The Corporate
Media Pyramid, written by Freydis
Americans and Canadians, like most
people everywhere, enjoy media based entertainment,
perhaps even more than they like food, but few of them really
know where either product comes from of where their money is
really going
to when they consume either product. This report focuses on the
mass-media entertainment industry. This is an especially crucial
segment of the business world to clarify because the majority of
Americans receive the news and information they use to make
important decisions from the mass-media.
Brands and logos are
certainly a study in their own right but on a
more practical level for the average consumer
merely sorting out which brand fits with which
company is often a daunting task, and indeed even the research
for this report was not always easy because many corporations do
not make the ownership of
media subsidiaries very
clear. This report is not meant to depict
every mass-media company but is simply an attempt to clarify the
dominant Internet-age
mass-media corporations and their major holdings and subsidiary
brands. That suffices to cover the majority of news and
information used by the English-speaking public.
More Channels but Fewer
Alternative Voices
Just as I found while researching
food brands (see DOR's Corporate Food
Pyramid), media companies do the same thing:
rapid brand multiplication without significant
product alteration. This may increase product sales but
ultimately it just adds to confusion. Concocting
multiple alternates of the same or nearly
identical product creates an illusion of choice
but mitigates the ability of the consumer to make
accurate purchasing decisions or to support or
penalize corporate actions. This report will
hopefully aid analysis of those and other
concerns. The number cable television channels available to the
consumer rapidly multiplies creating the illusion of a wide
spectrum of variety and corporate control when in reality the
exact opposite is occurring. A dwindling number of very
influential media companies and very wealthy individuals control
and ever widening array of entertainment programming.
We all should be
concerned about powerful monopolies dominating a
sector that we critically depend upon every day. Accurate and
useful information is absolutely necessary for everyone to make
correct and beneficial decisions, especially in a democracy! It's
no secret that whoever controls the mass-media controls the
political landscape as well.
The first and foremost goal
of every public corporation is to make a profit - as much money
as fast as they can, but after a financial gain is achieved the
owners and other influential persons are free to pursue whatever
ideological, theological, or personal agenda they wish to, and
pursue it they do. This is why corporate media consolidation is
such a critical issue because, it narrows the variety of voices
and opinions being seen and heard by the American public and
artificially constrains the range of ideas and solutions
circulating within 'acceptable' public debate. Mass-media influence can be broken
down into two portions: capital
control (the money) and content control (the message).
Determining capital control is relatively easy because the
financial details of publicly traded companies must be reported
to government authorities and published for public viewing.
Determining content control is more difficult but the general
agenda and tone of the media outlet is usually fairly clear and
is very unlikely to contradict the views and agendas of the
capital controllers. Fox news for instance leaves little doubt
as to which political side they favor.
Perhaps
even more important than capital and content is distribution
because media has to be delivered to the audience. Most of the
major media conglomerates have at least some wholly owned
distribution assets be they billboards along streets, TV and
radio stations, or Internet sites that can be used to deliver
corporate content to the audience.
Owners and managers of media
corporations have every right to control, censor and edit the
content on their media outlets by virtue of the ownership they
exercise over those assets. They can choose to sell advertising
to one person or group and deny it to another based on whatever
reasoning, or lack of it, that they choose. This is why private
ownership of the mass-media is so often harmful to the safety
and welfare of the public. When media
corporations also own the means of distribution their control of
information comes full circle because the media managers can
decide what information they want released and where it goes and
at the same time deny alternate information from ever being
released or distributed. Private ownership and control over the
means of media distribution is especially dangerous because it
gives the controller every option to refuse to allow anyone they
don't like and any information they don't like from ever being
published or broadcast and thereby reaching the public.
"When
you're exposed to network TV news, it's always good to bear in
mind that you're watching millionaires working for billionaires,
telling stories whose main purpose (from an economic
perspective) is to get you to hold still long enough for
corporate advertisements to rearrange your value system."
- Jim Naureckas, 2007, editor of Extra! by FAIR.
This is
the reason why laws are put in place to prevent any single media
company from controlling too much media content or distribution
in one region. Not surprisingly given the profit motive and the
desire to control information mass-media companies have spent
billions of dollars to subvert these rules and in the process
have severely corrupted public officials in their favor.
