Media Ownership: Crash Course Media Literacy #8

Summary

This script discusses the complex landscape of media ownership, highlighting how a few major corporations control a vast array of media outlets and services. It delves into the history of media consolidation, from AT&T's dominance in telecommunications to modern examples like Disney's ownership of Marvel and Star Wars. The script also addresses the implications of such ownership on consumer choice and innovation, and the potential risks of monopolistic control over internet services and content distribution in the age of net neutrality debates. It underscores the importance of media literacy in understanding these corporate connections and their impact on society's communication and culture.

Takeaways

• 📱 Media consolidation involves complex networks of ownership, where a few large companies control diverse media and tech sectors.
• 🌐 Vertical integration allows companies to control multiple aspects of a product's lifecycle, leading to potential monopolies.
• 🎬 Understanding who owns popular media franchises helps consumers predict the quality and direction of the content.
• 🕸 Deals and partnerships between major corporations can create a 'tangled, incestuous web' of media ownership.
• 🔍 The landscape of media ownership is ever-changing, often making previous data quickly obsolete due to mergers and acquisitions.
• 🎥 The history of AT&T illustrates the rise and regulation of monopolies, and the impacts of antitrust laws designed to foster competition.
• 💻 Media companies' control over content and distribution has profound impacts on society, influencing everything from prices to content availability.
• 🚦 The lack of net neutrality could allow ISPs to control internet access and speed, affecting how and at what cost consumers access online content.
• 🔗 Tech giants like Google and Facebook, while not traditionally seen as media companies, play a significant role in media distribution and influence.
• 🛡 It’s crucial for consumers to stay informed about media ownership to understand potential biases and the quality of information they receive.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the script?

The main topic of the script is media ownership, its history, and how it impacts everyday lives.

What does the term 'bundle' refer to in the context of the script?

In the context of the script, 'bundle' refers to a package of services offered together, such as cell phone, internet, and cable services, usually at a discounted rate.

How does the script describe the relationship between different media companies?

The script describes the relationship between different media companies as a complex web of deals, partnerships, and mergers, often leading to a concentration of ownership.

What is the significance of the AT&T story in the script?

The AT&T story serves as an example of how a company can dominate an industry, leading to a monopoly, and the eventual need for regulation and anti-trust measures to protect consumers and encourage competition.

What is vertical integration in the context of the media industry?

Vertical integration in the media industry refers to a company owning multiple stages of the production and distribution process, such as content creation, distribution channels, and the means of access.

What is net neutrality, and why is it important?

Net neutrality is the principle that all internet traffic should be treated equally, without any discrimination or preference given to particular content, websites, or applications. It is important because it ensures a level playing field for content providers and prevents ISPs from controlling or manipulating access to information.

How does the script suggest that tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon are influencing the media landscape?

The script suggests that tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon are influencing the media landscape by owning multiple content platforms and distribution channels, creating a significant presence in media distribution, and potentially shaping the way people consume information.

What is the role of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in media ownership?

The FCC is responsible for regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable in the U.S. It has the authority to examine and regulate media companies to prevent monopolies and ensure fair competition.

What are some consequences of the lack of net neutrality?

Lack of net neutrality can lead to tiered internet services with different speeds and costs, potential censorship or throttling of content by ISPs, and the creation of 'walled gardens' where access to certain content requires additional fees.

How does the script suggest that consumers can benefit from understanding media ownership?

The script suggests that understanding media ownership can help consumers make informed decisions about the media they consume, recognize potential biases, and advocate for policies that protect their interests and encourage a diverse and competitive media landscape.

What is the main argument made in the script regarding the regulation of tech companies?

The main argument made in the script is that tech companies, which are also acting as media companies, should be regulated similarly to traditional media companies to ensure accountability, prevent monopolistic practices, and maintain a healthy media environment.

Outlines

00:00

📱 Media Bundles and Ownership

The paragraph discusses the complexities of media ownership and the convenience of bundled services. It begins with the individual's experience of renting a phone that is part of a larger bundle including internet and cable services. The phone is made by a different company with an exclusive deal with the bundle provider, who in turn has deals with streaming services and TV channels. This leads to a broader discussion about who owns the media, mentioning major corporations like Disney, Warner Brothers, and NBC. The narrative highlights the intricate web of deals, partnerships, and mergers in the media industry, and how it affects consumers and the quality of content they receive.

