Digital Media @ 8:00 am!: Alexandra Brownn: Midpoint Project Post-Media Oligopolies

I. Introduction:

The media landscape today might be enough to make anyone nostalgic for days of the early 20th century when Theodore Roosevelt led a crusade against trusts and won. However, the distribution of media ownership today is much more complex than a railroad or oil monopoly; one media company doesn't own all of the television stations or broadband provider. Instead, 6 media oligopolies (Time Warner, Disney, New Corp, Viacom, CBS and Comcast) whose holdings include each include an array television and studios, radio stations, websites, print publications and sometimes theme park properties produce 90 percent of media content in America. Though it appears that we have more media choices today than ever before, in 1983 90 percent of the media was owned by 50 independent companies and there was a greater diversity of voices. If this wasn't bleak enough, Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook are well into the process of using up and coming technology and media to cajole their way into the hearts and minds of consumers to expand their media empires. In America's 21st century media culture, traditional oligopolies and emerging digital media oligopolies use their power and size to change and control the media market, thus placing a greater emphasis on profit than on the consumer.

II. How Comcast came to be the newest of the Big Six:

· Comcast bought 51 percent of NBC from General Electric thus replacing it in the Big Six.

· The merger was approved by the FCC 4-1 with the dissenter, Commissioner Michael Copps, citing increased costs and fewer choices for consumers.

· Comcast had to agree to several terms for the merger to go into effect including ceasing its management of the online video website Hulu owned by News Corp, NBC Universal and Disney.

· Comcast also agreed to expand the diversity of programming by increasing local news coverage and Spanish programming. It also made a commitment to offering internet in schools and libraries.

III. How Comcast is pushing the envelope:

· Comcast's proposed acquisitions and deals will make it an even larger player in the big six and put net neutrality in danger.

· Comcast plans to acquire Time Warner Cable, a current holding of Time Warner, in a $45.2 billion dollar stock deal.

· The combination of the two would earn $100 billion a year and have 30 million subscribers.

· The size of this entity could very easily block competitors.

· Comcast spent $18.8 million lobbying last year.

· Concept of net neutrality dictates that all content providers are given equal treatment by ISPs.

· However, Netflix has agreed to pay Comcast for fast and reliable streaming.

IV: Apple and more apples:

· As of 2012, at least half of American households owned at least one Apple product and ten percent planned to acquire one in the next year.

· The average owner of Apple products own at least 1.6 products.

· "Think different" slogan makes customers feel adventurous/innovative for buying products.

· However, Apple has "one product"- only one new iphone at a time, for instance.

· This contributes to their success.

· Apple paradox-think different, but everyone has the same phone. What if having more models would better suit consumers' needs?

V: iTunes dilemma:

· Apple originally packaged its ipod (which is becoming obsolete because of the iphone) with itunes.

· Apple had a monopoly on legal digital music and the devices that played them for years.

· Though itunes does have benefits for consumers, it also undermined positive aspects of the music industry.

· The focus on the song hurt the album, especially concept albums like The Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper"

· It also reduced the need for aesthetics such as album art.

· iTunes lowered the bar for the quality of a musical experience as a whole. While it is nice to not have to buy music that you don't want, it does not challenge and enrich consumers to listen to music they might not like right away.

VI. Amazon conquers the book:

· Amazon, headed by Jeff Bezons, began selling solely books in the 1990s.

· This allowed them to collect consumer information and data and to expand the business.

· At one time, people were paid to review books for Amazon, but now mostly customer reviews are used because it is cheaper.

· Publishers needed to pay large promotional fees to have their books featured.

· Publishing companies choosing to resist hikes in Amazon's fees have had the "buy" button removed from their books until they paid.

· The advent of the Kindle has made the publishing process more efficient but may reduce quality.

· Amazon singles-books too be short stories, but not long enough to be novels- are edited by David Blum, who inundated with 3 or 4 volumes a week can do little more than read and publish them.

VII. The consequences for consumers:

· Amazon has democratized the book- expensive and it is easier to get a book published.

· Digital publishing allows more books to be published

· However, the average person who publishes a digital book with Amazon makes about $500 dollars a year.

· Storytelling suffers because the push for efficiency limits the amount of time spent on books.

· Bezos decries the "gate keepers" in the traditional publishing industry that limit the number of works it accepts, however, applying more focus to fewer books allows them to be higher quality.

· Bezos' model focuses more on algorithms and efficiency rather than on the cultivation of ideas and the human element that goes into book production.

· Consumer is offered books of a lower literary caliber and they are not exposed to a variety of well-developed, intellectually challenging ideas.

VIII. The Google Empire:

· 70 percent of all internet queries are through Google.

· Google boasts many other business including a map service, restaurant reviews, and travel bookings.

· Google owns Youtube, Blogger and Picasa.

· Google was not found to be in violation of any antitrust laws by the FCC in 2013.

· Competitors claim that Google may promote its own services over others even though it claims that it uses "neutral algorithms" to determine placement in search results.

· This would harm competitors that already have difficulty competing with the internet giant.

· This offers fewer choices to the consumer.

IX. Facebook Starts building an empire of its own:

· Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion.

· Facebook acquired Whatsapp, a smart phone messaging app this year for $19 billion.

· Facebook is purchasing companies that could pose a threat/competition to services it offers.

· Instead of working to make its services better for the benefit of the consumer, it is reducing the competition.

X. Dataveillance brought to you by Facebook and Google:

· Ray Kurzwell, the director of engineering at Google "will have read every email you’ve ever written, every document, every idle thought you’ve ever tapped into a search-engine box."

· Users provide a great deal of data to Facebook including photos, status, personal information and product preferences. What users may not realize is that the browser code that powers Facebook is aware if one types but does not publish something.

· Though they can only determine if someone self censored at this time, it is obvious that they are interested and determining the content and that it is possible for them to do so.

· Facebook and Google collect information through consumers and sell this information to advertisers.

· This offers personalized ads which are relevant to consumers, but also make them more likely to part with their money.

· In 2011, Facebook made $3.2 billion and Google made $36.5 billion in advertising revenue.

· However, this data aggregation can be used for more than advertising.

· One's Facebook profile or Google searches can provide information to employers or banks that can cost people jobs or loans.

· This invasive collection of data can be unsettling and also have very real consequences.

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