We live in a global community. Events and disasters that take place on one side of the world affect people everywhere. This globalization makes it impossible to learn news of important events through word of mouth alone so we rely on mass media to provide us with the information we require. Unfortunately, modern media is facing challenges to its ability to remain objective. Most media companies form large conglomerates, often owning companies outside of the media industry. Also, as advertisers become larger themselves, the pressure on the media for subjective reporting is intense.
Two examples of media conglomerates are Disney and CanWest Global. Disney owns Hyperion publishing, ABC Television, sixty-six radio stations in the US, TiVo, and The Mighty Ducks hockey franchise. It also partially owns a petroleum company. In Canada, CanWest Global owns forty newspapers and thirteen television stations. It also owns eight television and radio stations worldwide. A survey of media workers by industry unions in the US (Lauer’s Media Professionals and Their Industry 7/20/2004) found that media workers feel that allowing one company to own too many news outlets has a negative impact on their communities. They feel that understaffing due to consolidation of the large media conglomerates undermines quality of news coverage. This suggests that even if I believe that my decisions are well informed, when I get my information from mass media, my source is suspect.
Media professionals feel that the two most serious problems facing their industry today are "too much emphasis on the bottom line" and "the influence of ratings/circulation on coverage and programming." (Lauer, 2004) These concerns are related to how the media responds to advertising pressure. Advertisers provide the bottom-line for the industry and expect a large ratings or circulation base for their message. To attract support, media companies tailor their coverage to what appeals to the widest audience. This creates a reduction in diversity of opinion and a corresponding increase in pop culture homogenization. Another result of this bottom-line focus is that large corporate sponsors have power to not only limit what types of stories are covered, but also eliminate any news story that they deem to be not "on" message. For example, in 1998, ABC News was unable to air an investigative news story about pedophiles working at a Disney theme park. This corporate infiltration however, doesn’t stop at the daily news. Companies pay big money to have their products featured in popular entertainment. Subtle product placements in movies and television shows create brand recognition. When the Hero of the story uses a specific brand regularly, it creates a lingering brand familiarity within our subconscious. This makes us more likely to choose it at the store, without always realizing why.
Globalization forces me to rely on mass media for information. Product placement and selective reporting are techniques that give media power over information. Therefore, my reliance on mass media ensures that media does indeed influence the decisions I make.