1 - Television News (Domestic and Global)
The Influence of Media Ownership on Television News
For decades, television news has played a critical role in how the public perceives current events. Whether it be political or social discourse, news channels have shaped the way that individuals think and act by providing coverage and sparking conversation. News channels, especially in the United States, are extremely divided in terms of where they fall on the political spectrum. Part of the reason for this divide boils down to ownership—who controls and funds these networks, and how does that impact their ideological stances?
In countries outside of the U.S., media ownership varies broadly depending on the way that each country's government rules. State-controlled news outlets often shape a more restricted narrative than corporate-controlled news outlets, while also not offering as much variety in where people can get their news. These differing structures in media can influence the way that the public consumes and interprets news coverage.
There are a few major corporations that control the media in the U.S. According to data from Statista, the top television news channels in the United States are Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN (data from November 2023). Fox News is owned by Fox Corporation, which, in turn, is owned by the Murdoch family, a family of major media moguls (FOX). MSNBC, on the other hand, is owned by NBCUniversal, which is a subsidiary of Comcast, though recent developments have stated that the channel will be spun off to a new media company called SpinCo (The Hollywood Reporter). CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (CNN). These conglomerates, along with a few others, are what manage the news that we consume. While Fox News is right-leaning, MSNBC and CNN are both more left-leaning in terms of politics. It can be inferred that the corporations that own these companies want to push out a specific political and social narrative that benefits them.
While corporations own a majority of the media in the U.S., countries with stricter governments often have media that is owned by the state. For example, in China, which is the fifth-most censored country in the world according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Chinese Central TV (CCTV) is the largest media company in the nation (BBC). CCTV is completely controlled by the Chinese government, allowing them to direct the narrative that is being broadcast to their population. This differs from the way that large corporations in the U.S. control the narratives of their respective news companies because there are multiple different entities to choose from in the U.S., while the main media source in China is controlled by only one entity. The Chinese government also actively tries to restrict access to foreign news, making their news channel one of the only ones that is available to Chinese citizens.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is influenced by state, but differs from American and Chinese news media because it is publicly funded and has editorial independence (London Museum). The British government chooses the BBC's chair and reviews and renews the charter, giving them a small amount of control over the news narrative. Even still, the BBC works in the interest of the public rather than for profit.
Below are three videos that report on the recent LA fires: one from Fox News, one from CCTV, and one from BBC.
There are many legal and ethical concerns that come with the concentration of media ownership across the globe. When only a few entities control the narrative that the population consumes, it can lead to a slew of misinformation and bias in reporting. Having multiple news sources under various ownerships is extremely important in being able to resist media manipulation. In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has rules set in place that prohibit a single entity from trying to monopolize the media landscape. In fact, the four major broadcast television networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC) are not allowed to merge together. Still, though, press freedom in the U.S. is threatened through harassment, police, and legal challenges (VOA News).
Media ownership plays a major part in shaping television news domestically and globally. In the U.S., media corporations support the narratives that align best with their interests, while stricter countries use state-controlled media to further push propaganda. In this day and age, it is important for news companies to be completely transparent about ownership and for press freedom laws to be upheld.
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