Definition: con·glom·er·ate - a corporation consisting of a number of subsidiary companies or divisions in a variety of related or unrelated industries, usually as a result of merger or acquisition.

• We were asked to research the United State's biggest media conglomerate corporations in our Media Literacy class. We then had to choose one company and list its subsidiarys (smaller companies owned by the conglomerate) and discuss these things in a short essay. These companies include but are not limited to General Electric, Disney Inc., News Corp., Time Warner, Viacom, and CBS.  

• I chose to focus my essay on Rupert Mourdoch's News Corp. They are one of the top dogs in all of media. They are third in assets, topped only by GE and Disney in the US. Their focus though is mainly on news/entertainment and is vast and far reaching.

• News Corp. has their hands in publishing, broadcasting, and television/film prduction and distrbution worldwide. Their assets include the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Fox TV Channels and all affiliates, FX, 20th Century Fox, Direct TV, National Geographic, and Hulu internet television just to name a few.

• PROS: There are some good possibilities from a giant media empire such as this. Mainly being that consumer prices should be lower because of less competition in the market. This can be a double edged sword though since there is less choice, you rely on one company for the service you want and they can charge whatever price they see fit. When it comes to news, in theory it would be better and more accurate as news stations would have larger and more vast networks for resources.
• CONS: The bad side I found is that these corporations can be heavily influential on the people they sell too. They are able to control almost every aspect of what people hear and see. This can affect millions of people. It can tend to have a negative effect on people becuase the content that is aired, is often chosen because of the owners/directors personal opinion saying it is okay to show. Meaning if a news story that is true needs to be ran, it will not be if it counters their biased view. Thus blurring the truth and hendering people's ability to make decisions based on the information they've been given.

• All in all, my concern is how these news channels affect politics and democracy in America. News Corp. and Fox News are not the only ones doing these things though. As GE's MSNBC is at the other end of the political spectrum and has their own biased views.

Sources

• http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/main
• Google Images