“Joseph Stalin…Once suggested that starving Ukrainians ought to be fed grass because, while grass was not nutritious or healthy, it could fill their stomachs and give them a sense of having been fed. This is what the media in many markets has become; [Sic] it feeds readers, listeners and viewers a steady diet of the media equivalent of grass. People feel as if they are partaking in news, but they are actually starved for information” (Nicholls, 2004, listed by E. Hart)
You may not have ever thought about media concentration before; that’s okay. But it is important; it has the potential to limit freedom of expression and diversity, as well as promote sensationalism, rather than real stories. As US journalist John Nicholls suggests: “profit will always trump principle.”
An American Explanation of Media Concentration:
Schapelle Corby’s release from prison:
Many of the stories now flood the media which are based on sensationalism and stories that are designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator, rather than important, hard-hitting stories. There are numerous examples of this, from the media flurry surrounding Schapelle Corby’s release from prison while wars were fought, and the focus on Tony Abbot and his budgie smugglers, rather than his actual political policies.
According to the MEAA, the only way to rectify this trend is through the diversity of media ownership, though federal law makes this difficult. The 2007 amendment to the 1992 Broadcasting Services Act, which reduced cross-media restrictions, has only succeeded in causing Australian media to become even more concentrated:
Australia’s media is controlled by only a handful of people; our media is one of the most highly concentrated in the world. The general public, however, are largely unaware of the issue and its impact. If only media owners were to focus on the quality of their stories, rather than the profits. It certainly is a rich man’s world.
Something Beginning with Z 