Consolidation and Convergence

Since the dawn of the media age, there has been an ongoing homogenization of the information that we receive and the means that we receive it. This media consolidation has brought forth the rise of media conglomerates and turned news from publicly shared information to a commodity that can be sold to the public. Along with this rise in consolidation is the advancement of technologies that place information literally at a persons fingertips.
Although the notion of someone controlling the news has been around since the days of William Randolph Hearst, the current state of media consolidation has made independently owned media outlets an endangered species. The rise of media conglomerates such as News Corp., Viacom, and Clear Channel has allowed only a handful of corporations to control most of the information being released to the public. Along with this is the standardization that comes with information being presented by each corporation. These corporations are at their cores, businesses. Therefore making profit their main operating goal and not unbiased journalism or diverse programming. In order to maintain such a large portfolio of corporate holdings many of these corporations operate under a business model that many of their companies follow. This is done to draw in and maintain a consistent customer base that share the beliefs that these corporations espouse upon.
Next are the ongoing technological developments that has removed the emphasis from radio and print media and replaced these sources with online and mobile content. Smart phones in particular IPhones, Blackberrys, and Google Android phones have made phones not only calling devices, but web browsers and email servers. In order to receive breaking news updates on the go, a person does not need to rely on text messages and phone calls from friends and family. They can use mobile web browsers to find out detailed information to breaking news themselves. The age of print newspapers being the main source of news is long gone with online and mobile content has since replacing it.
Some would say that this type of media consolidation and convergence is a good thing, in that it has made news more accessible and up to date. However these new developments are far from positive. There is too much homogenization of the news with news stations such as Fox and CNN becoming brand names and not independent thinking news sources. Along with this is the creation of online and mobile web sources which place the premium on headline news stories which can be easily accessed and read. This constant convergence and consolidation will create a where the focus will not be on fair and consistent journalism seeking to educate the public, but on easily accessible content marketed for its audience.