Media Ownership and Agenda Control : The Hidden Limits of the Information Age

Media Ownership and Agenda Control offers a detailed examination of media ownership amidst the complexities of the information age, from the resurgence of press barons to the new influence wielded by internet giants. Much of the discussion pivots around recent revelations and controversies in the media industry, such as the findings published in 2012 from the Leveson Inquiry, the US Federal Communications Commission s ruling on net neutrality in 2015, Edward Snowden s decision to leak National Security Agency (NSA) documents in 2013 and the legal battles over ancillary copyrights waged in Germany and elsewhere. Justin Schlosberg traces the obscure and often unnoticed ways in which agendas continue to be shaped by a small number of individual and institutional megaphones, despite the rise of grassroots and participatory platforms, and despite ubiquitous displays of adversarial journalism. Above all, it explores the web of connections and interdependence that binds old and new media gatekeepers, and cements them to the surveillance and warfare state. This ultimately foregrounds the book s call for a radical rethink of ownership regulation, situating the movement for progressive media reform alongside wider struggles against the iniquities and injustices of global capitalism. This book s re-evaluation of the nature of media ownership and control in a postdigital world will prove to be an invaluable resource for students of media studies and journalism, as well as all those with an interest in the changing dynamics of media power. " Media Ownership and Agenda Control offers a detailed examination of media ownership amidst the complexities of the information age, from the resurgence of press barons to the new influence wielded by internet giants. Much of the discussion pivots around recent revelations and controversies in the media industry, such as the findings published in 2012 from the Leveson Inquiry, the US Federal Communications Commission's ruling on net neutrality in 2015, Edward Snowden's decision to leak National Security Agency (NSA) documents in 2013 and the legal battles over ancillary copyrights waged in Germany and elsewhere. Justin Schlosberg traces the obscure and often unnoticed ways in which agendas continue to be shaped by a small number of individual and institutional megaphones, despite the rise of grassroots and participatory platforms, and despite ubiquitous displays of adversarial journalism. Above all, it explores the web of connections and interdependence that binds old and new media gatekeepers, and cements them to the surveillance and warfare state. This ultimately foregrounds the book's call for a radical rethink of ownership regulation, situating the movement for progressive media reform alongside wider struggles against the iniquities and injustices of global capitalism.This book's re-evaluation of the nature of media ownership and control in a postdigital world will prove to be an invaluable resource for students of media studies and journalism, as well as all those with an interest in the changing dynamics of media power. Get involved: Reclaimthemedia.org Media Ownership and Agenda Control offers a detailed examination of media ownership amidst the complexities of the information age, from the resurgence of press barons to the new monopoly power wielded by internet giants. Much of the discussion pivots around recent revelations and controversies in the media industry, such as the findings published in 2012 from the Leveson Inquiry, the US Federal Communications Commissions ruling on net neutrality in 2015, Edward Snowdons decision to leak NSA documents in 2013 and the legal battles over ancillary copyrights waged in Germany and elsewhere. Justin Schlosberg traces the obscure and often unnoticed ways in which agendas continue to be shaped by a small number of individual and institutional megaphones, despite the rise of grassroots and participatory platforms, and despite ubiquitous displays of adversarial journalism. Above all, it explores the web of connections and interdependence that binds old and new media gatekeepers, and cements them to the surveillance and warfare state. This ultimately foregrounds the books call for a radical rethink of ownership regulation, situating the movement for progressive media reform alongside wider struggles against the iniquities and injustices of global capitalism. This titles re-evaluation of the nature of media ownership and control in a post-digital world will prove to be an invaluable resource for students of Media Studies and Journalism, as well as all those with an interest in the changing dynamics of media power Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 Acknowledgements 11 PART I Heard and Not Seen 12 1 Introduction 14 2 Behind Closed Doors 21 3 The Art of the Impossible 30 PART II Dispersal 44 4 Dismantling the Gates 46 5 Proliferation 53 6 Endurance and Resurgence 58 7 Two-Sided Preferences 63 PART III Transferral 68 8 Directing the Flow 70 9 Getting to Know You 79 10 The Tyranny of Automation 85 11 Manual Control 91 PART IV Coexistence 98 12 The Long and the Short of It 100 13 Big-Headedness 109 14 The Media-Technology-Military-Industrial Complex 127 PART V Demanding the Impossible 140 15 Sources of Control 142 16 The Politics of Measurement 148 17 Safeguards and Remedies 154 18 Conclusion 162 References 165 Index 183 This title offers a detailed examination of media ownership amidst the complexities of the information age, from the resurgence of press barons to the new influence wielded by internet giants. Much of the discussion pivots around recent revelations and controversies in the media industry, such as the findings published in 2012 from the Leveson Inquiry, the US Federal Communications Commission's ruling on net neutrality in 2015, Edward Snowden's decision to leak National Security Agency (NSA) documents in 2013, and the legal battles over ancillary copyrights waged in Germany and elsewhere