MMedia Ownership
To what degree is government regulation of media ownership compatible with liberal democracy? Use examples from New Zealand and at least one other country to illustrate your argument
Media and democracy are fatally intertwined, with democracy depending on the media for supplying information to citizens so that they can participate in the democratic process. James Madison, the fourth President of the United States of America, and the creator of the constitution, said “A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or tragedy, perhaps both” (Madison, 1822). Media ownership consolidation is becoming more of a problem around the world, with most countries media being …show more content…
“However greater outlets does not equal greater diversity in content” (Wellstone, 1999). When many different outlets are owned by the same corporate conglomerate, then it is merely more people being reached with the same information, opinions and perspectives, rather than a greater range of content. Diversity of content is best achieved through a diversity of ownership, so each media outlet has a greater individuality and uniqueness. Government regulation which works to create a diverse range of owners with unique backgrounds and perspectives would help create a more well-rounded media landscape, where all the different perspectives, opinions, and analyses are easily available to the public. This means that individuals can source the information that best suits their circumstances, so they can make better decisions, and create a stronger …show more content…
When huge proportions of the media are owned by just a few, they are much more susceptible to producing biased reports, either for advertisers, or for companies or individuals related to the owner. This can be seen in the coverage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act in the U.S, where media corporations that stood to gain from the new act, reported much more favourably on the bill, were more likely to report false information that presented the act in a favourable way, and were more likely to cap the number of negative stories they published. In contrast, those media companies who were unlikely to gain from the act reported more negative aspects of the act and limit the number of positive reports they published (Gilens & Hertzman, 2000). Therefore, newspapers who were not directly affected by the new legislation, were nonetheless producing biased news, due to the affect it will have on their owners. The worrying effects of bias in the media can also be seen in the Italian media, where at least 40% are currently owned by Silvio Bersculoni. In 2010, when sex scandals including him were released, there was very little coverage on Italian television, where Bersculoni either controls or influences 6 out of 7 main television channels. This means that Italian citizens were not being educated fully about the events, and by not covering these events, it sends a message to the public
To what degree is government regulation of media ownership compatible with liberal democracy? Use examples from New Zealand and at least one other country to illustrate your argument
Media and democracy are fatally intertwined, with democracy depending on the media for supplying information to citizens so that they can participate in the democratic process. James Madison, the fourth President of the United States of America, and the creator of the constitution, said “A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or tragedy, perhaps both” (Madison, 1822). Media ownership consolidation is becoming more of a problem around the world, with most countries media being …show more content…
“However greater outlets does not equal greater diversity in content” (Wellstone, 1999). When many different outlets are owned by the same corporate conglomerate, then it is merely more people being reached with the same information, opinions and perspectives, rather than a greater range of content. Diversity of content is best achieved through a diversity of ownership, so each media outlet has a greater individuality and uniqueness. Government regulation which works to create a diverse range of owners with unique backgrounds and perspectives would help create a more well-rounded media landscape, where all the different perspectives, opinions, and analyses are easily available to the public. This means that individuals can source the information that best suits their circumstances, so they can make better decisions, and create a stronger …show more content…
When huge proportions of the media are owned by just a few, they are much more susceptible to producing biased reports, either for advertisers, or for companies or individuals related to the owner. This can be seen in the coverage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act in the U.S, where media corporations that stood to gain from the new act, reported much more favourably on the bill, were more likely to report false information that presented the act in a favourable way, and were more likely to cap the number of negative stories they published. In contrast, those media companies who were unlikely to gain from the act reported more negative aspects of the act and limit the number of positive reports they published (Gilens & Hertzman, 2000). Therefore, newspapers who were not directly affected by the new legislation, were nonetheless producing biased news, due to the affect it will have on their owners. The worrying effects of bias in the media can also be seen in the Italian media, where at least 40% are currently owned by Silvio Bersculoni. In 2010, when sex scandals including him were released, there was very little coverage on Italian television, where Bersculoni either controls or influences 6 out of 7 main television channels. This means that Italian citizens were not being educated fully about the events, and by not covering these events, it sends a message to the public