The real problem is that news
and information are not considered a public good in the United
States but is instead treated as merely another commodity for
private gain. As long as this very short-sighted and
self-destructive belief maintains its grip on the attitude of
leaders and citizens mass-media consolidation will only continue
while the quality and diversity of news and information critical
for accurate decision-making will deteriorate further.
You Have
Buying Power
Money is power, everyone
spends money therefore everyone has power; don't squander this
power - use it wisely. Nearly every consumer product has an
alternative. If you don't like a store don't buy there; if you
don't like the products or lifestyle a company promotes, don't
buy their products and if you really dislike them you can
go one step further and boycott them outright and tell others to
do the same. Media corporations can be influenced by public
input just like any other profit-driven business, even more so
because they are regulated and licensed by government authority.
With enough public protest a broadcaster can have their license
revoked by the government, the FCC in the United States, and
will be forced to either shut down or change their behavior.
Boycotts only
work if you know about the company and you know what all their
products are. This may seem simple but it's actually a very
confusing task because brands are not always clearly connected
to the parent company. Every consumer has
significant power through the purchases they make on a daily
basis - more so than they realize because even the largest
company has a bottom line. Especially in a competitive
marketplace boycotts and the actions of astute consumers do make
an impact and corporate decision makers will react to
public demand.
This
report is not meant to be an exhaustive review and anyway the
media companies are in a constant state of flux, buying one
subsidiary and selling another while changing the name of the
rest. Accurate reader input is always appreciated. If you know
of a fact or piece of information not included here or are aware
of a change or update please send me an e-mail and the source of
your facts and I'll make the correction or add in the update as
appropriate.
Freydis, 04.03.07
|
CanWest is the largest media conglomerate and the
largest newspaper publisher in Canada. CanWest also
owns a multitude of media operations from TV and radio
to newspapers and Internet sites around the world.
CanWest begins in 1975, when
Israel "Izzy" Asper started a single television
station in his hometown of Winnipeg. When Asper died
in 2003, he left behind a global media empire that
includes film production, newspapers and broadcasting
stations on four continents. Leonard Asper, who
succeeded his father, has said he wants CanWest, a
family-controlled but publicly traded company with
about $2.9 billion (Canadian) in revenues, to become
one of the world's five-largest media conglomerates.
[3]
|
|
CONTENT |
Newspapers
-
Abbotsford Times
-
Alberni Valley Times
-
Bargain Bundle
-
Burnaby Now
-
Calgary Herald
-
Campbell River Courier Islander
-
Chilliwack Times
-
Comox Valley
Echo
-
Coquitlam Now
-
Cowichan Valley
Citizen
-
Delta Optimist
-
Dose (33% - Vancouver)
-
Edmonton Journal
-
Gazette (Montreal)
-
Harbour City
Star
-
Langley Advance
-
Leader-Post
-
Maple Ridge Times
-
Metro publication
"and its extensive outreach delivers
a new generation of premium audience to
advertisers."
