The Big Five

The Big Five and Social Media

The Big Five — Tue, 03 May 2011 12:30:06 +0000

It’s no secret that the use of social media can attract and keep an audience pretty effectively. The Big Five are very aware of this and have all made adjustments in their business model that reflect the integration of social media in their programming. These days, it’s very common to see your favorite TV shows have their own official Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube accounts because their audience isn’t just idly sitting in front of the television waiting for their shows to come on. People these days are out and about and if they happen to have a smart phone then the various networks have a way of directly reaching them to keep them informed and reminded about pretty much everything.

Social media integration among the networks also gives their audience a “little something extra.” For example, the hit CBS show “The Big Bang Theory” offers it’s social media followers access to exclusive content that they wouldn’t see on television. In addition, the show’s creator Bill Prady regularly posts on his Twitter feed about the show and the characters, a bunch of 20 something computer geeks whose lives heavily revolve around the internet and social media. This “marriage” between the show and social media has garnered praise from virtually every fan and follower and proves to be a successful example of how social media integration has started to change the face of major television networks.

General Electric and Viacom

The Big Five — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:51:28 +0000

General Electric and Viacom and two great companies to discuss because they are at opposite ends of a spectrum involving media companies and their revenues.

As of 2009, General Electric was the company with the highest revenue, totaling $157 billion. To help you understand exactly how much GE owns, they have minor holdings in NBC and Universal (Freepress.net). On their own website (GE.com), they list the honors and rankings they have received from notable people and companies. Such notaries are “top 25 most innovative companies” and being ranked among the “world’s top companies for leaders”. These recognitions are great, but fail to mention the revenue that GE has acquired which has most likely caused some of them. With money, it is amazing what some companies can accomplish, and with power over media it is amazing to see how they can be portrayed.

Viacom is another one of The Big Five that as of 2009 has the least revenue of the Big Five with $13.6 billion. Viacom has holdings in many music business such as MTV, BET and also Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures (Freepress.net). We assumed that Viacom would be one of the larger companies because music and television is such a huge empire and these stations are aimed towards children and teenagers. These are the audiences that get adults to buy things for them and usually result in large earnings. Viacom.com says this quoting “Viacom serves an ever-growing population of kids, tweens, teens and adults who want their favorite media and entertainment, 24/7.” They are well aware who their main audiences are and how to target them. These two conglomerates are clearly doing something right and therefore have large control over much of the content that people like ourselves encounter everyday.

Competition or Collaboration?

The Big Five — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 19:41:46 +0000

After learning about The Big Five, one might think that these conglomerates are in a massive, endless competition with each other. However, they are somewhat a synergy meaning that they are helping and using each other to get ahead, despite being in competition. To understand this, one must first learn what a conglomerate is. James Potter, author of “Media Literacy” explains this as “when a media company buys a combination of other media companies and/or companies in a non-media business” (268). Potter gives us the example of a film studio that buys a newspaper, radio stations, a talent agency, and a string of restaurants. Unfortunately, this has turned American into a place with “monopolistic competition because each conglomerate is large relative to the size of the market for its products” (100). This is good for the owners who begin to own everything and make millions, but they are drowning the middle and lower class of America.

Despite this competition, many of the conglomerates work together to own more, even if it means sharing with another company. Potter shows us some of the most important media megamergers of all time: Jan 1990 Warner Communications, Inc. and Time, Inc. merge creating the biggest merge at that time; August 1995 Walt Disney Co. acquires Capital Cities/ABC making Disney into the first media company with four distribution systems; October 1996 Time Warner and Tuner Broadcasting System merge, becoming the world’s largest media company; and September 1999 Viacom merges with CBS Television Network making the biggest deal between two media companies (269-270). A most recent merge has been in 2004 of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment resulting in NBC Universal, Inc. (275). As of 2011 when Potter’s book was published, Sony was the biggest grossing company with a height of $79 billion. These facts help to show the average Joe that these companies just keep growing larger as the number of businesses diminish. Many consider this to be a huge issue that is inflicting pain upon Americans who aren’t in the media game.

