Now playing: the bottom line

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), March, 2008 by Joe Saltzman

IF THE WRITERS GUILD of America strike proved nothing else, it once again put a spotlight on how most of what we see and hear is controlled by about seven worldwide conglomerates. The Hollywood and New York writers learned quickly that they were not really bargaining with people who are concerned about movie and television content. Instead, they were sitting at the table with corporation lawyers who could not care less about the product or who produced it. The old Hollywood moguls may have been egotistical, often mean-spirited moneygrubbers, but they were passionate about movies and anything else under their name. They have been replaced by giant movie studios bought up by corporations that consider a movie or a TV program just another product--like a toaster or an alcoholic beverage. Quality is secondary and only important if it helps the bottom line.

If you read a DC comic book, Time magazine, Sports Illustrated, People, or Mad magazine, or watch CNN, HBO, Cinemax, or any of the Big Ts (TBS, TNT, TCM) or a Looney Tunes cartoon, or if you utilize AOL on the Internet, you are using media controlled by Time-Warner Inc. If you see "The Little Mermaid," watch ABC television or the Disney Channel, or listen to ABC radio, or are glued to ESPN, you are using media controlled by The Walt Disney Co. If you swear by Fox News or read the New York Post or Wall Street Journal, or simply watch "24" on Fox TV, you are using media controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. If you watch the CBS network or the music channels (MTV, VH1), view a Paramount film, or enjoy Comedy Central, or if your children love Nickelodeon, you are using media controlled by Viacom. If you watch the NBC network or CNBC, MSNBC, Bravo, A&E, or the History Channel, or see a Universal film--or visit Universal Studios--you are using media controlled by NBC Universal. If you see a Columbia or TriStar film or play any video games on a Playstation, you are using media by Sony Pictures Entertainment. If you read a book published by Random House, the world's largest publisher, or buy a BMG recording or a book from Barnes & Noble, you are using media controlled by Bertelsmann AG.

The problem is not that these corporations are evil or have a specific agenda they want to force down consumers' throats. The problem is the nation's media is being controlled by a finite group which has the potential to do all of that and more.

When you have huge controlling interests of this sort, the first thing to go is controversial programming, whether it be investigative reporting on a newspaper or TV news program, or a motion picture that goes "after the powerful and wealthy. Optimists point out that this is not true. Look at the documentaries of Michael Moore, the investigative reporting done by magazines, newspapers and TV journalists, the feature films such a,s "Lions for Lambs," "A Mighty Heart," and "Blood Diamond." True, as long as there is a celebrity or a motion picture star associated with a controversial subject, there is a good chance today that the film or TV program can be made and distributed--but the future does not look very bright.

For one thing, multinational corporations interested in the bottom line above "all else are not happy with projects that irritate government officials and corporate personnel. They want a smooth relationship with governments no matter how oppressive those regimes may be and, in the U.S., they do not want to anger Congress into enacting laws that will hurt their business. In the entertainment world, this kind of thinking leads to sequels rather than original scripts. In the news media, it means more emphasis on fluff and save the investigating exposes for someone else. The trouble is, there are fewer and fewer someone elses to do any in-depth reporting. Newspapers are crying the blues and reducing their staffs getting rid of expensive veteran writers, editors, and foreign bureaus. TV news managers have figured out that stories about celebrities, sports, and crime make for popular TV and little controversy.

To see how corporate control of the media creates a dangerous synergy, just look at your local TV news. If it is 11 p.m. and you are watching your ABC affiliate, it is likely that you will see a news feature on one of the ABC shows such as "Lost." If you are watching an NBC affiliate that same night, you are sure to see a feature on an NBC program, and the same is true of the local CBS station. These stories seen night after night on the local news have absolutely nothing to do with the news. They are blatant commercials for the network's entertainment division. It is corporate public relations done in the guise of the daily news coverage and it obliterates what once was an immovable line between entertainment and news.

The Walt Disney Company has taken this kind of public relations to new levels. Many programs on the ABC network feature the "Disney Experience" with pseudo-news storylines. It was no coincidence that "Good Morning America" gave over most of its time to Disney's new Broadway show, "The Little Mermaid," or that ABC shows such as the popular "Live With Regis and Kelly" end up at one of Disney's entertainment parks for a week of programs. You can see the "Disney Experience" in all of its related media from the obvious Disney Channel to the less obvious ABC and ESPN television and radio stations.