-
Montreal Gazette
-
Nanaimo Daily News
-
National Post
-
New Westminster Record
-
North Shore News
-
Oceanside Star
-
Ottawa Citizen
-
Pennyworth Shopper (Port Alberni)
-
Province (BC)
-
Regina Leader Post
-
Richmond News
-
Saskatoon Star Phoenix
-
Saskatoon Sun
-
Shop Windsor
-
Southam
Publications
-
St. Catharines Standard
-
St. John's Telegram
-
The Now Community (Surrey)
-
The StarPhoenix
-
The TimesColonist
(BC)
-
Vancouver Courier Downtown
-
Vancouver Courier Eastside
-
Vancouver Courier Westside
-
Vancouver Province
-
Vancouver Sun (BC)
-
Victoria Times-Colonist
-
Westerly News (Port Alberni)
-
Windsor Star
Vannet Newspaper
Group
(publishes 13 community newspapers)
-
Abbotsford/Mission Times
- Burnaby Now
- Chilliwack
Times
- Coquitlam Now
- Delta
Optimist
- Langley
Advance
- Maple
Ridge/Pitt meadows Times
- New
Westminster Record
- North Shore
News
- Richmond News
- Surrey Now
- Vancouver
Courier
The Vancouver
Island Newspaper Group
(publishes eight small
newspapers)
-
Campbell River’s Courier Islander
-
Courtenay’s
Comox Valley Echo
-
Duncan’s Cowichan Valley Citizen
-
Nanaimo’s Harbour City Star
-
North Islander
-
Parkville’s Oceanside Star
-
Port Alberni’s Pennyworth Shopper
-
Ucluelet/Tofino’s
Westerley News
|
 |
Television
- CanWest News
Service (CNS)
-
CH Hamilton
- CH in Montreal
- CH Vancouver
Island
- CHBC - Kelowna,
British Columbia
- CKRD - Red
Deer, Alberta
- CoolTV
- DejaView
- Fox Sportsworld
Canada
- Global
Television Network
- Lonestar
- MenTV
- Mystery
- Network TEN
- Prime TV
- TV3 & TV4 (New
Zealand)
- TVtropolis
- Xtreme Sports
|
 |
Radio
-
New Zealand
- MORE FM
- Channel Z
- RadioWorks
(72%)
|
|
Magazines
- ed
- Financial
Post Business
- Living
Windsor
- TVtimes
-
The New Republic
-
shout "aboriginal
youth"
-
Swerve
|
|
|
DISTRIBUTION |
Film
- CanWest
Entertainment
- Fireworks
[multiple]
|
|
|
Internet
|
|
Various
- Mobile Video
Productions
- QuickTrac
software
- QuickWire
software
|
|
|
|
Toronto:CGS.TO |
3100 CanWest
Global Place
201 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3B 3L7 |
|
Yearly Revenue: $2,460,000,000 |
|
Profit Margin:
7.44% |
|
Share Price: C$7 |
|
Full
Time Employees: 10,656 |
|
|
Capital
Control |
CEO, President
Leonard J. Asper, 43 |
 |
Pay:
$549,000
Shares Owned: ? |
Chairman of the Board
Derek H. Burney, 66 |
Pay:
?
Stock Options Used:
Shares Owned:
? |
Chief Financial Officer
John Maguire |
Pay:
$254,000
Shares Owned: ? |
|
Content
Control
CanWest mandated [in 2000]
that the papers, from Vancouver to Halifax, print national
editorials written in Winnipeg.
Charles
Shannon, a copy editor at the Gazette, the only daily
serving Montreal's 1 million Anglophone readers, says, "One
definite edict that came down was that there should be no
criticism of Israel. And by that I mean not even a mild
rapping of the wrist." Shannon says he was instructed to
change Reuters copy to reflect CanWest's position. "The
message that was passed down to the copy desk was to change
'militant' to 'terrorist' when talking about armed
Palestinians," he says. "It was a political change."
But
there's one area where the Asper family and
[Marty]
Peretz's politics are clear and in perfect alignment:
Israel, where the Aspers' foundation has spent millions
sponsoring community centers, schools and museums.
[3]
Many of the newspapers
owned and operated by CanWest in Canada, The Leader-Post in
Regina for example, have no competitors. In major markets
CanWest owns multiple newspapers, about a dozen in British Columbia
for example. In effect the Asper family that controls
CanWest operates as a news and information monopoly for much
of Canada. |
Executive VP, Director,
Chairman of National Post
David A. Asper |
Pay:
$353,000
Stock Options Used:
Shares Owned:
? |
President and CEO,
CanWest MediaWorks Canadian Operations
Peter D. Viner |
Pay:
?
Stock Options Used:
Shares Owned:
? |
President, CanWest
Mediaworks International
Thomas C. Strike |
Pay:
$454,000
Stock
Options Used:
$
Shares Owned: ? |
|
Facts and
figures snapshot taken March, 2007. |
|
Although
Google has limited media holdings now they are an aggressive
enterprise with more than $11 billion in cash they can spend and a
record of attempting to acquire business interests in
practically every area they can get into. With the recent
purchase of YouTube mass-media entertainment is proving no
exception to Google's expansion-oriented business model.
