Mainstream Media: Who, What, Why?

MSM sounds like a drug, and while I’m not referring to a narcotic, it's damn near the same thing.  The MSM, or mainstream media, is one of the most influential parts of 21st century society.  But before we examine why, we need to look at the who and what.

Mainstream Media is dominated by the Big Five, who control the vast majority of the media/entertainment industry.  The first of these is Comcast.  Comcast owns a variety of entertainment giants, namely NBC and its regional or national affiliates, Universal Studios, and Dreamworks.

Also in the mix is The Walt Disney Company.  Disney owns all of the Disney and Pixar properties including Toy Story, Cars, Frozen, and other movies or television shows.  They also own Lucasfilm, whose primary sources of income are the Indiana Jones and Star Wars films.  In addition to these, they also own Marvel and ESPN.

NewsCorp/Fox Corporation is another member of the Big Five, for different reasons than the first two.  NewsCorp/Fox Corporation mainly draws from Fox and its affiliates like Fox News and Fox Sports.  They also own the Wall Street Journal, and New York Post.  One thing to note about Fox Corporation is that they were recently forced to sell their regional Fox Sports stations, which were bought by Bally’s Corporation.

WarnerMedia is the penultimate member of the group.  Their focus is largely on network television, owning control over CNN, TNT, TBS, TruTV, and HBO.  They also own the rights to the DC Comics cinematic ventures through Warner Brothers, which has given them rights to the Looney Tunes as well.

The final member of the Big Five is ViacomCBS.  They own all of CBS’ properties, as well as NFL.com.  They also have control over Nickelodeon and Nick Jr, Comedy Central, Paramount, and MTV.

These corporations control so much of what we consider modern media or entertainment that it’s almost impossible to find a source that isn’t under the umbrella of one of them without purposely seeking it out.  However, mainstream media can be a good thing because the Big Five have created competition amongst themselves and they prevent any one corporation from creating a monopoly.  Mainstream media also makes entertainment and information more accessible for the average consumer.

At the same time, there are cons to the MSM.  The news being dominated by the same few sources means that there could be a lack of differing opinions being presented in the media.  This has created a general distrust in the media, especially among conservatives.  The fact that these corporations control almost all of the nation’s most lucrative industry means that the MSM empowers those who are already powerful.

The mainstream media has a lot of benefits for consumers, but not everyone can afford to be one of those consumers.  The rich benefit the most because they can afford all the different channels, subscriptions, and streaming services offered by these massive companies.  Alternatively, the lower class might not be able to afford subscriptions to things like HBO Max, ESPN+, Disney+, or other additional sources of media.