So who owns our media sources? - An unanswered ATS LIVE! UK/Euro question

Hello everyone, as those of you who have been following the intensely interesting shows being produced by Nefermore and his band of opinionated and erudite cohorts on ATS Live! and ATS Live UK/Euro may have noticed; during the Euro show's last show I was ambushed, blind-sided, cruelly tricked, and otherwise basely assigned homework to the effect of the title.... Who owns the media?

The question begs context - so allow me to briefly introduce you to the genesis of the ATS Live! Radio question as I recall it....

The subject comes from a discussion regarding the seemingly perpetual focus of the "main stream media" (MSM) on increasingly trivial issues, while it continuously relegates what most ATS members (and non-members alike) consider as more important, or meaningful events to sound-bite coverage.

Since this trend, or dare I say policy, seems self-evident, it begs the further question ..is it by design or by happenstance? To that end, one of the crew wondered aloud, "Someone should really look into who owns the media."

I believe I naively echoed the question. Nefermore's voice gained dramatic reverb and increased in volume as he said "Yes, you know, you should do that."

The trap sprung, I had no choice but to agree.

The task is enormous.

In fact, only 20% complete, and I must begin to expose the initial work; because finishing it alone would be akin to a full-time job. I offer this starting point for a discussion which I can only hope will be taking place on the various and sundry ATS media projects..... be sure to listen and call in... we need your help...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
While I was to undertake an exploration of the world of media ownership from an international perspective; I opted to begin with the top 20 US media conglomerates... I got the first four done when I realized that such trivialities as 'nationality' were reduced to nonsensical vapor...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Top 20 U.S. Media Owners

(((Continued)))

# Viacom Enterprises
Viacom Enterprises was a television distribution company formed in 1971 as the ... In 1986, the company became a subsidiary of the newly- ...

# Westinghouse Electric (1998)
Viacom renamed itself CBS Corporation in 2005 and spun off a new subsidiary which ...

# Nickelodeon (Southeast Asia)
On October 11, 2006, Viacom 's subsidiary MTV Networks Asia Pacific set up a new unit to manage Nickelodeon's southeast Asia operations. ...

# Palladia
that shows music-related content from its owner, MTV Networks , a division of Viacom . ... Viacom subsidiaries

# Gawker (section Viacom freelancer rights)
working at media company Viacom has been acknowledged as ... Shnayerson reported that Viacom subsidiary MTV Networks would convert 1, ...

# Paramount Vantage
| company_type subsidiary | parent Paramount Motion Picture Group ... (which in turn is part of Viacom ), charged

# Famous Music
music publishing division of Paramount Pictures , a division of Viacom since 1994. ... Former Viacom subsidiaries

# Terrytoons
were spun off to create Viacom , which itself re-merged with CBS in 1999. ... Terrytoons Category:Viacom subsidiaries Category:CBS Corporation ...

# Sumner Redstone (section Viacom)
Viacom , and MTV Networks , BET , and movie production and ... is a not wholly-owned subsidiary of National Amusements , which is his ...

# Famous Players-Lasky
becoming the Paramount Pictures Corporation (now a division of Viacom ... holding company for its subsidiaries- Famous Players,

# Bubba Gump Shrimp Company
California by Viacom Consumer Products . Viacom is owner of ... restaurants Category:Retail companies established in

1996 Category:Viacom subsidiaries ...

# Famous Studios
by Classic Media via their subsidiary The Harvey Entertainment Company. ... Viacom , Paramount's current parent company, owns what was once the ...

# Ha!
The Comedy Network, owned by Viacom , was one of the first American ... Category:Comedy Central Category:Viacom subsidiaries Categoryefunct ...

2005 under the ownership of MTV Networks and corporate parent Viacom. ... Former Viacom subsidiaries Category:MTV Networks Category:Companies ...

# CIC Video
(now owned by Viacom ), CIC's partners. DreamWorks films were added ... The label's defunct subsidiary was a distributor called Rigby-CIC ...

# Nickelodeon Philippines
On October 11, 2006, Viacom 's subsidiary MTV Networks Asia Pacific set up a new unit to manage Nickelodeon's southeast Asia operations. ...

# Liberty Films
Pictures , which was sold to Paramount's current parent Viacom in 1999. ... Category:Companies established in 1945 Category:Viacom subsidiaries ...

# Paramount Comedy (Spain)
It is owned by Viacom . Paramount Comedy was launched in March 1999. ... Category:Television stations in Spain Category:Viacom subsidiaries ...

