Monopolies

This week a portion of our lecture was centered on the existence of monopolies within the media, and about what they are in general. We discussed the difference between horizontal and vertical monopolies, which was presented in a way that I understood very easily. Though the discussion was brief (depending on who you ask), I had a significant take away from learning about monopolies. It made me realize that as objective or democratic as TV stations or programs make themselves out to be, in most cases there is always someone who is influencing them in a major way. There could be, for example, a scandal going on with an executive at CBS. None of the news stations owned by CBS would air that story because they wouldn't want to piss off their bosses, to put it simply. This could either fall under the category of consequences of conglomeration or of monopolies, but either way this example and idea adds to my view that really no major television networks are completely objective. This is an underlying principle that has been forming within myself throughout my time in our classroom. We were given a reading by Jerry Mander called "Arguments for the Elimination of Television." He expanded the idea that no TV is totally democratic to argue that it should be removed completely. Though I do not think this is feasible or right, many of his points opened my eyes to my current view on television. I now question the news I am fed, and make more of an effort to seek information from many perspectives and sources. I think this is essential to try to get a somewhat accurate depiction of what is going on in the world, and I think it is important for people to realize that even by not having an opinion, you have one. Overall, my whole experience as a student of journalism has been extremely influential in my perspective of media thus far. The discussion on monopolies we took part in lit a fuse of curiosity about fairness and what is truly ethical in media.