The Media Monopoly
by Ben H. Bagdikian
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Business. Politics. Sociology. Nonfiction. HTML:When the first edition of The Media Monopoly was published in 1983, critics called Ben Bagdikian's warnings about the chilling effects of corporate ownership and mass advertising on the nation's news "alarmist." Since then, the number of corporations controlling most of America's daily newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, book publishers, and movie companies has dwindled from fifty to ten to five.The most respected critique show more of modern mass media ever issued is now published in a completely updated and revised twentieth anniversary edition.
'Ben Bagdikian has written the first great media book of the twenty-first century. The New Media Monopoly will provide a roadmap to understanding how we got here and where we need to go to make matters better.'
-Robert McChesney, author of Rich Media, Poor Democracy. show less
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The first edition came out shortly after the inception of cable TV in the early 1980s (Amazon incorrectly says the first edition was 1997) and Bagdikian was astute enough to identify the coming trend that ultimately jeopardizes what the 1st amendment was created to do -- protect freedom of speech. Citizens (who in the US have for years considered themselves consumers) don't realize how corporate control of the most powerful channels of communication put constraints on our ability to get accurate information. Bagdikian revised and updated the book several times, at several steps along the way until his dire prediction came true and there remained only 6 companies in charge of broadcasting (including internet) information throughout the show more world. It's a good book to start with to enhance one's media literacy. show less
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15+ Works 544 Members
Ben Haig Bagdikian was born in Marash, Turkey on January 30, 1920. The family fled the massacre of Armenians when he was an infant. They settled in Stoneham, Massachusetts. He graduated from Clark University in 1941 and worked briefly as a reporter for The Springfield Morning Union in Massachusetts. After serving as a navigator in World War II, he show more joined The Providence Journal and Evening Bulletin in Rhode Island in 1947. He was a member of a team that won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for deadline coverage of a bank robbery. From 1963 to 1967, he was a Washington-based contributing editor of The Saturday Evening Post and wrote freelance articles for several publications including The New York Times Magazine. He studied the news media for the RAND Corporation from 1967 to 1969. After joining The Washington Post in 1970, he became an assistant managing editor. From 1972 to 1974, he wrote for The Columbia Journalism Review. He taught journalism at Berkeley College from 1976 until retiring in 1990. His first book, In the Midst of Plenty: The Poor in America, was published in 1964. His other books included The Information Machines: Their Impact on Men and the Media, The Effete Conspiracy and Other Crimes by the Press, The Media Monopoly, and The New Media Monopoly. He also wrote the memoir Double Vision: Reflections on My Heritage, Life and Profession. He died on March 11, 2016 at the age of 96. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- The Media Monopoly
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- Popularity
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- Reviews
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- (3.94)
- Languages
- English, Spanish
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- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- UPCs
- 2
- ASINs
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