# Sono Art-World Wide Pictures
United States Category:Film distributors Category:Companies disestablished in 1933 Category:Viacom subsidiaries Category:Time Warner subsidiaries ...

# Tr3s
In December 2005, Viacom acquired Más Música and ten television ... Viacom subsidiaries Category:Spanish-language television networks in the ...

# CBS Television Distribution (section Viacom)
company_type Subsidiary | parent CBS Corporation | owner National ... (Desilu , Paramount Television , Viacom Productions and Enterprises , ...

# Paramount Comics
Category:Marvel Comics imprints Category:Viacom subsidiaries.

# College Publisher
Category:Companies based in Massachusetts Category:Viacom subsidiaries Category:University and college media in the United States ...

# The Box Comedy
Category:Television channels and stations established in 2006 Categoryefunct television channels in the Netherlands Category:Viacom subsidiaries ...

# Famous Players Film Company
Category:Companies established in 1912 Categoryefunct American movie studios Category:Viacom subsidiaries.

# Madison Square Garden
after Viacom bought Paramount, and sold the MSG properties to a ... Indoor soccer venues in the United States Category:Former Viacom subsidiaries ...

# Nickelodeon (Australia)
of Nickelodeon, as well as the existence of another classic TV channel, TV1 , co-operated by another Viacom subsidiary, Paramount Pictures . ...

# New York Rangers
renamed to Paramount Communications in 1989, and sold to Viacom in 1994. ... Category:Former Viacom subsidiaries Category:Atlantic Division (NHL) ...

# New York Knicks
Viacom : 1994 ... Category:Basketball teams in the United States Category:Cablevision Category:Former Viacom subsidiaries Category:National ...

# WUMN-LP
It was owned by Viacom subsidiary The Box and carried MTV2 until it was purchased by Equity Broadcasting in 2004 (curiously, the ...

# Universal Studios South Korea
itself was unveiled after Viacom subsidiary Paramount Pictures announced it was exploring the potential for its own theme park near Seoul. ...

# VH1 Classic
It is operated as part of MTV Networks , a subsidiary of Viacom and primarily features music videos and concert footage from the 1970s ...

# MTV Latin America
The channel is property of MTV Networks Latin America , a subsidiary of Viacom . MTV Latin America’s principal objective is to broadcast ...

# MTVNHD
entertainment television network that shows content produced by or for its owner Viacom 's MTV Networks ' subsidiaries, MTV and Nickelodeon channels. ...

# CBS Corporation (redirect from Viacom/CBS)
Until then, the corporation was known as Viacom , and is the legal ... CBS Corporation subsidiaries Category:Companies established in 1986 ...

# Time Warner (section Subsidiaries)
Disney and ahead of News Corporation and Viacom ), as well as the world's largest ... Among its subsidiaries are New Line Cinema , Time Inc. ...

# Viacom Productions
Viacom Productions was a television production company active from 1974 until ... Corporation subsidiaries Category:Companies disestablished in 2004 ...

# Nickelodeon at Sea
The Nickelodeon at Sea is a joint venture and subsidiary company owned by Viacom Inc., Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean ...

# MTV Pakistan
Music Television Networks Pakistan (MTV Pakistan) is the Pakistani subsidiary of MTV , a cable television network owned by Viacom Inc. ...

# UPN (section Viacom era and decline (2000–2006))
UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft ... The "U" in UPN came from United Television , a Chris-Craft subsidiary. ...

# Showtime
After being acquired by Viacom in 1994, Paramount Pictures began ... as well as their respected subsidiaries (Paramount Vantage and United ...

# MarketWatch
as CBS Marketwatch, operated in partnership with Viacom 's CBS News . ... It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Jones, which in turn is ...

# 2007 MTV Movie Awards
(distributed by Paramount Pictures , a subsidiary of Viacom , which also owns MTV ), which included an extended interview with star Shia ...

# South Park
both subsidiaries of Viacom In distribution deals with Comedy Central, other independent networks also broadcast the series in other ...

# WPSG
In early 1994, Viacom's newly-acquired subsidiary Paramount Pictures ... When Viacom and CBS Corporation split in 2005, WPSG became part of the ...

# Sony/ATV Music Publishing
released by Viacom's Paramount Pictures subsidiary, which had founded ... Sony subsidiaries

# CBS Outdoor (redirect from Viacom Outdoor)
CBS Outdoor (formerly Viacom Outdoor, Infinity Outdoor, and Outdoor Systems, among ... CBS Corporation subsidiaries Category:Companies based in ...

