SIX people tell 325 million what to think

Media ownership includes broadcast and cable television, film, radio, newspaper, magazine, book publishing, music, video games, and various online entities.

In 1983, 90% of US media was controlled by 50 companies; today, 90% is controlled by just 6 companies.

So 6 powerful people can try to influence 325 million Americans.

Summer Redstone’s American Amusement  has a $4.6 billion chunk.

CEO’s Bob Iger  runs Disney’s chunk.

CEO Jeff Bewkes runs TimeWarner’s chunk.

CEO Brian Roberts runs Comcast’s chunk.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp gets another chunk.

CEO Kazuo Hirai runs Sony’s chunk.

Combined, these six companies run media worth $148.2 billion. Plus have most of the influence over what we think.

As for newspapers, Michael Bloomberg,  Newhouse, Cox, Warren Buffett, Mortimer Zuckerman own a big chunk of  American newspapers.

Gannett is #1, with about 120 American and 300 United Kingdom newspapers.

McClatchy and Hearst are distant second and third with 29 and 23 American newspapers.

The day after July 4th Independence Day seems a good time to run an article on a free media.