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The 1996 Telecommunications Act opened the door for various media outlets especially the larger ones (it initially began with radio). This is said because after the act was put into place, buyouts began to occur immediately (if you do not recognize the 1996 Telecommunications Act, then you probably have not read the chapter or the chapter summary—go back and read those items if you have not already done so). Consequently, the larger media outlets were able to purchase smaller media companies (making the industry vulnerable to monopolies). When a larger firm buys out or acquires several other media companies, the larger firm is then considered to be a media conglomerate. The following picture is a look at some of the media conglomerate control that exists (keep scrolling down after you take a look at the following representation for the actual assignment instructions): Various Media Conglomerates _____________________________________ Assignment We all have encountered a media conglomerate in some way, form, or fashion. These conglomerates can own anything from radio stations to television stations to advertising firms to public relational firms to sports teams to book publishing companies (and this list could go on and on). I would like each of you to do some research and come up with your three favorite media productions (i.e. your favorite show such as Sports Center, your favorite radio morning show such as the Rod Ryan Show, your favorite advertisement such as the e-Trade Baby commercials, your favorite football team such as the Houston Texans, etc.). Take your three favorites and find out if a larger parent company and/or a media conglomerate actually that has some kind of tie of ownership to your favorite media productions. If you have not learned the concept of media conglomerates by now, take a look at the following: _____________________________________ Helpful Hints: Give the “biggest” media conglomerate possible (for example, Walt Disney owns ABC who owns ESPN who produces Sports Center—so, in this case, your “biggest” conglomerate would be Walt Disney). For those of you who’d like to include a book as a possible favorite, find out the publisher and see if that publisher is owned by a media conglomerate. If you have a favorite sports team, find out if they are owned by a media conglomerate (hint-the major leagues are sometimes considered major media conglomerates [i.e., the NFL, MLB, NBA, etc.]; but there are times when you might see a conglomerate owning at least a portion of the team [for example, Time Warner used to own a portion of the Atlanta Braves—-so, find out to see if perhaps your favorite team is at least partially owned by a media conglomerate]). If you have a favorite commercial, see if you can find out the advertising agency responsible for creating the commercial. Find out if that agency is individually owned or owned by a media conglomerate. Most of you might be surprised by media conglomerate having some type of ownership tie with your favorite media production, but there are some cases where a media production might be individually owned and not owned by a larger parent company. If this is the case for one of your favorite media productions, please indicate that it is individually owned (major sports teams are not completely owned as they have rights within their respective leagues [i.e., the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, etc.]). If you are having a difficult time finding out various ownerships within media conglomerate, try using some of the following links (they might help): http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/main (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/giants/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. http://www.cjr.org/resources/index.php (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/03/and_then_there_were_eight.pdf (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. http://www.garlicandgrass.org/issue2/resources.cfm#who (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. http://prdomination.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/global-concentration_the-media-ownership-chart2.jpg (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. http://blog.lib.umn.edu/hoffm794/medialit/2011/11/updated-ownership-chart.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. http://www.neatorama.com/2008/07/07/who-owns-what-on-television/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1406 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. _____________________________________ You are required to give at least three (3) of your favorite media productions, products, services, etc. and give that production’s “biggest” owner (see Helpful Hints for clarification). You will not be penalized if you do not find the actual owner, but you more than likely will be able to find an owner. Here’s an example answer for one of your productions: · Disney is the media conglomerate over ESPN’s Sports Center.