An Introduction

The Big Five — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 19:05:43 +0000

Ben Bagdikian, author of The New Media Monopoly states that “in 1983 that the corporations that owned all the country’s dominant mass media would, in less than twenty years, shrink from fifty separate companies to five” (28). Ben teaches us that “their steady accumulation of power in the world of news, radio, television, magazines, books, and movies gives them a steady accumulation of power in politics.” In other words, the media controls how the politicians are depicted, and the more powerful the media, the more powerful their influence over politics.

There are five dominant media corporations that exist today: The Walt Disney Company, News Corporation, Time Warner, Viacom and some still consider General Electric/Comcast (Wikipedia). These conglomerates keep absorbing the smaller ones and therefore continue to grow in size and diminish in numbers. According to CNN.com, Philippe Dauman, who is the owner of Viacom, is the highest paid CEO this year, making $84.5 million. Its hard to believe that so few people are controlling so much of the media world and flourishing because of it.

Owner of Viacom

Reading Response #10

The Big Five — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:35:14 +0000

“Politics and the Participatory Web” by Jonathan Kruger. I can really understand what Kruger is talking about when he mentions candidates always using the web to promote themselves. “Currently the internet has become a major campaigning tool for candidates to try to get their message out” (pg 87). Sense beginning to use myspace and facebook I also feel that candidates are trying to reach out to younger voters. Everywhere on the home pages there are ad’s and quotes from different candidates. I really liked this essay because I felt I could relate to it more. I also believed in what he was saying, and I can very much see the internet becoming a primary source of future campaigns.

Blog #10

The Big Five — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:18:37 +0000

First, there isn’t a huge amount of information on ska music, so I apologize if I didn’t follow the rules exactly by having these be peer reviewed articles/books-but I tried my best.

Joseph Heathcott. Radical History Review. Urban Spaces and Working Class Expressions Across the Black Atlantic: Tracing the routes of ska. Radical History Review,1968 19 Nov. 2009. The first site I came across was amazing! it gave me tons of information on ska. The history and the “rudeboys” who played a large role in ska. It also explained the rudeboy’s style and the meaning of lyrics in ska, which both help my second draft as I am focusing more on the culture of ska. I got a huge amount of information, all of which is very helpful!

Rick Anderson. Reggae Music: A History of Selective Discography. Notes, 2004. 19 Nov 2009. The second site I found was also helpful, although not as much as the first. It helped me to understand more exactly how ska music is broken down. It gave a bunch of examples for bands and explained how it was “irresistibly danceable”.

Timothy Brown. Subcultures, Pop Music and Politics: Skinheads and “Nazi Rock” in England and Germany. 2004. 19 Nov, 2009. I know we read this in class, but I liked the way it connected ska music to the mod England style. It also explained the culture of ska (the rudeboys) a little, and I want to use that in my essay.

I unfortunately cannot find any more articles or books at this time. I don’t know if I am looking in the wrong spot or doing something incorrectly, but I think I have found a large amount of material here.

RR #9 Subcultures, Pop music and Politics

The Big Five — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:00:58 +0000

Subcultures, Pop Music, and Politics: Skinheads and “Nazi Rock” in England and Germany by Timothy S. Brown

I had a difficult time reading this, but I was expecting it. First, I think it’s awesome that it talks about Jamican Ska and Rudeboys, because these are both things I have mentioned in my researched essay (about ska music). I also thought it was interesting to learn how the “skinhead” style has changed throughout time.

”With his boots, sturdy clothing, and cropped hair…” (pg.304) “the second-generation skins…boots became taller, military surplus MA-1 jackets replace earlier more “civilian” looks, tattoos-previously confined to the arms or torso-began to crop up above the neckline, and hair became shorter to the point of baldness” (pg 304).