# Infinity Broadcasting Corporation (section Merged with CBS and Viacom)
Corporation in 1997 and later with Viacom in 2000, when CBS and Viacom merged. ... CBS Corporation subsidiaries Category:CBS Radio Category: ...

# Westinghouse Broadcasting
licensing subsidiary under the Westinghouse Electric Corporation name). ... Viacom changed its name to CBS Corporation in 2005 and spun off ...


4. News Corporation

Interesting history herein....

K. Rupert Murdoch is the CEO of News Corporation.

Originally an Australian company, News Corporation reincorporated in the United States in 2004 and moved its headquarters from Adelaide to New York City. Murdoch gave up his Australian citizenship in 1985 to become a U.S. citizen. He did so to satisfy the legal requirement that only United States citizens could own American television stations.

Murdoch built a media empire beginning with ownership of the Adelaide News, which he inherited from his father. In 1964, Murdoch established The Australian, Australia's first national daily newspaper. From there Murdoch began to acquire British and American media properties.

Company subsidiaries include Fox Entertainment Group and the Twentieth Century Fox movie studio. It has 34% stake in the DIRECTV Group. News Corporation also owns over 30 American television stations, the New York Post and Boston Herald newspapers and a number of Britain's largest circulation newspapers (The Times, The Sun, The News of the World). The company has extensive operations across Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America.

In July 2005, News Corporation bought Intermix Media, Inc., owner of the social networking portal MySpace.com and about 30 other web sites, for $580 million. Along with the recently announced formation of Fox Interactive Media, the Intermix acquisition underscores News Corporation's commitment to expand its Internet presence.

In December 2007, the company acquired Dow Jones & Company, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and other business news and information.

Other media properties

Australian
Beliefnet
Channel V Philippines
Fox Business Network
Fox Kids Europe
Fox News Channel
Fox Sports Net
Fox Television Network
FX
My Network TV
MySpace
News Limited News
Phoenix InfoNews Channel
Phoenix Movies Channel
Sky PerfecTV
Speed Channel
STAR TV India
STAR TV Taiwan
STAR World
Times Higher Education Supplement Magazine
Times Literary Supplement Magazine
Times of London

Other properties
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox International
20th Century Fox Studios
20th Century Fox Television
BSkyB
DIRECTV
Festival Mushroom Records
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Interactive Media
FOXTEL
HarperCollins Publishers
MySpace.com
National Rugby League
News Interactive
News Outdoor
Radio Veronica
ReganBooks
Sky Italia
Sky Radio Denmark
Sky Radio Germany
Sky Radio Netherlands
STAR
Zondervan

------------------------------------------------------

So... the top 4 of the top 20 list clearly show us how 'divergent' the media ownership really is. Considering the interrelationships demonstrated by this meager 20% initial overview; is it any wonder the English speaking world is subject to media manipulation that seems astoundingly efficient?

The efficiency is apparent only, when one realizes that a small group of well-connected board members can channel news and disseminate propaganda over what is disguised as hundreds of "separate" venues of information; the magical and 'complex' nature of such manipulation fades entirely.

It appears to me that should I pursue this further and further... I will find the legendary 'Ultimate 8' who make all the media consumers in the world actually believe that there are "too many people in the buisiness" to control all the media... but dare I say... such a revelation will get little to no air-time. and will be dismissed as the maniacal ravings of a paranoid conspiracy kook.

in the interest of time, and reader-fatigue.. I leave you now.... to ponder the possibilities.

Until the next installment.

Be well.

MaxMars

-------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER: The information above was pieced together from various sources. Some of it may be inaccurate or dated; knowing this, I compensated by including a large number of samples... they can't all be wrong... can they?

excellent compilation of media ownership, no wonder we are fed bread and circuses, to coin an old machavellian phrase. "watch my left hand, while i steal with the right hand". too bad highschools across the nation do not have a mandatory year long course in "logic, reason, and propaganda"...but that would provide the american public with too much information.

ATS Member and ATS Live! UK/Euro co-host Silk has proven that there is some mercy and kindness in the world and added some of his own research into the mix....

Here's to hoping others may join in the project

News Corp - a rabbit hole all of its own ....

www.mediaknowall.com...

and

www.euractiv.com...

But the key quote hit me straight away -

The problem is we are overwhelmed by information, but is it of good quality? Is it strengthening our democratic values? Is it creating genuine pluralism? Is concentration bad news for Europe, or is it opening the door to real choice for consumers and citizens?

...

Aidan White concludes: "This survey indicates what is happening and is also a wake-up call to the European Union that pluralism is not just an issue to be left to local politicians – it is a European issue that requires a European response. Without it there will be policy drift and the European model of democracy that we have taken for granted for generations will be compromised."

