(See related pages)
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Media Multinationals | ||
| Adbusters | ||
| This is the website of the alternate news magazine that urges people to "culture jam" the world around us and question the media and corporately governed, mass consumed memes that we all adhere to. Adbusters strives to provide "incisive philosophical articles as well as activist commentary from around the world addressing issues ranging from genetically modified foods to media concentration" and to "get mad about corporate disinformation, injustices in the global economy, and any industry that pollutes our physical or mental commons." This website is home for interesting articles and forums. ( http://www.adbusters.org/ ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| Advertising Age Media Family Trees | ||
| This is a site that shows the "family tree" of the top 100 media corporations. This family tree shows the major players in the media sphere and lists the annual media revenue for each company. More information is available for paid subscribers. ( http://adage.com/mediatrees08/ ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| Columbia Journalism Review | ||
| According to its website, "Columbia Journalism Review's mission is to encourage and stimulate excellence in journalism in the service of a free society. It is both a watchdog and a friend of the press in all its forms, from newspapers to magazines to radio, television, and the Web. Founded in 1961 under the auspices of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, CJR examines day-to-day press performance as well as the forces that affect that performance." The website is an excellent source for well-written, well-documented articles about journalism, the media, and news. It is a must-have site for anyone interested in the future of journalism and the news. ( http://www.cjr.org/ ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| Federal Communications Commission | ||
| "The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent United States government agency. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The FCC's jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. possessions." The FCC website contains links to articles, news releases, and headlines. This site has detailed information about the FCC's public hearings, commissioners, and official reports. It is a great resource for official government information on all types of media, from print and radio to television and the Internet. ( http://www.fcc.gov/ ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| Free Press | ||
| Founded by Robert McChesney, John Nichols, and Josh Silver, this site is the home of the Free Press organization. This group consists of over a half a million media activists and is the largest media reform organization in the United States. They state that "through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications." Their site contains articles, petitions, references, and information intended to help "reform media" and "transform democracy." ( http://www.freepress.net/ ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| Media Access Project | ||
| MAP is "a non-profit, public interest law firm and advocacy organization dedicated to promoting the public's First Amendment right to access a diverse marketplace of ideas in the mass media system." MAP promotes the public interest before the FCC and the Courts, "advocating for open and diverse media that protect the free flow of information, promote universal and equitable access to media outlets and telecommunications services, and encourage vibrant public discourse on critical issues facing our society." The site's sections focus on MAP's main issues: Broadband/Open Access, Low Power FM, Public Interest Obligations, Protecting Free Speech in Broadcast Media, and Civil Rights. It also includes MAP's latest legal filings, press releases, a section on MAP in the news, and articles and policy papers. ( http://www.mediaaccess.org/ ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| Media Channel | ||
| This group is dedicated to diverse perspectives and the spread of debate. They argue that "More than ever before, we are living in a media age and a media world. Nine transnational conglomerates dominate the global media; multibillion-dollar deals are concentrating this power even further. . . . Making sense of the steady stream of info-culture requires background, context and interpretation. The vitality of our political and cultural discourse relies on a free and diverse media that offers access to everybody." They offer articles and links to various issues, such as media concentration, women's media, and cyberdemocracy. ( http://www.mediachannel.org/ownership/ ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| Multinational Monitor | ||
| This website archives every issue with free access, dating back to 1980. In their own words, "Multinational Monitor is a monthly magazine devoted primarily to examining the activities of multinational companies. The magazine also covers issues involving labor, the environment, corporate crime, multilateral banks and development. Each issue contains: several short news items; approximately two feature articles; and an interview with a government official, corporate executive, union leader, environmentalist, academic, consumer activist, or other expert on a topic of interest to the magazine." ( http://www.multinationalmonitor.org ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| Ownership Chart from Stop Big Media.org | ||
| This is a list showing which corporations own what when it comes to the media. This one has an interactive interface that lets visitors select between different types of media, such as publishing, television, or film. ( http://www.stopbigmedia.com/chart.php ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| Project Censored Map of Corporate Governance | ||
