Media conglomerate

From ArticleWorld


A media conglomerate is a very large, usually multinational corporation that owns a large part of the mass media market. These corporations usually have holdings in the news media, as well as movies, music, book publishing, newspapers, websites, television and concerts. Media conglomerates are sometimes, but not always, owned by even larger, more generalized conglomerates, which deal in entertainment as well as other ventures.

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Debates about the nature of conglomerates

Mass media critics often say that the content of the news industry is slanted towards corporate interests. Some see the corporate media as being biased. There have also been accusations of corporate censorship and whitewashing. Furthermore, media conglomerates are also accused of favoring flashy "infotainment" over relevant news stories.

There are also some concerns that the concentration of media ownership into the hands of a few large corporations causes all mass media to be standardized, presenting the same limited cultural paradigm to every society in the world. Some say that this is responsible for the homogenization of worldwide cultures, and the introduction of Western consumerism into societies that are unable to support a Western lifestyle.

Those who own and work for media conglomerates, however, make a point of emphasizing the objectivity of their news industry holdings. They deny claims of top-down bias in the news. It is also noted that there are so many media organizations around the world that it is impossible for a few corporations to have any actual control over the worldwide media.

In defense against claims of cultural standardization and heavy commercialism, they say it would be a disservice to not provide customers around the world with desired information and products. The responsibility of a conglomerate is to supply goods to meet demand around the world.

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List of largest media conglomerates

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