05:01

🔍 The History and Impact of Media Mergers

This section delves into the history of media ownership, starting with the example of AT&T's dominance in the telephone industry from the late 1800s to the mid-1980s. It explains how AT&T's vertical integration led to a closed system, eventually resulting in anti-trust lawsuits and the company's breakup in 1984. The segment then transitions to the modern era, discussing the concept of vertical integration in the context of internet service providers (ISPs) and the potential for monopolistic practices. It raises concerns about the implications of ISPs controlling internet access speeds based on payment tiers, potentially leading to unequal access to information and stifling of competition.

10:06

🌐 Net Neutrality and the Role of Tech Giants

The paragraph focuses on the importance of net neutrality and the potential consequences of its absence. It explains how net neutrality ensures equal access to the internet for all users, regardless of the content or service provider. The discussion then shifts to the role of tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon, which have become significant media distributors through their various products and acquisitions. The segment highlights the issue that while these tech companies wield considerable influence over media, they are not subject to the same regulations as traditional media companies. It underscores the necessity for media literacy to understand the interplay between these corporations and the broader impact on society's communication and culture.

🎥 The Future of Media and Consumer Impact

In the concluding segment, the focus is on the broader implications of media ownership and government policies on consumers. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the connections between media companies, their mergers and acquisitions, and the resulting effects on media consumption and production. The paragraph also points out the need for vigilance over corporate practices to ensure a diverse and competitive media landscape. It ends with a teaser for the next episode, which will explore how government policies shape individual's media consumption and creation habits.

Keywords

💡Media Ownership

Media ownership refers to the control and management of different forms of media by individuals or corporations. In the context of the video, it highlights how a few large entities own and influence the content we consume through television, internet, and other media platforms. This ownership can impact everyday lives, shape public opinion, and stifle or promote innovation and competition.

💡Bundles and Acquisitions

Bundles and acquisitions are strategies used by companies to expand their services and market share. A bundle is an offering of multiple services or products at a combined price, often more affordable than purchasing each item separately. Acquisitions involve one company buying another to gain its assets and market position. In the video, these concepts are related to how consumers get their services and how media companies grow and influence the market.

💡Vertical Integration

Vertical integration is a business strategy where a company owns multiple stages of its production or supply chain. This allows for greater control over costs and the quality of products or services. In the media landscape, it can lead to monopolies where one company controls the creation, distribution, and sale of media content. The video discusses AT&T's historical dominance as an example of vertical integration in the telecommunications industry.

💡Anti-trust Laws

Anti-trust laws are regulations designed to prevent the formation of monopolies and promote healthy competition in the market. They aim to protect consumers from price gouging and service under-delivery due to lack of competition. The video explains how these laws have been historically applied to break up monopolies like AT&T, leading to increased innovation and consumer choice.

💡Net Neutrality

Net neutrality is the principle that internet service providers (ISPs) should treat all data on the internet the same, without discriminating or charging differently by user, content, website, platform, application, or method of communication. It ensures equal access to the internet and prevents ISPs from controlling the speed or access to certain content. The video discusses the implications of a lack of net neutrality on consumer choice and the potential for ISPs to create tiered services.

💡Walled Garden

A walled garden is a closed, proprietary system that restricts user access to only the services or content approved by the system's owner. It prevents interoperability with other systems and often involves the exclusion of competitors. In the context of the video, it refers to how AT&T operated in the early 1900s, only allowing official Western Electric equipment to connect to its network.

💡Telecommunications

Telecommunications is the transmission of information over significant distances via various types of signals, such as radio, television, or telephone. It is a key aspect of modern media and communication. The video discusses the historical role of AT&T in dominating the telecommunications industry and the impact of this dominance on consumer choice and innovation.

💡Monopolies

A monopoly is a market situation where one company has exclusive control over the supply of a product or service. Monopolies can lead to higher prices, reduced consumer choice, and stunted innovation due to the lack of competition. The video addresses the dangers of monopolies in the media industry and the historical efforts to break them up to foster competition and protect consumer interests.

