THE DANGERS OF HUGE FOR-PROFIT NEWS AND MEDIA COMPANIES

The dramatic consolidation under billionaire owners in the news and media industry over the last 40 years includes TV, radio, print, and social media. Their profit motive drives them to promote divisive and culture war messages that they have found are most effective at attracting attention and viewers. It also pushes them to minimize local reporting and homogenize news to national topics. All of this undermines local civic engagement, perverts politics and politicians, and harms democracy.

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My previous post focused on the huge billionaire-owned companies in the news and media industry that dominate national information dissemination: in TV and streaming: Paramount (with CBS, etc.), Warner Brothers (with CNN, etc.), Fox, Netflix, and Amazon; in social media: Meta and X; and in print media: the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post. It noted the dangers of monopolistic power, particularly in the news and media industry, including resulting in news that is biased, including politically.

In the broadcast TV market, the three biggest companies (Sinclair, Nexstar, and Gray) own 40% of all local TV stations (about 100 each) and cover 80% of the U.S. [1] In the broadcast radio market, iHeartMedia is the country's largest owner of radio stations, owning almost 900 AM and FM radio stations across the U.S. It was formerly Clear Channel Communications, which was founded in 1972 and taken private in 2008 by venture capital firms Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners in a leveraged buyout (i.e., one using substantial amounts of borrowed money). iHeart has gained its dominance through many acquisitions, mergers, and reorganizations over its 53 years.

The presence of huge billionaire-owned companies in the news and media industry goes much deeper than TV and radio. In the newspaper market, Gannett now owns one-sixth of all local daily papers. Venture capital firms like Alden Global Capital have been actively buying and consolidating (or closing) local print media. In some cases, the local newspapers have been struggling financially, but in any case, the purchasers typically slash jobs and the quality of the journalism. They often strip the papers of their assets (e.g., land and buildings), and then often close them or drive them into bankruptcy after collecting dividends and “management” fees. This is the standard venture capital business model (which I often refer to as vulture capitalism). (See this previous post for a summary of this business model and this post for an example of Alden Global Capital’s operation. Both posts are from 2018, so this has been an issue for quite some time.)

To minimize costs, outlets that remain in business typically run homogenized national or regional news instead of local reporting. The loss of local reporting means the loss of coverage of local community activities, events, and organizations, including local government and local candidates for local, state, and even national offices. This can be particularly damaging in rural communities. [2]

With the demise of local reporting, fewer Americans know who their local elected officials are and voter turnout in local elections declines. The ability to hold those in power accountable, especially in local offices, can be decimated and misinformation (or disinformation) often fills the void. This weakens local civic engagement and democracy.

Furthermore, research shows that while Americans are most affected by government policies and programs on economic and affordability of living issues, over the last 40 years the news and media industry’s coverage of government and politics has shifted to the so-called culture war issues, such as race, crime, immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, and guns.

The harms of huge billionaire-owned companies dominating the news and media industry are exacerbated by their single-minded focus on maximizing profits. Beginning in the 1980s, with talk radio, cable TV, and Fox News, coupled with a more competitive and profit-focused industry, news and media companies became more and more focused on attracting attention and audience at any cost. As a result, sensationalism and rapid, first-to-report became more important. These outlets also discovered that conflict and divisive culture war issues were most effective in getting attention and audiences, and even in attracting viewers who normally didn’t watch the news. They had discovered, as the advertising industry had too, that emotions are more easily aroused, are more powerful motivators, and are more malleable than rational, intellectual messages and attempts at persuasion.

Studies have found that audiences who watch more cable news give greater importance to culture war issues. This influences our politics and politicians, who have responded with more culture war focus and messaging. This makes culture war issues more salient in voters’ minds and in elections. Fox “News” has been found to be the most powerful contributor to this evolution to a focus on culture war issues. One analyst summed this up in these words: “the companies that abuse our attention for profit are the real winners of American politics.” [3]

President Trump and his administration, with the support of his allies in the “news” and media industry, are taking this strategy to new heights, or perhaps new depths would be more appropriate. The consolidation of news and media companies under billionaire ownership dangerously aids and abets this political perversion of the information delivered to the American public.

My next post will focus on what can be done about media consolidation under billionaire owners and alternative sources of news and information.

[1]      Martin, G.J., Mastrorocco, N., McCrain, J., & Ornaghi, A., 9/6/24, “Media consolidation,” Stanford University (https://web.stanford.edu/~gjmartin/papers/media_consolidation.pdf)

[2]      Agrawal, N., 3/3/25, “The fight against media consolidation: Uplifting local journalism to improve civic engagement,” The Lambert Post (https://thelambertpost.com/opinions/the-fight-against-media-consolidation-uplifting-local-journalism-to-improve-civic-engagement/)

[3]      Cox Richardson, H., 12/9/25, “Letters from an American blog,” (https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-9-2025) page 2