What makes Google
particularly important to closely monitor is the enormous
influence that Larry Page and Sergey Brin exert over the
company as revealed in the most recent Form 10-K filed with
the SEC, excerpted below. Also of note, although Page, Brin,
and CEO Eric Schmidt advertise the fact they take only a
token yearly salary their stock wealth makes them one of the
few richest people in the world. Despite the benevolent
corporate posturing it's not difficult for suspicious minds
to see Google Incorporated as the Internet version of Wal*Mart
in sheeps clothing.
In April 2007 Google
bought the Internet advertising company DoubleClick for $3.1
billion. [5]
In June of 2007 Google
paid an undisclosed amount for GrandCentral.com, an online
company that organizes customer telephone numbers.
In July 2007 Google paid
$625 million in cash for Postini, a software security
company specializing in instant messaging and other
Web-based communications. "Google
executives say the deal will help it move further into
business services such as e-mail, instant messaging, online
calendar services and online productivity software."
And, "The company [Google]
makes nearly all of its money from selling text-based ads
posted alongside search results." [8]
|
|
DISTRIBUTION |
Internet
- YouTube
- Dodgeball
- Keyhole
- Picasa
- Blogger
- deja.com
- JotSpot
-
GrandCentral.com
- Postini
- Google
[various]
|
 |
Advertising
- AdWords
(Google's advertising program)
- Google Base
(digital online database for classified ads)
- DoubleClick
|
Advertising accounted for 99% of revenues in the
fourth quarters of both 2006 and 2005. GoogleWeb sites
accounted for 62% of 2006 fourth quarter revenues and
57% of the prior year period's revenues. Google
NetworkWeb sites contributed 37% of 2006 fourth
quarter revenues and 42% in the 2006 quarter. From: Standard & Poor's |
|
|
NASDAQ: GOOG |
1600
Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043 |
|
Yearly Revenue: $10,600,000,000 |
|
Profit Margin:
29.02% |
|
Share Price: $675 |
|
Full
Time Employees:
5,680 |
|
For a
full list of Google Incorporated's subsidiary companies read
SEC form
10-K EX-21.
|
|
Capital Control
73%
of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock. In
particular, as of December 31, 2006, our two founders and
our CEO, Larry, Sergey and Eric, owned approximately 85% of
our outstanding Class B common stock, including options to
purchase Class B common stock, representing approximately
66% of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock.
Larry, Sergey and Eric therefore have significant influence
over management and affairs and over all matters requiring
stockholder approval, including the election of directors
and significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or
other sale of our company or its assets, for the foreseeable
future. In addition, because of this dual class structure,
our founders, directors, executives and employees will
continue to be able to control all matters submitted to our
stockholders for approval even if they come to own less than
50% of the outstanding shares of our common stock. This
concentrated control limits our stockholders’ ability to
influence corporate matters and, as a result, we may take
actions that our stockholders do not view as beneficial. As
a result, the market price of our Class A common stock could
be adversely affected.
From: Google Inc. Form 10-K filed March 1, 2007,
italics added. |
CEO
Dr. Eric E. Schmidt, 52 |
 |
Pay: $1
Stock
Options Used:
?
Eric E. Schmidt owns 12,500,000 shares worth about
$5,500,000,000 [2] |
Co-Founder, Executive Committee Member
Larry
Page, 34
Co-Founder, Executive Committee Member
Dr. Sergey Brin, 33 |
 |
Pay:
$1
Stock
Options Used:
?
Larry Page owns 32,100,000 shares
worth about $14,000,000,000
Sergey Brin owns 31,600,000 shares
worth about $14,000,000,000 [2] |
Chief
Financial Officer, Senior Vice President
George Reyes |
Pay:
$811,881
Stock
Options Used:
?
Shares Owned: 33,333 |
Senior VP
of Marketing and Management
Jonathan J. Rosenberg, 45 |
Pay:
$944,533
Stock
Options Used:
?