| This resource is a helpful list that shows the overlap between the boards of directors of different corporations. Often the members of a board of directors also sit on other boards, so governing decisions benefit multiple corporations at once. This list shows the overlap between the boards of several media multinationals and other corporations as well as the names of the boards of directors' members. ( http://www.projectcensored.org/censorship/media-map/ ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| Stop Big Media | ||
| This is a coalition of over sixty organizations that are interested in stopping or reversing FCC regulations that favor big media conglomerates over the citizenry. The coalition ranges from the labor union AFL-CIO and the League of United Latin American to the Center for Media and Democracy and the group Free Press. ( http://www.stopbigmedia.com/ ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| Telecommunications Act of 1996 | ||
| This is the FCC's official site about the 1996 updates to telecommunications laws. It contains the full 128-page document, as well as a summary of the document and a list of other materials from the FCC. This is a very useful document for anyone studying the history of media deregulation and media ownership rules. This act was revisited in 2006 at USC through a public hearing in which members of the media and the FCC commissioners all spoke about media ownership rules. The second URL listed below is the site for this hearing. http://www.fcc.gov/telecom.html ( http://www.fcc.gov/ownership/hearing-california100306.html ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| Who Owns What | ||
| This site is part of the Columbia Journalism Review's website. It is a storehouse of information on media conglomerates. It provides detailed lists of the media holdings of over sixty corporations. Many other websites that track who owns what in the media sphere simply get their information from this site. ( http://www.cjr.org/resources ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
|
|
|
| List of Films:Documentary Films: | ||
| Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (2004) | ||
| Filmmaker Robert Greenwald takes a look at the politics and power behind Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. According to the film's official site, http://www.outfoxed.org/, "Outfoxed examines how media empires, led by Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, have been running a "race to the bottom" in television news. This film provides an in-depth look at Fox News and the dangers of ever-enlarging corporations taking control of the public's right to know." ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418038/ ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| Orwell Rolls in his Grave (2003) | ||
| This film takes a close look at the modern media environment and comes to the conclusion that even George Orwell (author of the classic novel 1984 in which the government controls all information and therefore history itself) would "roll in his grave" if he were alive to see what we have become. ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410407/ ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| The Corporation (2003) | ||
| This film, based on the book The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, by Joel Bakan, explores the history, growth, and expansion of powers and legal rights of the modern corporation. "Taking its status as a legal 'person' to the logical conclusion, the film puts the corporation on the psychiatrist's couch to ask 'What kind of person is it?' The Corporation includes interviews with 40 corporate insiders and critics--including Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, Milton Friedman, Howard Zinn, Vandana Shiva and Michael Moore." ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379225/ ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
|
|
|
| Feature Films | ||
| Good Night and Good Luck (2005) | ||
| In the 1950s, America was subjected to the infamous "Red Scare," with its "witch hunts" and the Blacklist. During this period, Senator Joseph McCarthy gained a hold over the minds of much of the American public through his widely publicized and sensationalistic hearings, his use of unidentified (and possibly nonexistent) informers, and his reckless and often unfounded accusations. This award-winning film shows how a handful of brave people in the media, in particular journalist and commentator Edward R. Murrow, helped to combat McCarthy's pernicious influence. ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0433383/plotsummary ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| Network (1976) | ||
| This classic film from the seventies was originally intended to satirize the idea of media mergers and information ownership, but it ended up being prophetic in its depictions of shows designed to play to the lowest common denominator and people's basest instincts for sensationalism. ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074958/ ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| They Live (1988) | ||
| This film is a science fiction satire that shows how the public is driven to blindly consume and never question authority (in this case by space aliens who live among us invisibly and can only be seen through high tech sunglasses developed by the resistance!). ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096256/ ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| Wag the Dog (1997) | ||
| This black comedy takes a look at exactly how much the American people could be manipulated through the media after the president of the United States is accused of sexual relations with an under-aged girl and fakes a war with Albania to distract people from the truth. ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120885/ ) | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||