Media Convergence and Monopoly

Media convergence describes several phenomena with differing relationships with monopoly and consumer culture. In relation to news media, it refers to mergers and acquisitions of press, radio, and television by large corporations and the consequent monopoly of news production and consumption.

Entertainment media convergence is also described as vertical integration, or global integration, and includes the convergence of news and entertainment to produce infotainment and the global reach of American entertainment media. The term is less commonly used to describe the convergence of media technologies such as Internet-capable game consoles and multiple-function mobile phones. More recently, and with considerable ramifications for monopoly and for consumers, media convergence refers to the blurring of production, distribution, and consumption practices on the Internet.

News media serve a central communicative function in complex societies where they inform dispersed populations and facilitate a sense of cultural commonality. Shared language and knowledge engender a sense of belonging to “imagined communities” (Anderson 1987), the cultural element of the nation-state. They are also vital to the democratic public sphere as both an information source and host of public debate. In its fourth estate role, news media function as an accountability mechanism and check on the abuse of power in the interests of the population. Diversity and independence from power and commercial interests are thought to be vital if news media are to serve the public interest, yet commercial media are a capitalist enterprise following the logic of the market. Unregulated and deregulated media markets saw the rise of corporate, in some cases global, news media conglomerates through merger and acquisition processes during the twentieth century and the emergence of the media mogul. Individual news outlets proliferated with the introduction of frequency modulation (FM) radio and pay television, whereas ownership concentrated into fewer hands, providing the appearance of diversity and consumer choice while decreasing diversity of content.

Although a small number of news media corporations monopolize local and global news and current affairs markets, local outlets tailor information to local interests but remain selective in coverage. For example, commercial news outlets are unlikely to publish or broadcast news that is unfavorable to advertisers. As advertising is the primary revenue source for commercial news media, the interests of advertisers are given higher priority than the public interest. The fourth estate role of commercial news media is compromised as it cannot serve both the public interest and the interests of powerful advertisers. Selective coverage is an element of agenda setting, [Page 941]as monopoly of the market allows the monopoly of public focus. Where entertainment media corporations hold interests in news media, news outlets can also be used as promotional vehicles for the products and personalities of entertainment media. Launches of new movies, music, games, and associated products are reported as news, alongside celebrity gossip and coverage of events such as award ceremonies. The convergence of news and entertainment media also extends to technology where, for example, Sony Corporation might use a recording artist from their music label to promote the release of a new game console, while local news media include elements of the launch in a story about crowds lining up to buy the new console.

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