Welcome to our website about media conglomerates and the impact they have on what we see, hear, and read! If you are not familiar with the term, a media conglomerate is "a company that owns a large number of smaller companies in various mass media." You may not be aware that the number of media companies in the United States has decreased from 50 to six since 1983, and these "big six" companies are News Corporation, Disney, Viacom, Comcast, Time Warner, and CBS. The page “The Big Six of Media Conglomerates” provides some basic information about each of these companies. Also, as you can probably imagine, there are many pros and cons to media conglomeration, and the page “Conglomerates: Good or Bad?” describes several.
Media conglomerates have had a particular impact on news reporting about religion. There are many media companies owned by Christian religious groups, for example, which can lead to Christian bias. And the article “Left Behind: The Skewed Representation of Religion in Major News Media” indicates that conservative religious leaders are “overrepresented” in the media. However, news coverage of Islam, in particular, has been greatly affected by media conglomerates, leading to what is called “Islamophobia” and much negative news about the religion and Muslims around the world. The “Islamophobia and the Media” talks about this issue.
Media conglomerates have had a particular impact on news reporting about religion. There are many media companies owned by Christian religious groups, for example, which can lead to Christian bias. And the article “Left Behind: The Skewed Representation of Religion in Major News Media” indicates that conservative religious leaders are “overrepresented” in the media. However, news coverage of Islam, in particular, has been greatly affected by media conglomerates, leading to what is called “Islamophobia” and much negative news about the religion and Muslims around the world. The “Islamophobia and the Media” talks about this issue.