Research Paper : Mass Media and Society : Political Bias
The Fox Family Oligarchy
Since 1996 Fox Broadcasting Company, known more commonly as just ‘FOX,’ has been supplying millions of families with up to date news, suspenseful TV series and humorous animated shows. As a TV network, they’re basically doing their job well by supplying us with information (news and such) and entertainment (TV series, game shows etc.) But what exactly is the Fox network really telling us? As a member of society with a political opinion and as a consumer I feel it’s time for the public to start reading between the lines and really scrutinize the content they normally don’t think twice about whenever they decide to tune in to their local Fox channel, open a newspaper, read a magazine or even peel open a banana.
I’m sure you’re well aware that there are ads everywhere…but to what extent do you really think into just how many there are? Sure there are the obvious ones…billboards, commercials, magazine ads, newspaper ads…but have you realized just how much product placement there is on TV…in movies..even slips of brand name goods on the radio are product placement! (1) Once you start looking for ads…you’ll realize they’re absolutely everywhere. I myself didn’t believe there were as many as my mass media and society book was telling me there are all around so a few months ago I decided to really look at my environment for the entire day. It didn’t take long before I realized the book was absolutely right…actually it didn’t take long at all. I had a banana for breakfast and while I was peeling the second leaf of skin off I noticed a fairly innocent looking, green sticker reading ‘The Jungle Book Re-Mastered!’ So okay, it’s pretty easy to be convinced that there really are ads everywhere…but have you ever realized that for certain TV channels, certain newspapers even certain websites it seems like you’re seeing the same advertisements running over and over? Well, probably because you are. Today there are two little things called convergence and conglomeration…which both basically add up to another little thing described as concentration of ownership. Text book definitions for these terms read as follows: “Convergence: The erosion of traditional distinctions among media,” “Conglomeration: The increase in the ownership of media outlets by non-media companies,” and “Concentration of Ownership: Ownership of different and numerous media companies concentrated in fewer and fewer hands (1.)” Now you may be wondering, “So how exactly, I mean, in more detail, does that explain why I’m seeing the same dang commercials on every channel I watch, ever newspaper I read and every website I go to?…And furthermore, why does should I care? ” Well to explain this using the Fox Broadcasting Network as an example, i’ll start with giving you some information on News Corps.
Now you’re probably thinking, “News Corps,…hmm that sounds vaguely familiar..” but you probably can’t put your finger on what exactly it is or where you’ve heard it. Perhaps you’d procure a clearer vision if I said the National Geographic Channel or the New York Post or DirecTV or maybe even the ever popular social networking site MySpace (4 and 5.) I mention these sites because they’re all owned by News Corps. Crazy huh? One company that owns a television channel, a newspaper, an entire digital satellite network and one of the worlds most popular websites. Not to mention the fact that the National Geographic Channel (the popular, informative channel that usually attracts a well educated audience) and Fuel TV (the action sports channel full of skateboarding, dirt biking and kids hurting themselves doing crazy, mindless activities) are under the same random umbrella (5.) Well, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. News Corporation (aka News Corps) owns 11 motion picture operations (i.e. 20th century fox), 6 television operations (i.e. Fox Broadcasting Company), 16 cable programs (i.e. Fuel TV, FX, Speed, National Geographic Channel Worldwide etc.), 3 direct broadcast satellite television companies (i.e. DirecTV) , 8 magazine and insert operations (i.e Vogue, Gemstar- TV Guide International Inc.), 28 newspapers (i.e. the New York Post), 7 book publishing operations (i.e. HarperCollins) and that doesn’t even get into websites and other assets (a few of which are: MySpace, AmericanIdol.com, WhatIfSports, CARSguide.com.au, the National Rugby League, a few online dating websites and more.) (4 and 5) Just think! The influence this one company has on millions of people is tremendous! It covers every form of media, every social aspect regarding demographics AND most of it’s operations are run all over the world (SKY Italia, a direct satellite broadcast operation is the most popular pay-TV company in Italy…not to mention the fact that News Corps holds several papers in the US, UK, Asia AND Australia.) (5) Especially toda y with the advent of technology like people being able to watch the news on their cell phones-another area FOX has contributed whole-heartedly to-…the possibilities of societal impact are rather intimidating. The reason you see the same ads..the same stories..the same generic styles (as pertaining to the targeted demographic of the medium) is because they’re all run by one massive mother company. This is the epidamy of all examples of convergence, conglomeration and concentration of ownership at work. The Fox Broadcasting Network has converged media by, for example, making the National Geographic Channel, a concept that was originally a magazine or by making it possible to watch an episode of the Simpsons on your iPod or phone. The Fox Broadcasting Network is part of a conglomeration evident by the fact News Corps. owns an incredibly diverse ball of media outlets. The Fox Broadcasting Network and particularilly News Corporation are the best examples for concentration of ownership because in reality…News Corps really doesn’t have much competition when it comes down to owning the most concentrated blob of media (3.)
