Media oligopolies and the Web
FCC Chief Michael Powell is unconcerned about allowing more concentration in TV and newspaper news sources. After all, he explains, there's plenty of competition on the Web. If people don't like what they are told by the big broadcast and newspaper companies (soon to be bigger), they can choose from one of the thousands of sites on the Internet.
After all, the Internet has infinite shelf space; there are hundreds of blogs and opinion sites, so there can be no idea of a few companies dominating something as precious as our access to news.
The Internet may not be as wide open as the utopians would have it. That the thought of Farhad Manjoo, writing on Salon, in an article called "Can the Web beat Big Media?" Manjoo argues that in spite of the seeming infinity of news sources, the dominant ones are all controlled by the same limited group of major media interests. He writes:
So, given the power of the technology, one may reasonably ask: What harm can come of Powell's plan to let the big guys get bigger if the rest of us, the little guys with laptops and Wi-Fi, can simply steer around the monopolies?
But … if anything, the Web and cable and satellite have expanded the reach of media conglomerates. Ninety percent of the top 50 cable channels are owned by media giants. Every single one of the top 20 news Web sites is under the thumb of a media giant.
But regardless of the platform, the most popular content remains in the keep of a small and shrinking bunch. Why is this so? The answer is obvious, say critics of deregulation: A firm that owns a great swath of the traditional media has phenomenal leverage on new platforms. A Web site may be great -- but it becomes even greater, and only really valuable, when you also own TV stations and newspapers, a situation that Powell's rules will exacerbate.
With the Internet it's not shelf space that is limited. But mind space. The ability to build a brand rapidly is the real power, and the big media companies have ready-made brands. The consolidation that has happened in newspapers, radio, and TV will continue under the new FCC rules, and the Internet will be no exception. In a space as infinite as the Web, the sites that get little traffic get little attention, and the traffic demonstrably goes to the sites that have mind space, those backed up by media oligopolies.
Notes on the following table, containing the twenty top news sources on the Internet, is based on a recent Neilsen survey.: Most are familiar. But of the others:
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Internet Broadcasting Company creates sites for specific local TV stations, magazines, and newspapers. It is allied with NBC, Hearst Argyle Television, Cox Communications, Post-Newsweek (Washington Post), and McGraw Hill
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Yahoo News is basically AP and Reuters clips
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WorldNow works with local TV stations also, with 143 of them signed up.
| News site(s) |
Owner(s) |
Unique Audience (000s ) |
|
MSNBC |
GE, Microsoft |
19,649 |
|
CNN |
AOL-Time-Warner |
17,283 |
|
AOL News |
AOL-Time-Warner |
16,800 |
|
Yahoo news |
Yahoo |
16,215 |
|
NY Times.com |
New York Times |
8,394 |
|
Internet Broadcasting Systems |
IBC |
7,798 |
|
Gannett Newspapers |
Gannett |
7,301 |
|
ABC News |
Disney |
6,347 |
|
Washington Post.com |
Washington Post |
6,194 |
|
MSN/Slate |
Microsoft |
5,596 |
|
USA Today |
Knight-Ridder |
5,400 |
|
Hearst Newspapers Digital |
Hearst |
4,819 |
|
CBS News |
Viacom |
4.451 |
|
Fox News |
News Corp. |
4,343 |
|
WorldNow |
DataMark |
3,960 |
|
Time Magazine |
AOL-Time-Warner |
3,920 |
|
McClatchy Newspapers |
AOL-Time-Warner |
3,729 |
|
LA Times |
Tribune Company |
2,777 |
|
Netscape News |
AOL-Time-Warner |
2,552 |
|
Cox Newspapers |
Cox Newspapers |
2,492 |
8:52:54 PM 
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