Thank you SILK!!!! You rock!!!

Gaotu mentioned Japan's media on the show - I dug this up

www.ojr.org...

The major players in the television market are Japan's public broadcaster Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) and the commercial networks Nihon TV, Tokyo Broadcasting System, Fuji TV and TV Asahi.

and more still from Silk!

China

www.campaignlive.co.uk...

Thank you my friend.

Oh, VERY impressed. Well done Maxy!
S&F

Billionare tyrant Mr. Murdoch has also been wetting his appetite for politics recently, donating 1 million dollars to the Republican party, one of the largest donations by a media mogul to a political organisation ever. This was only following the party's move to the right after the Obama inauguration. He also backed David Cameron's bid for the position of Prime Minister in the UK.

Probably nothing shady about any of that though...

www.telegraph.co.uk...

To add Star and Flag this thread was a great read!

[edit on 29-8-2010 by Big Raging Loner]

It does seem more than a little interesting that the removal of campaign donation restrictions by the US government coincides with the consolidation of media ownership....

And not a single legislator or justice is willing to challenge it...

...except for media entertainment purposes... (viz. a 10-second sound bite.)

Great thread! Stars and a flag for you!

To add something to this list. I was once reading something about Disney bought Deathrow Records aswell. Have no source for it but might some wonder what a childrens movie company wants with a gangster rap label...

Peace

indeed, max...since that supreme court ruling, the money is flowing, and those of us that still try and make an informed voting decision will have to be wary. the ruling that corporations have the same rights as citizens is ludicrous, and i believe cannot be constitutionally defended, after all, rights are written for humans, not contractual entities. it makes a mockery of our supreme court.
representative government was created in the first place to protect the population from poverty and enslavment from the powerful (read wealthy) that had dominated the masses for thousands of years.

It's my understanding that Murdoch owns about 95% of all media, which might include your above list.

I could be wrong, but The List is long for everyone to be in sync, when one person can rule all of them to be the same. JMHO

My first clear knowledge of deception was the Canadian story of Dr. Ewen Cameron, and his Mind Control, in the '50s. The CIA, and USA's and Canada's backing of this project, did not come to light for me until I was researching Cameron. So I, in Canada, thought it was just one man involved.

I now no longer read or listen to news.....only research on the Internet, then follow up on any 'unknown quantities' with more research... and still sometimes feel 'in the dark'.

Max you got a book here. Hate to see all that work (just so far) go for
a few flags and stars. This is a best seller if you can show collusion
among the top media outlet owners. It would be an important book.

I'd be really interested to see how Associated Press and Reuters fit into all of this and the connections therein

Notwithstanding, awesome research.

Nice list mate, it boggles the mind when you start to actually dig just that little bit. A bit like the gulf of mexico - only need to dig down a few centimeters and the colour of the sand changes.

My contribution to this list is much less broad, however hopefully just as interesting - the Huffington Post ; as piloted by George Soros and Chuck Feeny, via money swooshed through Atlantic Philanthropies, pulling the strings of the puppet Arianna Huffington.

I never knew so many brands were owned by so few companies O_O

I knew it was sinister and a few ppl own everything, but this is just absurd! Soon it does not matter if you choose a or b, since both are own by the same ppl.

We are being drowned systematically by the big money that actually buys itself authority and just runs over anyone else. How tempted would you not be to sell your business to your worst competitor, if they found the right price?

Wow! Thank you for all the work you did putting that together, and for posting it - it's truly revealing information.

I can feel my mind switching off when I try to follow the complex labyrinth of threads between one organisation and another, or one group and others... which, of course, is one of the reasons why they do things this way. It gives a whole new meaning to the word 'obscurantism'.

Just recently I was trying to work out who owned a particular pharmaceutical company, and on another who owned a weapons manufacturing company. I'm sure it's no surprise that I came across the same pattern in each case.

After reaading your excellent piece of investigation, it has started me wondering whether the Big 8 which you come up with might not turn out to be bedfellows with the Big 8 which I would come up with if I pursued the task with the same diligence as you (which, right now, I am not intending to do)

Could it possibly be a case of all roads leading to Rome? Pure speculation, of course, but a train of thought which I've found very interesting!






[edit on 29-8-2010 by wcitizen]

Thought this was relevant.

In 2004, Bagdikian’s revised and expanded book, The New Media Monopoly, shows that only 5 huge corporations — Time Warner, Disney, Murdoch’s News Corporation, Bertelsmann of Germany, and Viacom (formerly CBS) — now control most of the media industry in the U.S. General Electric’s NBC is a close sixth.