💡Competition

Competition refers to the rivalry between two or more parties striving for a shared goal. In the context of the video, it relates to the presence or absence of other companies competing in the same market. Healthy competition can lead to better products, lower prices, and more choices for consumers. The video discusses how the break up of AT&T led to increased competition and innovation in the telecommunications industry.

💡Tech Companies and Media

Tech companies and media refers to the intersection of technology corporations with the media industry. These companies, such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon, are not traditionally considered media companies but have significant influence over the distribution and creation of media content. The video highlights the unique position these companies hold, as they are not regulated in the same way as traditional media companies, raising questions about their accountability and impact on society.

💡Media Literacy

Media literacy is the ability to critically analyze and understand media messages, the techniques used to create them, and the effects they have on people and society. It involves being aware of how media companies operate, their influence on the content we consume, and the potential biases and agendas they may have. The video emphasizes the importance of media literacy in understanding the complex relationships between media ownership and its impact on society.

Highlights

The concept of media ownership and its complex web of deals, bundles, and acquisitions.

The convenience of bundled services such as cell phone, internet, and cable in one bill.

The exclusive deals between phone manufacturers and bundle providers, and how it affects consumers.

The interconnection between streaming services and media franchises, influencing the content available to consumers.

The impact of media ownership on the production of superhero movies and comic book franchises.

The historical overview of media ownership, from newspapers to mobile apps.

The major media conglomerates and their respective holdings, such as Disney, Comcast, News Corp., and Viacom.

The story of AT&T's dominance in the telephone industry and its eventual breakup due to anti-trust efforts.

The role of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in regulating media and telecommunications.

The concept of vertical integration and its implications for competition and consumer choice.

The importance of net neutrality and its potential impact on internet access, pricing, and content delivery.

The comparison between internet service providers (ISPs) and the potential creation of fast and slow lanes for internet content.

The influence of tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon on media distribution and content creation.

The debate over whether tech companies should be regulated like traditional media companies.

The potential consequences of media monopolies on innovation, consumer choice, and societal communication.

The importance of media literacy for consumers to understand the relationships between media companies and their impact on society.

Transcripts

Hey, check it out. I just got this new phone.

Well, kind of – I’m renting it for a couple bucks a month.

But really that’s part of a bundle – you know, I’ve got my cell phone, my internet, my cable.

All one bill, which is pretty convenient.

The phone is made by another company of course, but they have this exclusive deal with the bundle people.

And the bundle people have thought a deal with the streaming service people, so now I can stream movies all the time.

And the streaming service I use has a deal with my favorite TV channel, so I can watch all my shows.

And the TV people just bought my favorite comic book franchise, so soon I’ll be swimming in new superhero movies.

And the comic book people will be raking in the cash.

Kind of, uh, complicated, no?

So many deals and bundles and acquisitions to watch for.

It makes you wonder, who runs all this stuff?

Who owns the media?

Sure, maybe you’ve been keeping track of who owns your favorite media franchises like

Star Wars (that’s Disney) or Marvel (uh, also Disney) or Harry Potter (Warner Brothers, but also NBC).

That way you can judge who’s going to do a great job with your favorite storylines or totally ruin them with the worst casting ever oh my god why.

The media at large, everything from newspapers you read to the apps on your phone, are part of a big web of deals and partnerships and mergers.

A very tangled, kind of incestuous, web.

Sometimes these complex relationships work out well for the consumer.

But sometimes this tangled web traps the consumer like a juicy little fly just waiting to be eaten by the big bad spider.

That’s why today we’re talking all about media ownership –

we’re going to figure out how ownership impacts your everyday lives AND we’re gonna talk about the history of media ownership AND...no, that’s it for today.

But that’s plenty.

[Theme Music]

Ready for your head to spin a bit? So. Who really owns “the media”?

If you look at things from the end of 2017, the media ownership landscape looks like this:

Walt Disney Company owns ABC and the Disney Channel of course.

Plus EPSN, Miramax and Pixar, Marvel Entertainment and Publishing, Buena Vista Records, and over 270 radio stations.

Plus their theme parks and tons of other related companies.

Comcast Corporation owns NBCUniversal – that means CNBC, MSNBC, too – plus channels like Telemundo, USA Network, Bravo and more.

Plus Hulu and and the Universal Studios theme parks.

They even own the Philadelphia 76ers and the Philadelphia Flyers.

