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Six corporations control 90% of America media

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Re: Six corporations control 90% of America media

#71

Post by danielmarkbruce »

rgbrenner wrote: post #32

"Today, 6 media giants control a whopping 90% of what we read, watch, or listen to." Where's the evidence for the 90% number here? Every media mentioned is legacy media. People now spend more time consuming digital media than legacy media.[0] So I don't see how this claim can be true. https://www.statista.com/statistics/565628/time-spent-digita...

Exactly right. The 90% number is nonsense. Customers have more choice than ever.

I could start a media company tomorrow and everyone could watch/read/listen to it. Creating content has never been easier than it is today. Distributing content has never been easier than it is today. Creating a big audience has never been easier than it is today. The idea that these companies have "control" is laughable.

note I'm not suggesting creating great content or building an audience is easy per se. I'm just saying it's never been easier for a random person. About the only people for who the media business has become more difficult is... existing large media companies who used to control distribution via cable, tv licenses etc.

Re: Six corporations control 90% of America media

#72

Post by tasogare »

amelius wrote: post #49
motohagiography wrote: post #27

Should we be concerned about them using their media properties to push narratives designed to consolidate their influence, or ask whether some of the things we believe might be artifacts of that influence, or maybe what the sources and motives of those narratives might be? Kidding. This isn't the 90's. The only people who worry about an axis of collaboration between corporations and government to create a surveillanc…

Or perhaps educate people about how to consume information.

That's not a real solution because education is mostly at the hand of governments, who are close to the said corporations. And the even if people were more critical about what they read, it is not that helpful since all the media outlets are controlled by the same people and thus pushing the same narrative. Without any alternative view it's hard to even think of something.

Re: Six corporations control 90% of America media

#73

Post by amyjess »

Honestly the first two paragraphs of this article alone indicate that this article is a polemic intended to stir up a pogrom against so-called elites. This isn't intellectually gratifying: it's an angry political screed.

Furthermore, as a Jewish person myself something else jumped out at me: there is a long, long, long history of the word "elites" being associated with control over the media as an antisemitic dogwhistle. Any Jewish person will read this, see "the media is controlled by elites", and immediately understand that this is a restatement of antisemitic conspiracy theories that are over a century old. This article is wildly irresponsible.

Re: Six corporations control 90% of America media

#75

Post by taf2 »

motohagiography wrote: post #27

Should we be concerned about them using their media properties to push narratives designed to consolidate their influence, or ask whether some of the things we believe might be artifacts of that influence, or maybe what the sources and motives of those narratives might be? Kidding. This isn't the 90's. The only people who worry about an axis of collaboration between corporations and government to create a surveillanc…

$$$

Re: Six corporations control 90% of America media

#76

Post by Wolfenstein98k »

What's the right ratio though?

I try not to get angry about "the bottom 20% eats 90% of the cheeseburgers" stats until I have a reasonable benchmark, or I have a really deep understanding of the "why" and "how" of a given disparity.

Two children raised in the same house with the same parents never have equal outcomes - I don't expect it anywhere else either (as a default assumption).

Re: Six corporations control 90% of America media

#77

Post by jim-jim-jim »

yogthos wrote: post #19
analyst74 wrote: post #2

This is not news for anyone paying attention to the media space. The big question is ... is there a way out? Or are we destined to have a small number of powerful organizations controlling world's information and in extension, our thought?

Open source platforms provide an alternative to corporate social media. These platforms are developed on a non-profit basis and are hosted by volunteers across the globe. A growing number of such platforms are available today and millions of people are using them already. Mastodon is an alternative to Twitter, and it’s currently home to over two million users. This was the first open platform to get serious traction,…

There's a bootstrapping problem to all these decentralized communities though. Because you need to be slightly technically adept to create, run, or even hear about such instances, all these platforms are innundated with psychotic nerds. I like free software, I think Marx was right about most things, but I can't think of a bigger waste of time than hanging out with a bunch of mentally ill furries and groomers.

Re: Six corporations control 90% of America media

#79

Post by Orou »

grawprog wrote: post #60
dwd wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was this article generated by AI?

It kind of reads like it. The whole article reminds me of something produced by GPT-3. Just the paragraph structure and wording alone.

Agreed. I'll admit I didn't notice it on first pass and just thought the Jim Morrison bit was sloppy writing, but reading it again it has all the hallmarks of GPT-generated text. It even talks about the etymology of the word "elite" for no reason!

If it isn't GPT-3, then it's writing at a high school level at best and shouldn't be on the front page.

Re: Six corporations control 90% of America media

#80

Post by egypturnash »

analyst74 wrote: post #2

This is not news for anyone paying attention to the media space. The big question is ... is there a way out? Or are we destined to have a small number of powerful organizations controlling world's information and in extension, our thought?

It's always news for someone, though. Good to remind people about this now and then.

It's like the depressing version the "Lucky 10,000" XKCD.

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