The Myth of Media Monopoly

This essay was different than the others that I have read. I enjoyed reading it because it refuted the idea that media is a monopoly and controls what people think. Gillespie interested me with his writing style and allowed the reader to understand his wiews by giving examples of what the major media corporations have done. He uses Fox as a target in his essay, stating that Murdoch has aired poor television shows. This was creative and unique compared to other essays that I have read in class and I enjoyed reading a different opinion.

Reading for Jan. 29

The essay "Operating in the Public Interest or in Pursuit of Private Profits?," by Dell Chaplin and Janet Knoedler seems just like previous essays that I have read. It states that there is a media monopoly of a few large corporations that work together to prevent additional competition. They do this to make more profit. The authors of this essay are bringing the same message across as Tom Goldstein did in his essay, "Does Big Mean Bad?." This theme of stating that there is a media monopoly is getting repetitive. I was bored with the essay. It used strategies like listing facts and statistics, which have been used before in previous essays. It is a good essay but I have read too much about this topic of big businesses owning multiple sources of news.

"Does Big Mean Bad?"

The essay "Does Big Mean Bad?," by Tom Goldstein, is a good argumentative piece. It clearly states that he is opposed to the media monopoly that exists in the United States. Although I do not completely agree with the views of the author it a good display of quality writing. Goldstein gives many examples and quotes that back up his argument, such as the Bagdikian example. The use of Bagdikian and the influential books that he wrote to express the idea that media is a monopoly. Goldstein quotes Bagdikian from his book "Media Monopoly," "The new communications cartel, he wrote, has the power the surround almost every man, woman, and child in the country with controlled images and words. With that power comes the ability to exert influences that in many ways is greater than that of schools, religion, parents, and even government itself" (Goldstein 223). By using this particular quote, Goldstein can claim that the media monopoly controls what people think. This statement is bold but is supported very well within the essay.