Media may come in all shapes and sizes, digital, print, radio...but did you know their funding and agenda differs based on whether they are privately or publicly owned? This difference in ownership could have a direct impact on the propagation of fake news for financial gain. Being aware of this may help us source more reliable news.
Publicly owned media is just that...for the public. They have an obligation to the public to deliver varying opinions and they commit to remain bipartisan in their delivery of information. The source funding model, sometimes funded through taxes and licensing fees ensures a neutral relationship between broadcasting and the public while remaining independent of the government. They have nothing to gain from providing slanted news or false information. They are not for profit and do not rely on sales and viewership for revenue...unlike privately owned media.
Privately owned media is where we can get into the sticky situation of fake news for profit. They rely on ratings and advertising with fewer obligations than private media. This opens the door for news stories that capture the headlines and grab viewers attention, regardless of validity. The "big six" media corporations seen in the title image control 90% of the news media in the United States. That is a huge amount of power in the world of media for private media outlets lightly regulated by public interests.We should remember that corporations are businesses that rely on popularity to make money. The drive to be the most profitable can lead us down a road of uncertainty and unreliability.
Hi Rachael!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I think it is ridiculous of the control privately owned media has gained in our world. All this sector does in generate and contribute to the fake news circulating the world, and mess with people's heads. I think that instead of people living for gossip and seeking to hear what they want to hear, we should realize how this gossip is affecting us as people. Fake news in media has caused a lot of people to build hatred and jealousy, and I believe that we need to 'keep it real in the world' instead of contribute to something that will ultimately ruin us.
Hello Rachael,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post as it was very informative and engaging. I feel that many of us; especially the big people above have one thing on their mind, and that is money! It is sad that our society has deemed it acceptable to let these privatized media corporations to gain such power as we all know it is fake news. We only have ourselves to blame, we are supporting them by channeling in; listening to what gossip is being said on the radio, TV, news, and reading magazines that have been photo shopped. In short, we are wasting our time and money on something that is not real; instead we should be supporting the corporations that take the time to find facts that can be used to help educate, raise awareness, which can open doors to solving issues that are occurring in today’s society.
Thank you,
Ioana
Wow, funny coincidence, but part of my post this week talked about privately owned news sources. Your post goes much more in depth on this topic than mine does, though, as my main topic was something different.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit ridiculous seeing how much of our news comes from so few actual sources (companies). It's so easy to forget about the mega-corporations hiding behind a bunch of smaller companies, who are frequently even "competitors".
Hey Rachael,
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting to note as I find it is sometimes easy to forget that many of these stations are under the same company and therefore are not providing as diverse opinions/views. I did not know that there were separate privately and publicly owned media. Although I am aware of many examples of privately owned media, I am unsure what an example of publicly owned media would be? Overall great post and very informative, I would just suggest possibly making detailed images such as the “Who owns the big tv networks?” image to be substantially larger as I had a fair amount of difficulty reading it.
Lauren
Public media is something the public invests in, this could be PBS (public broadcasting system). It relies on viewers donations for much of its production.
ReplyDelete