Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The issue of media conglomeration, or the phenomenon of a vast amount of cultural (media) production being controlled by a relatively small number of corporations, has generated heated debates among communication scholars, policymakers, and industry practitioners. In these debates, the concept of media conglomeration primarily refers to ownership structures within media and communications industries, as well as to the nature and organization of this type of cultural production. The phenomenon of media conglomeration, though, touches upon a much broader set of interrelated issues – ranging from questions on diversity, competition, and control in a tightly oligopolistic market, to concerns over the wider societal implications of a situation where huge conglomerates dominate the global communications system (→ Globalization of the Media ). Drawing upon → public sphere theories, scholars working within a critical research tradition have asked questions about how far and at what price a communication system can be dominated by a handful of corporations, and how this might affect the diversity of information and argument needed for effective and well-informed citizenship ( McChesney 1997 ; Bagdikian 2004 ; → Critical Theory ). Sharp political economic analyses of how the corporate structure and strategy of media conglomerates tend to homogenize cultural production and restrict critical ... log in or subscribe to read full text