The American Media Is Private Business - 1027 Words

The American media is private business. Most make their profits by selling their audiences advertisements, not news coverage. Because of this structure, the media tends to favor corporate interests such as advertising agencies and â€Å"big business†. There is also new â€Å"cross-ownership†. The leaders of media corporations and the defense industry are the same, which leads to supporting war. There is an inherent conservative bias in the American media system which is based on the economic structure of mass media in the United States. Firstly, most news sources in the United States are owned by large media conglomerates, which are many times owned by larger parent companies with investments in other industries, therefore creating an inherent bias†¦show more content†¦Statistical evidence suggests that about â€Å"three-fourths of this difference in framing is due to media bias.† (Dunham) The media is seen as conservative leaning because the way these o rganizations portray themselves in the various mediums. News coverage and the organizations tied to it should be as objective as possible. The right-wing ideas have become more and more associated with the media, according to the above statistic. Overall conservative â€Å"think tanks† and right-wing advertising corporations dominate the media, supporting its inherent conservative bias. Secondly, the media relies heavily on special interest groups and corporate sources and thus the relationships between the media and powerful sources develop out of mutual corporate and economic benefits and concerns. One method of unjustly supporting ideas is by demonstrating â€Å"flak†. Flak is a â€Å"method used by businesses, politicians, powerful interest groups and individuals to discredit opposing perspectives and to try to stop publications of damaging information.† (Pawlick) Thus, stories that conflict with the interests of advertisers are most likely to be