Who Owns The Media? (Week 1) Revised.

Whether we acknowledge it or not, the media is a part of our everyday lives not only because it is everywhere but because it has become a part of our culture and a major component in constructing our reality. The media plays a vital role in the decisions we make, the opinions we form of others and ourselves, and the products we consume. We (the consumers) are exposed to it (the media) through many channels such as the television (most dominant), followed by the computer, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, posters, friends, family, and other social networks. Before looking into who really owns the media I would have said that the media was controlled by "the man", the power elite, and the individuals with the most resources and money who had no regard for the exploitation others. For the most part I was not totally wrong but what I did fail to notice was that the media is owned by a select group of companies who have essentially monopolized the television networks, radio stations, and print ads that consumers are exposed to. Corporate giants such as Time Warner, Disney, Viacom, Vivendi, Bertelsmann, and News Corporation have had the most control in deciding what sources of information their consumers (which is essentially all of us) are presented with. What that means is that the business giants previously stated have the most power and control over the products and messages that I as a consumer am exposed to.

Prior to the advancements made in technology, the sources that people depended on for information were limited to printed newspapers and the radio but now since times have obviously changed, people have access to more information than ever before; sometimes the unlimited sources are more than one needs. Additionally, the advancements of our modern society have also allowed marketers to have greater access to us as consumers and are able to group us into niches. Marketers have access to information that helps them know what we like, want, believe, and think we need. The fact that we live in such a highly media saturated world has made it nearly impossible to avoid all of the messages directed our way; as consumers we are bombarded with media messages from every angle that shape our beliefs and actions in one way or another. For the most part, people are unaware of all the messages they are exposed and what they really mean. An effect that we are all exposed to is that the media through one measure or another conditions our though process. One's mind is turned on to automatic pilot and automatically filters the irrelevant signals sent to a viewer while others sneak in through subliminal messaging.

Furthermore, there is so much more behind the scenes work involved with the media that many people do not bother to think about what goes into producing the advertisements we see or the forms of media that we choose to engage with. That is why it is important to be media literate and protect ourselves from having someone dictate our consumer habits. Media literacy basically means that the consumer is able to take control and clearly understand the messages presented to them as opposed to just accepting the false conditions & reality of what we are exposed.

I never viewed the media as necessarily being a bad thing and cannot imagine living in a world without all of the different channels available to me. When I say that I do not only mean the channels on the television but just about everything ranging from music to the news, and so forth that has made me feel as if I was controlling who I am as a person and my behavioral habits. Obviously what I watch and listen to was chosen by another individual who has in some way influenced the way that I go about my day even though I may not consciously be aware of it. I have been presented with a predetermined list of choices, all of which are controlled by the same top six media corporations. Somehow someone has automatically caused me to process the decisions that I make; that basically means that I am behavioral programmed to act a certain way and consume certain products that help advertisers understand the type of consumer that I am as a result of all of the messages I am exposed to. Furthermore, if advertisers don't get to me through the TV and radio, they have managed to gain the ability to expose me to a product through a friend or family member. What I learned is that the media is not only limited to technology and print, it can also use its consumers to become walking billboards that send a message, which means that even though a select group of people actually own the media, it's influences stem father than one would ever imagine.