Fun is Paramount

I always get an icky feeling when I go into mega movie theatres like the Paramount. For a while I thought it was the people, until I realized that I’m mostly fine with crowds in other situations. Then I thought maybe it was the glossy perfection of the surroundings, contrary to my current obsession with “urban derelict”. But today I read an article that helped me to better articulate my concerns in its discussion of media conglomerates. Current media market trends are encouraging the concentration of media. Take for example, AOL Time Warner. That used to be three companies (and more), and they’re now all led by one boss (and one mindset). This raises some concerns. For me, it’s primarily the streamlining of media content- the diversity decreases and the quality of journalism becomes questionable. This is increased by the location of media directors on the boards of other companies, such as pharmaceuticals and oil companies. The result is media censorship. For example, if Disney is involved in both manufacture in Bangladesh and owns ABC, the likelihood that you’re going to see a story on sweatshop labour on the ABC newsreport is unlikely. So, important issues are not getting covered in the mainstream media.

Further, and I think this is what prompts my negative emotional reaction to places like the Paramount, the incredible skills of media conglomerates to cross promote and cross sell (like the advertisements for the Pussycat Dolls at the movie theatre) can dilute influences from other places, such as families, schools, and other sources that are grounded in real-life experience.

It bothers me to think that a) we’re not getting all the information b) while some of us may be getting the information, not everyone is, and without everyone getting it, how is change going to happen and c) that my kids one day might actually think that “Fun is Paramount” and not know where else to get their knowledge and/or kicks from.

View the article here:
http://www.globalissues.org/HumanRights/Media/Corporations/Owners/asp