Corporate Dominance of the Media

In his 1989 book Culture, Inc., media scholar Herbert Schiller offers a political-economic analysis of the negative influences and consequences of giant corporations domination of the media and the cultural domain, in the U.S. and internationally. The subtitle of the book, "The Corporate Takeover of Public Expression," expresses Schiller's passionate premise of the dangerous effects of 50 years of corporate growth and mergers on American culture - from the press, to TV, new technologies, to movies, performing arts centers, public broadcasting stations, museums, and even shopping malls. The danger of this trend, according to Schiller, is a world completely dominated by consumerist values and commercial principles in which information is regarded as a private realm rather than as a public good. A bland, uniform Infotainment replaces the free flow of information and diverse ideas. The source of this problem is "the corporate organization of society" (p. 9). The major intention of the book, as stated by Schiller, is to analyze the impact of expanded corporate power "on the social landscape - especially the cultural activity and the visions that sustain a people" (p. 3).

The main themes of the book center on how democracy is weakened by media centralization and the expansion of commercialization into all areas of life; the result is a manipulation of consciousness that limits individual expressiveness. According to Schiller, the "growth of private corporate power is seen as the

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nant power structure basing his findings not on theory, but on empirically informed, ideological observations and conclusions. In his words, Culture, Inc. "is not a historical study. Its aim is to mark out�where the social order is at this time and how it has arrived there. It makes no claim on the future" (p. 10). He also says that he hopes his book provides a few clues for future action. Nevertheless, the book relies on historical documentary research as well as his understanding of both history and contemporary world developments. A large part of his method is to challenge as well as to document and explain these developments. Schiller's method includes a presentation of the big picture; he cites the interaction of society and culture with history, economics and politics. His method involves using his own value judgments and personal social philosophy to discuss the interaction and its impact on the communication structure. His personal liberal belief system leads him analyze the structural inequality he finds along class lines in Marxist and classical traditions. His method suits his purpose. Culture, Inc. is concerned with explaining why contemporary society is not concerned with the well being of its citizens, but only w

Category: Psychology - C