Shares Owned: 38,833 |
|
Content Control |
|
Google
currently produces very little, if any, original content
opting instead to create venues for material produced by
others then exploiting those venues as a vehicle for
advertising revenue. Google's forums, like YouTube, are
edited for content deemed inappropriate or offensive and
increasingly Google is under intense pressure to block user
content that infringes wealthy copyright holders (i.e. Disney,
NBCu, etc.). |
|
Facts and
figures snapshot taken March, 2007. |
|
It's an
open question whether Microsoft is really a media
company. They have made efforts in the past to buy up
content creators but mostly they focus on media
technology companies when they stray from their core
business of software. Google has been rapidly
outpacing Microsoft in software but especially
Internet media. Nonetheless Microsoft has an enormous
amount of cash they can use to buy other companies,
$26.4 billion to be exact,
and build their own media empire if they ever fully commit
to doing so.
Perhaps
more important to watch in the near-term is that
Microsoft has expressed, and displayed, a keen
interest in using their software to connect and merge
every possible electronic device from cell phones to
personal computers. This unified interoperability will
form a critical element of media control in the 21st
century.
In May of 2007
Microsoft spent $6 billion to buy aQuantive
incorporated, an online advertising company, making it
the largest acquisition in Microsoft's history and a
competitive action in response to Google's recent
purchase of DoubleClick incorporated. [5]
In October 2007
Microsoft bought a 1.6% stake in Facebook, a private
company currently valued at $15 billion. Wait ... $15
billion, really?! I suppose the same people
foolish enough to pay almost $700 dollars for a single
share of Google Inc. will have no problem with a $15
billion price tag on Facebook, a company that's been
charitably described as 'a place to waste time'. A
slightly more accurate description of Facebook is 'a
place to watch advertising'.
Facebook hopes to become an advertising magnet by
substantially increasing its current audience of
nearly 50 million active users, who connect with
friends on the site through messaging, photo-sharing
and other tools.
The Facebook investment represents a coup for
Microsoft because it provides the world's largest
software maker with a toehold on one of the Internet's
hottest platforms and a potentially lucrative forum
for selling online ads.
In
its fiscal year ending in June, Microsoft's online ad
revenue rose 21 percent to $1.84 billion. Over the
same period, Google's ad revenue totaled $13.3
billion.
[12]
December 2007
Microsoft buys London-based Multimap, also:
Last week the company said it purchased Seattle
startup WebFives, formerly Vizrea, which provides a
Web-based file-sharing service for Internet and mobile
video, photos, audio, and blogs.
All of these efforts are part of
a now two-year push to add services and content for
its online brands to boost the revenue of its Online
Services Business segment.
In
addition to making acquisitions, Microsoft also has
been partnering with online content and service
providers to offer online advertising. On Monday, the
company announced a deal to be the exclusive provider
of display and contextual advertising for CNBC.com, a
deal similar to ones it already has in place with
Facebook globally and Digg in the U.S.
[14]
|
|
CONTENT |
Internet
- The Code Room
- Multimap
(online mapping service)
- MSDN TV
|
|
|
TV
|
|
Games
- Bungie Studios
(computer games developer)
- Lionhead Studios
(computer games developer)
- Netgames USA
|
 |
|
DISTRIBUTION |
TV
- MSN TV
(formerly WebTV)
- Peach Networks
(TV technology company)
- UltimateTV
(digitally recorded TV)
|
|
Internet
- MSN
- aQuantive
(online advertising)
- Facebook
(1.6%)
- Massive (game
network)
- MessageCast
(message alert technology)
- Mongo Music
- Music Central
- OnFolio
- WebFives
(formerly Vizrea. File-sharing
service for Internet, mobile video, audio,
blogs.
- Windows
(various)
- ZoneFriends
(buddy matchmaking system)
- ZoneLAN
(game matchmaking system)
- Zone Message
|
 |
|
|
NASDAQ: MSFT |
One
Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399 |
|
Yearly Revenue: $46,060,000,000 |
|
Profit Margin:
25.86% |
|
Share Price: $31 |
|
Full
Time Employees: 71,000 |
|
For a
full list of Microsoft Corporation's subsidiary companies
read SEC form
10-K EX-21.
|
|
Capital Control
With 9.79 billion shares
of Microsoft outstanding Bill Gates owns about 10% of the
company, giving him significant voting influence over the
business even regardless of his official status within the
corporate hierarchy. |
Co-Founder and Chairman
William H. Gates III, 51 |
 |
Pay:
$966,000
Stock
Options Used:
?