Post-Scroll Down to View

_________________________________________-

Oh, and heres some other things to look into...

MOCKINGBIRD- Subversion of the Free Press


What Project Censored Missed

Project Censored Index

[edit on 29-8-2010 by time91]

[edit on 29-8-2010 by time91]

[edit on 29-8-2010 by time91]

[color=414141]^star please?
reply to post by Maxmars


Thanks for this thread MaxMars. S&F

here are some of my thoughts....

"Who owns the media?"

martial law would not be overtly announced to hunfreds of millions of people via the msm.

America has proven that they do not need to formally declare war in order to participate in military operations within other sovereign nations' borders.

So, logically...

If America (or other countries) does/do not need to formally declare war, then what is to lead us to believe they would formally declare to hundreds of millions (and billions globally) simultaneously via the main stream media that martial law has been declared?

Are we to believe that tptb would overtly anounce to hundreds of millions (and billions globally) that martial law has been implemented via the main stream "news"? are there enough troops to cover the logistics of the task?

I do not think that would be how martial law works, sorry.

: the law applied in occupied territory by the military authority of the occupying power
2: the law administered by military forces that is invoked by a government in an emergency when the civilian law enforcement agencies are unable to maintain public order and safety.
www.merriam-webster.com...

martial law's goal is to: maintain public order and safety.

personally i entertain the idea that we are under some measure of martial law, if only with the dissemination of information overtly.

martial law does not mean they are going to come over the air waves and declare that it is in effect, and why. such an action serves the opposite desired effect and needed goals of what martial law is for: "maintain public order and safety"

declaring martial law overtly to everyone via the msm would serve to be adverse to martial law goals, impo (in my professional opinion)

"Who owns the media?"
who do i think owns the media?

or who do i think is running, controlling, and influencing aspects of the media?

thanks for this MaxMars ,
et

[edit on 29-8-2010 by Esoteric Teacher]

Max this is truly a rabbit hole and the deeper we dig the more we find.

Great work an ill support you where I can every step of the way - S&F mate keep up the good work !

First of all...THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Now there is a face behind the name "media"! This thread will forever be subscribed for future reference. I've always wanted to construct a thread like this but I never had the time to put forth the effort (monumental effort) to compile it all.

Thanks again for all this extremely tedious yet very important compilation.

~sly~

Originally posted by misinformational
I'd be really interested to see how Associated Press and Reuters fit into all of this and the connections therein

Notwithstanding, awesome research.

Reuters Group Limited, Reuters Group PLC (2008), now a subsidiary of Canadian corporation Thomson Reuters (2008) (pronounced /ˈrɔɪtərz/) is a United Kingdom-based news service and former financial market data provider that provides news reports from around the world to news media.

en.wikipedia.org...

News reporting once accounted for less than 10% of the company's income.[1] Its main focus was on supplying the financial markets with information and trading products. These included market data, research and analytics, as well as computer-based trading systems.

And here you have some things about Thomson Reuters and the Thomson Corporation which is owned by the Canadian elite 'Thomson family'

Thomson Reuters is an information company[1] created by the Thomson Corporation's purchase of Reuters on 17 April 2008.[2] Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: TRI) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: TRI). Thomson Reuters is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, USA.

en.wikipedia.org...

The Woodbridge Company, a holding company for the Thomson family of Canada, owns 53% of the group,[3] which operates in 100 countries, and has over 55,000 employees. Thomson Reuters was ranked as Canada's leading corporate brand in the 2010 Interbrand Best Canadian Brands ranking[4].

The Thomson Corporation:

The Thomson Corporation was one of the world's largest information companies. Thomson was active in financial services, healthcare sectors, law, science & technology research, and tax & accounting sectors. The company operated through five segments (2007 onwards): Thomson Financial, Thomson Healthcare, Thomson Legal, Thomson Scientific, and Thomson Tax & Accounting.

en.wikipedia.org...

Until 2007, Thomson was also one of the world's leading providers of higher education textbooks, academic information solutions and reference materials. On October 26, 2006, Thomson announced the proposed sale of its Thomson Learning assets. In May 2007, Thomson Learning was acquired by Apax Partners and subsequently renamed Cengage Learning in July. The Thomson Learning brand was used through the end of August, 2007

These guys are friends with Rockefellers and they were once the largest providers of all the corporate school textbooks, which they used to brainwash and dumb down the kids with.


Great thread! I hope that I find something interesting on the net so I can contribute with some information here later on maybe.

Well done guys! S&F