producer Bernard Goldberg claims that he witnessed firsthand the liberal bias within the network. He provides anecdotes and statistics to support his argument, asserting that the media often presents a distorted view of reality that aligns with liberal perspectives.
- “The Seven Deadly Sins of Media” by Joseph C. Maxwell Summary: Maxwell, a sociologist, examines the ways in which media outlets may inadvertently or intentionally promote liberal ideologies. He identifies seven primary biases that contribute to this problem, including confirmation bias and the tendency to prioritize sensationalism over accuracy.
- “Media Malpractice: How Obama Got His Way – And How You Can Fight Back” by Ed Klein Summary: In this book, Klein argues that the media’s favorable coverage of President Barack Obama played a significant role in his election and re-election. He provides examples of what he perceives as biased reporting and suggests that the media’s liberal leanings influenced their coverage of the president.
- “The Liberal Media: A Smear, or a Reality?” by James Aronson Summary: Aronson, a former journalist, investigates the claim of liberal media bias and provides evidence to support the idea that the media leans to the left. He examines various factors, such as media ownership and the political affiliations of journalists, to argue that the liberal bias is real and significant.
- “The Gulf Between Us: Dispatches from Beyond the ‘Liberal Media'” by James Boylan Summary: Boylan, a liberal journalist, critiques the media’s perceived liberal bias from a left-leaning perspective. He argues that the media often fails to represent the views and experiences of working-class Americans and other marginalized groups.
- “The Media Elite: 102 Professors, Politicians, and Pundits Debate Media and Politics” edited by David L. Protess, Fay Lomax Cook, Jack D. Glaser, David C. Kimball, Kenneth M. Winneg, Thomas J. Deluca, and Elizabeth A. Schechter Summary: This book features a debate between prominent media critics, academics, and politicians on the topic of media bias. The contributors discuss various aspects of media bias, including the influence of media ownership and the political affiliations of journalists.
- “The Politics of News: The News Media’s Reporting of Foreign and Domestic News in the Post-Cold War World” edited by Doris A. Graber, Denis McQuail, and Pippa Norris Summary: This edited volume features contributions from various scholars who examine the political influences on news reporting. While not solely focused on liberal bias, several chapters discuss the ways in which political ideologies can shape media content and presentation.
* A Note About Wikipedia
Wikipedia is supposed to be a platform where all sides can contribute, but that is less and less true. “Talk” pages where decisions are made about content are increasingly dominated by left-leaning contributors who out talk and out vote other contributors. The only way to ensure plurality is for many more conservatives, libertarians and Christians to participate on Wikipedia and to hold their ground on the Talk pages. And while we are on the subject of Christian participation, it is vitally important for Christians to vote.
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There used to be a “Fairness Doctrine” that required TV and radio to provide both sides of an issue. It was repealed in the ‘80’s. Maybe it should be brought back
Yeah, the Fairness Doctrine seemed like a good policy in theory, but it was apparently another means for the government to throttle dissent since the government seemed to be the one making the call on what was “fair.”