Media ownership is prominent amongst the concentrated world, this is why I believe consuming news from multiple sources actively will be beneficial for all viewers. The Australian media is owned and managed by publishing icons such as Janet Cameron, Kerry Stokes, Rupert Murdoch, and many more. I don't necessarily believe that various ownership of media platforms affects onlookers when it comes to entertainment shows.
The main news I partake in would be watching the 7 PM Project on channel 10, I believe they provide political insight on the world in an entertaining way. For me, it's the humorous discussions and visions that engage me in a way no other informative news network can. Since commencing a study of communications, I have started watching these informative shows for the course. This has left me to reflect on how the ownership of news corporations creates biases in what is televised.
There is a constant fear of the media outlets overpowering influence over those who view it. Everyday people like you and I are unknowingly being controlled and monitored by these media outlets to give publishing networkers comfort.
Rupert Murdoch one of Australia's and the globes most powerful media moguls, at the young age of 22, he inherited his father's newspaper the Adelaide News, from there Rupert went on to gather ownership of other Australian news enterprises as well as going international to the USA, currently carrying a net worth of 22.7 billion USD. With all this ownership in the industry, it can't all be fair-minded. Within ‘The distortion of the Australian Public Sphere: Media ownership concentration in Australia’, it discusses how Murdoch uses journalism to gain commercial advantages. He hires editors until they lose the ability to ‘think like Murdoch’, then they are replaced. These editor clones are devoted to run lobbying campaigns, which is lucrative for News Corp as it provides the company the ability to purchase more of the Australian and Global News Media market for greater publishing dominance.
In today's world, there is an override of news corporations buying and controlling the newspaper production services. On October 10, 2010, Kevin Rudd created a petition to establish a royal commission to diversify and strengthen the Australian news media, the ‘MurdochRoyalCommission’. Rudd's main concern was that ‘Australia's print is overwhelmingly controlled by news corporations’, claiming the power is more often than not used against business and politics. Rudd wanted to magnify media diversity control for the future of the democratic system. Five days later, the petition had already attracted 247,693 signatures, now nearing 500,000. Find out more here.
I strongly back the government's Broadcasting Legislation Amendment bill in 2016, of cutting 75% reach rule, which constrains commercial TV broadcasting whose area population tops 75% of the population of Australia from governing licenses. For me, this creates well-deserved space for up-and-coming journalists in the news publishing industry.
The sheer power to reach the masses affects the opinions an audience has on personalities such as celebrities, politicians, and a variety of world events. I think it's inevitable that the media has been manipulating through single-minded publishing, which could affect the outcome of future decisions and events made by an audience.
References
Aph.gov.au. 2021. Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Media Reform) Bill 2016 – Parliament of Australia. [online] Available at: <https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_LEGislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r5635> [Accessed 1 April 2021].
Beecher, E., Schultz, A., Keane, B. and Warren, C., 2021. Murdoch’s power: how it works and how it debases Australia. [online] Crikey. Available at: <https://www.crikey.com.au/2020/10/23/rupert-murdoch-power/> [Accessed 1 April 2021].
Forbes. 2021. Rupert Murdoch & family. [online] Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/profile/rupert-murdoch/?sh=341c8766b1af> [Accessed 1 April 2021].
Lidberg, J., 2021. The distortion of the Australian public sphere - page 1 - 9. [online] Jstor.org. Available at: <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26563019?seq=5#metadata_info_tab_contents> [Accessed 1 April 2021].
Samios, Z., 2021. How much influence does the Murdoch media have in Australia?. [online] The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: <https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/how-much-influence-does-the-murdoch-media-have-in-australia-20201015-p565dk.html#:~:text=Nine%2C%20which%20bought%20Fairfax%20Media,Melbourne%20and%204BC%20in%20Brisbane.> [Accessed 1 April 2021].
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