News Corp. owns FOX – including Fox News and FX.

They also own the Wall Street Journal, the Daily News and the New York Post, HarperCollins, and 20th Century Fox.

Hearst Corporation owns 20 U.S. magazines like Cosmopolitan and Esquire, plus 31 television stations.

Viacom owns MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and BET among its 160 cable channels, plus Paramount Pictures.

CBS Corporation owns all the CBS-named things, 29 TV channels and 130 radio stations, plus three book publishers.

And this is all just the tip of the iceberg.

I guarantee that this ownership web is already obsolete as new deals have gone through.

In fact, as we were shooting this episode, Comcast, Disney, and Fox had all been discussing a possible merger.

But don’t worry, we prepared for that:

There was a big merger!

There wasn’t a big merger!

There was something like a merger, but it was more complicated than we predicted!

But all this talk of mergers and ownership begs the question: who cares?

You do. Or, rather, you will. After you hear the story of AT&T.

The year is 1877 and Alexander Graham Bell and his father in law start the Bell Telephone Company.

Over time, Bell becomes the dominant telephone provider and is the first to build a nationwide long-distance telephone network.

That’s when they’re renamed: the American Telephone and Telegraph Company.

For almost 100 years, AT&T owns every part of the telephone system – from the wires and lines to the actual phones.

Yes, literally.

Until the mid-1980s, if you had an AT&T phone, you had to rent it from the company.

Kind of like you rent a modem for your internet now.

In the early 1900’s AT&T established themselves as a walled garden.

That meant it was a closed system that was not interoperable with other systems or companies.

In fact, they refused to let rival companies work with them – they’d just buy them out instead.

In 1915, for instance, they bought Western Electric, one of the providers of their phone equipment.

Once they owned them, they made it so that only official Western Electric equipment could connect to the AT&T network..

Jump ahead to 1934.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt establishes the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC is meant to implement a national radio and wire service in the U.S.

But the FCC also has the authority to examine AT&T’s business.

The question was whether AT&T’s control over every part of the phone system, or vertical integration, was in violation of the law.

But the FCC approves of AT&T’s business – and the company is free to dominate the market for decades, becoming bigger, and bigger.

Eventually, though, AT&T becomes too big. Like way too big.

And the anti-trust lawsuits start.

Anti-trust laws are what exist to try and prevent monopolies – when a single company dominates an entire market or industry.

Monopolies are bad in a lot of ways.

A company with a monopoly can overcharge customers or under deliver services because there’s simply no competition.

Preventing monopolies, or if you have to, breaking them up, protects consumers and encourages competition.

And by the 1980s, more than a century after the founding of the Bell company, those anti-monopoly efforts finally start to make a difference.

In 1982 AT&T starts letting people buy their own phones, a good first step.

But in 1984, the monopoly really breaks up, and the company separates into 7 different, smaller companies.

At the time, some people thought the break up of the AT&T monopoly was bad – it seemed so convenient to get all your phone maintenance in one place.

When it did break up, though, we got cool new inventions like answering machines, three-way calling, and caller ID – all thanks to an outbreak of competition.

Trust me, those things were really cool back then.

Today, companies try to dominate markets through new versions of vertical integration.

Think: do you have one of those bundles?

You might get your TV service, internet, and cell phone service from the same company.

These companies own the world’s fiber optic cables, where the internet flows.

In fact, where the last 100 years of anti-trust media has largely been about phones, these days it has way more to do with the internet.

But that’s where it gets a bit dicey.

Let’s head into the Thought Bubble:

In a world with net neutrality, a corporate stronghold on the internet isn’t too bad.

You pay for internet access and you use it pretty much however you want.

The net is neutrally accessible from different internet service providers, or ISPs.

If your ISP stinks or is too slow, you can often pay for a different service if there are options in your area.

But the ISPs believe that, since they’re delivering you a service, they should determine how it’s delivered.

They’d like to create tiered services, where if you pay more you get faster internet.

Basically, they want to use their vertical integration to create more monopolies.

Imagine the internet is a road and the content you want is a car.

ISPs would like to create a slow lane and a fast lane.

Or maybe a slow, medium, and fast lane.

Depending on what you want or can afford, you’d pay for that speed.

