Rant of the Week: Media mergers spell trouble
By The world's largest Internet company, America Online and media giant Time Warner joined forces in a
The relationship is symbiotic by nature, with AOL wishing to utilize cable connections to speed up transfer rates, and Time Warner seeking to digitize their company, despite failed efforts to do so in the past. How big is this deal? The two companies together are valued at approximately $350 billion. Silicon Valley venture capitalist Roger McNamee was recently quoted as saying: "LetÃs be clear: This is the single most transformational event I've seen in my career."
But what will this mean for the journalistic integrity of Time Warner-based news agencies and magazines? It seems that when big business and journalism collide, there are always some severe repercussions, potentially damaging the integrity of news as we know it. For example, in 1998, Brian Ross, an investigative reporter for ABC News, began pursuing a story about pedophiles who had possibly worked at Disney World. The story never aired. Disney owns ABC. Coincidence? You decide.
With the blind trust many people put into what they hear in the news, it is important to remember that when the news is subordinate to a profit-seeking company, conflict will arise. Picture this purely hypothetical newscast: "This just in: AOL's security compromised, thousands of credit card numbers released." Who would have the more biased opinion on the matter, the company that is a business partner to America Online or an outside source? If you were affected by this incident, which news agency would you tune into for the vital information youÃd need?
Does bias have a place in news? No. Does it exist? Of course. The trick sometimes is detecting it, as it is often too subtle for most to see. With this rise in "megacorporate" journalism, bias is a major issue that needs to be closely watched. Time Warner and AOL aren't the only duo in town. Microsoft and NBC are partners in a news channel and a prominent web site MSNBC.com where hundreds of thousands of Americans get their news every day. How in depth will MSNBC's cable channel go into the problems surrounding a Microsoft product? How badly will the critics in Time magazine pan a film (which could possibly have a detrimental effect on box office performance) that was made by one of their sister companies, Warner Brothers? You get the idea.
Before the top-secret merger occurred, Levine appeared on CNN's Millennium 2000 special to state his views on the future of media. Levin said, "[global media] will be and is fast becoming the predominant business of the 21st century."
In 1956, A.J. Liebling, a writer for The New Yorker stated, "People everywhere confuse what they read in the newspapers, with news." This holds true 44 years later, but with a new twist. Now, big business has the frightening possibility of subtly manipulating news to conform to its own agenda. But, by public awareness and competition, news agencies will be forced to do what they are intended to do; Keep the public informed about pertinent issues, and not allow the quest for profit to tarnish the established rules for proper journalism.
Colin Nagy is a freshman communication major.