Shares Owned:
919,499,336 |
CEO and
Executive Director
Steven A. Ballmer, 50 |
Pay:
$966,000
Stock
Options Used:
$680,000
Shares Owned: 408,252,990 |
Chief
Operating Officer
Kevin Turner, 42 |
Pay:
$839,000
Stock
Options Used:
?
Shares Owned: ? |
Pres of
Business Unit
Jeffrey S. Raikes, 49 |
Pay:
$1,100,000
Stock
Options Used:
?
Shares Owned: 5,405,379 |
Co-president of Platform Products & Services
Kevin R. Johnson, 46 |
Pay:
$1,100,000
Stock
Options Used:
?
Shares Owned: ? |
|
Content Control |
|
(uncertain) |
|
|
Facts and
figures snapshot taken March, 2007. |
|
NBC Universal,
formerly the National Broadcasting
Company (NBC) and Vivendi Universal
Entertainment. NBC Universal is a media
and entertainment company, jointly owned
by General Electric Company
[80%]
and Vivendi
Universal
[20%]. NBC Universal was formed in
May 2004 through the acquisition of Vivendi Universal Entertainment, a
division of the French-owned Vivendi
Universal, by General Electric. The
transaction brought together a major
U.S. television network, seven cable
television channels, motion-picture and
television production studios, and
several theme parks.
[1]
Since
NBC is owned by General Electric, one of
the largest conglomerate corporations in
the world, NBC doesn't have stock
traded on Wall Street and thus NBC's
financial figures are part of GE and
not easily discernable. According
to Fortune magazine NBCU is estimated to
be worth $40 billion in 2007, bigger
than CBS or Viacom. [6]
In
October 2007 NBC Universal purchased
Oxygen Media, the cable-television
network co-founded by Oprah Winfrey, for
$925 million with the aim of attracting
younger female viewers.
"More than 40
percent of Oxygen's viewers are women
between 18 and 49, helping NBC target a
demographic coveted by advertisers. ...
The network will be operated by NBC's
entertainment cable division, which is
led by Jeff Gaspin, chief operating
officer of Universal Television Group."
[11]
NBC
Universal agreed to buy The Weather
Channel and Weather.com for $3.5 billion
from Landmark, a privately held media
company, in July 2008.
|
|
CONTENT |
TV
-
American Movie Classics
-
Bravo
-
CNBC (earned $274m in
2006 [6])
-
Court TV
-
History Channel
-
MSNBC (with Microsoft)
-
NBC
-
NBC
Weather Plus
-
Oxygen Media
-
PAX
-
Telemundo
-
Weather Channel
|
The NBC Universal
Television Stations division comprises
10 NBC television stations in major U.S.
television markets, along with 16
Telemundo stations and one independent
Spanish-language television station.
Together, these stations cover more than
30% of the nation's viewing households,
and annually generate approximately $1.5
billion in revenue from advertising
sales. ... The company's Telemundo
stations are in key Hispanic markets to
capitalize on the nation's
fastest-growing population segment, and
station duopolies in six of the nation's
top 20 markets enhance profitability and
enable the stations to deliver the
highest quality programming to their
audiences.
[2] |
Film
-
Universal Pictures
-
Focus Features
-
Rogue Pictures
|
 |
Internet
-
iVillage.com
-
getTrio.com
-
Weather.com
|
|
|
DISTRIBUTION |
Distribution
-
nbbc (the National Broadband Company)
-
27
TV stations
|
|
|
General Electric
NYSE: GE |
3135 Easton Turnpike
Fairfield, CT 06828-0001 |
|
Yearly Revenue: $160,660,000,000 |
|
Share Price: $40 |
| Full Time Employees:
~600,000 |
|
|
Capital Control |
President and Chief Executive Officer
Jeff Zucker |
 |
Pay:
$?
Stock Options
Used:
$?
Shares Owned: ? |
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Lynn Calpeter |
Pay:
$?
Stock Options
Used:
$?
Shares Owned: ? |
Executive Vice President
Bruce Campbell |
Pay:
$?
Stock Options
Used:
$?
Shares Owned: ? |
|
Content Control (Estimated) |
President, NBC
Universal Cable and Digital Content
Jeff Gaspin |
? |
| | |