If ISPs could decide to create a slow lane and a fast lane, you can see how they could abuse that power pretty quickly.

We wouldn’t get a fast lane and a faster lane.

We’d get a “so slow you want to smash your computer on the ground” lane and a “probably the speeds you have now but twice as expensive” lane.

As we know, internet access is crucial to thriving in the digital age, and hiking up prices would box some people out entirely.

Or, to put it more graphically, some people would be in the lifeboats and some people would be Jack and Rose, floating on a door in the middle of the ocean.

Until Jack freezes to death even though he TOTALLY could have fit on the door.

Thanks, Thought Bubble. I guess.

There are more consequences to net neutrality than consumer pricing.

Without net neutrality, ISPs have the power to cut off or speed up certain content – like, say, their business partners or their sister companies.

Certain cars wouldn’t even be allowed in the slow lane – you’d have to pay extra.

So if you have Comcast as your ISP, your Comcast, NBC and Universal content might be fast but other content might be slow.

Comcast owns Hulu, and Netflix is a competitor of Hulu, so who knows, maybe they’d slow down your service to Netflix – the horror!

In some countries without net neutrality, ISPs have already created walled gardens like this.

You pay a base fee for internet service and then pay additional fees for a “Social media” package to access your apps or a “news package” to get your news.

It’s not pretty.

You can see why it’s so important to understand how media companies are all connected.

When they come together to form monopolies, they can have a huge impact on how a society communicates.

We know that media companies like to band together through mergers and acquisitions.

Sometimes this forms healthy competition and sometimes, like we said, it creates a monopoly.

But telecommunications and media have been regulated and studied for some time.

You know what also like to band together through mergers and acquisitions, sometimes for competition and sometimes to form monopolies?

Tech companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon.

These monster corporations have their hands on a ton of different projects.

Alphabet is Google’s parent company.

Google isn’t just a search engine; it’s also an advertising platform.

Alphabet owns YouTube and over 200 other companies.

Plus they make products like Android phones and Gmail and self-driving cars.

And through search and Google News they’ve become a major distributor of media.

Amazon, in addition to being a dominant e-commerce platform, provides the internet infrastructure for tons of top companies.

It also creates its own TV and movie programming through Prime and owns The Washington Post.

Similarly, Facebook owns over 50 companies like Instagram and Whatsapp.

It recently partnered with news outlets to help with media distribution through its Journalism Project and its Instant Articles product.

They’re even dipping their toes in creating original video programming.

Plus, 45% of US adults get their news from Facebook. Forty. Five. Percent.

And yet they don’t call themselves a media company.

What’s the big deal?

Well: currently, Tech companies aren’t regulated the same way that media companies are.

Remember the FCC?

They regulate media companies not only to break up monopolies – they also set rules for what kind of content is allowed on TV, radio, and phones.

Different rules for different technologies.

This is why some songs have “radio edits” and why you have to bleep out the live TV when the Thanksgiving Parade hosts get too tipsy.

But the FCC doesn't currently have the same authority over companies like Facebook or Google –

which means there is tons and tons of debate over whether they should.

Media ownership can be problematic enough.

When one company dominates the means of production and creation on one product, consumers often get a lesser product.

Without competition, innovation stagnates.

And when companies have too much control, they can wreak havoc on our communication and culture.

When tech companies that are also media companies don’t act like it, they shirk the accountability that other media organizations have.

The accountability that we, as consumers rely on.

Anti-trust regulations have their drawbacks.

People who prefer less government intervention don’t like them.

The Monopoly man certainly doesn’t like them.

But they’re often in the public’s best interest to prevent exploitation and encourage creativity.

To be a media literate citizen, it’s crucial to keep an eye on how these businesses combine, split up, and interact.

Their relationships with each other affect our relationships with media.

Today we covered how huge corporations and their regulations impact our media environment – the macro stuff.

Next time on Crash Course: Media Literacy, we’re going micro.

We’ll take a look at how government policies impact how you, the consumer, absorb and create media.

Until then, I’m Jay Smooth. See you next time!

Crash Course Media Literacy is filmed in the Dr. Cheryl C. Kinney Studio in Missoula, MT.

It’s made with the help of all of these nice people, and our animation team is Thought Cafe.

Crash Course is a Complexly production.

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