So what does this say? Why does it matter? Well the first thought that comes to my mind is subliminal messaging. Not specifically real subliminal messaging i.e. the kind where images and or words flicker in and out of content at about 1/3000th of a second to get you to unconciously think about it and as a result desire the said image/word (6); but just a kind of subliminal messaging resulting from repeated exposure to the same material. There’s no doubt that when one sees and or hears the same thing over and over and over he/she will eventually remember it and associate it with other things (1.) Because of this, combined with the fact that when people see the same thing from a variety of sources they eventually regard it as factual truth, the people inevitably end up being easily influenced and manipulated (7.) Of course this isn’t to say that there aren’t people out there who understand the concept of concentration of ownership and the corrupt intentions of some profit driven media outlets out there, however with the majority of media organizations conglomerating and converging, it’s really hard for anyone to tell exactly where information is coming from and with what intentions it serves. Technically, (especially regarding print publication and it’s rights in the first amendment regarding the press) media should be produced to inform and entertain us. Unfortunately, the majority of owners of media companies would rather see rising profits than happy people (although they usually find a good medium because one satisfies the other.) (1) With things like magalogues, consumer digest and TV shows like Pokemon which is basically a 30 minutes long commercial (1), what average person isn’t fooled at least once in awhile if not often? If you think about it…concentration of ownership is much like a censored system of oligarchy. A small family (the upper representatives of a massive media organization: such as News Corps) owns the majority of all media related companies in an entire nation (and a portion of the world); since media are where people turn to when looking for information and entertainment, exactly how much could that family influence us? Well, regardless of whether we’re looking for information OR entertainment…we’ll find what we’re looking for in the commercials, the magalogue-like ‘news coverage’ (yes it’s true…haven’t you ever noticed when reports cover specific illnesses that they review certain products and usually the well rated products have commercials on right after the broadcast? Think about it…), all of the product placement in TV series’….all of this information being fed to us through various sources that we un-conciously think are separate, but are really coming from one family and what they think we should have. This is basically how conglomerated media works and unfortunately, it’s even more corrupt that the scenario seems because the ‘family’ aka mother company would be driven by greedy profit rather than societal well being.
Now that you understand why big media industries have such an affect on us, i’ll begin to explain specifically why it’s good to be an informed, analytical viewer. First of all, I would like to quote Rupert Murdoch (owner of News Corps) in saying,
“I challenge anybody to show me an example of bias in Fox News Channel.” (2)
Can you think of any examples of political bias from any of the numerous companies owned by News Corps? It’s been long argued that Fox Broadcasting Network and it’s affiliates hold very right winged conservative, republican views and reflect that stance in their news coverage and basically all forms of publication and broadcasting (2 and 8.) If you look at for example the Simpsons and King of the Hill airing on FOX…it’s quite evident that the characters are conservative republicans or they’re criticized for not being so. Although the humor is generally light toned, the point FOX producers is trying to make is pretty obvious..that conservative republican is the way to be. Through everything News Corps is involved with whether it be FOX or it’s other affiliates, there are subtle messages supporting republican conservatism and over a period of time statistical studies have shown that it influences people’s beliefs, voting habits and personal morality (8.) You may look at this two ways…it may be a good thing and it may be a bad thing…it really depends on your personal political opinion…but if you try and think beyond that..even if your beliefs are parallel with what News Corps and FOX pushes on it’s viewers…what if they weren’t? What if they happened to be liberal democrats? Then perhaps you may become defensive toward the fact that everything around you is trying to push you in the opposite direction. The point I’m trying to make here is that corporations such as News Corps and Fox Broadcasting Network are very powerful organizations due to their potential influence on the opinions of millions of people and that we as the people should realize this and be sure to be responsible consumers and approach media with a watchful, critical mind.
In conclusion, although the media industry is full of useful information and entertainment, it’s best to be wise about what one takes as the immediate truth…be a responsible consumer and acknowledge media with an analytical eye…or else who knows what obscenities the next piece of fruit you go to eat will be offering to you in the form of a little, green, seemingly innocent sticker.
References
1. Baran, Stanley J. Introduction to Mass Communication, Media Literacy and Culture. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008.
2. Ackerman, Seth. “The Most Biased Name in the News.” FAIR: Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. Aug. 2001. 11 Oct. 2007 <http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1067>.
3. Bramhall, Joe. “Fox Entertainment Group, Inc.” Hoovers: a D&B Company. 11 Oct. 2007 <http://www.hoovers.com/fox-entertainment/–ID__58035–/free-co-factsheet.xhtml?cm_ven=PAID&cm_cat=BUS&cm_pla=CO1&cm_ite=Fox_Entertainment_Group_Inc>.
4. “Other Assets.” News Corporation. 2007. 11 Oct. 2007 <http://www.newscorp.com/operations/other.html#>.
5. “Cable.” News Corporation. 2007. 11 Oct. 2007 <http://www.newscorp.com/operations/cable.html>
6. Feunsner, Matt, and Brad Griffith. “Subliminal Messages.” ThinkQuest. 16 Aug. 1999. 11 Oct. 2007 <http://library.thinkquest.org/28162/ads.html>.
7. Moskowitz, Gordon B. Cognitive Social Psychology: the Princeton Symposium on the Legacy and Future of Social Cognition. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2001.
8. Dellavigna, Stefano, and Ethan Kaplan, comps. The Fox News Effect: Media Bias and Voting. 30 Mar. 2006. Berkeley and Stockholm. 11 Oct. 2007 <http://www.freepress.net/docs/foxvote06-03-30.pdf>.
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