I found myself a little lost while reading about the politics, and right-wing, I’m not exactly sure how it all connects. However, I didn’t lose interest in the piece despite this. It was different to read and also kept my attention because it was something I was connected with (through my essay).

Writing Exercise (online research)

The Big Five — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:55:48 +0000

During a time of riots, ska helped create “racial unity”. “Bands such as Madness, The Beat, The Selecter, The Bodysnatchers, the Specials, revitalized the classic ska sounds of Prince Buster and other first wave artists.” I like this site because it gives some background on the creation of ska. It also gives the above list of artists during the time period. It makes me wonder how exactly ska helped to unite people of different backgrounds. I also want to learn about more artists of this time period.

“The offbeat is basically what defines Ska’s unique sound.” “Some first wave ska bands are Toots and the Maytals, and The Skatellites.” During the second wave, a member of the band The Specials created a record label called 2-Tone records which was home to the most prominent ska bands of the second wave. “Ska has its own sort of dance that is done to it called “skanking.”” I enjoyed this article because it talked about the label that was started during the second wave. It also went into detail on how to dance to ska music, which was something different to talk about. Maybe I would ask how this sort of dancing was created, or who started it.

Reading Response

The Big Five — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:13:50 +0000

Mary Kay:American Dream In a Bottle

I think Tammy Anderson did an alright job, but I found myself feeling bored for a majority of the reading. The only part that seemed to spark my interest was the introduction. I thought Laura was a good person for stopping to pick up Christine, even though she was already over an hour late. “Laura is already resigned to loosing an hour going back for her make-up kit, so she agrees to go the extra mile for this stranger.” I just think that as the essay went on, it also seemed to go downhill. I think that Tammy dragged on the parts about the upcoming events, awards, and Cadillacs. I began to get very bored with the piece, although it was informative.

No Fun: The Raw Power Of The Stooges

I am so tired of hearing about angry boy bands who write lyrics that don’t really mean anything and get stoned all the time. Also, I would much rather be a “flower power hippie” than a person involved in the “revolution of nihilism.” I know I am missing the point, but that just bothered me. However, Dennin Ellis did a great job with background detail. We learned about each band member and each album, although the description about these seemed to drag on at times as well. To me, it seems like the band was destined for disaster, especially after they became addicted to heroin, that never helps things. Underneath all of this I can see the point, and that the Stooges did leave a lasting legacy. “In the late seventies, the basic music premise of their attack would be co-opted by bands from New York (the Ramones) to London (the Sex Pistols) in what would be called “punk music.” These bands and other would ultimately become better known than the Stooges, but musically, they were just pale imitations.” I definitely liked this more than Mary Kay.

Blog #8

The Big Five — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:50:22 +0000

1.) Dreaming

I don’t know much about dreaming. I have dreams and I sometimes remember them, but not always. I tend to have very weird dreams if I do remember them. I dont know why we have them or how we have them though. It interests me because I just think its really unknown and different, and something that many of us do. I am most curious about what a certain dream can mean for you or your life, and what exactly dreaming is. My questions would be how and why do we dream, and what does it mean to dream about certain things. Does it make a difference if you have had this dream before? I don’t think there is much debate on this topic but I can imagin that some people would dispute dreams and think that they don’t mean anything at all. I found out that everyone dreams, just not everyone realizes or rememberes that they do.

2.) Photography

I don’t know much about photography at all, I just enjoy taking silly pictures with my camera. It interests me because I like to put pictures on my computer and play around with colors, textures, and brightness-things like that. I think of it as a form of art and expression. I am curious about how to take professional or correct photographs. I am also interested in how cameras actually work. I’m not sure if there are many debates or issues with this topic either. I found out that digital cameras are also called digicams (sounds like a pokemon). I want to learn more about photography.

3.) The universe

I don’t know much about the universe except that it is filled with planets and stars. I am interested in learning about what else is “in” the universe. I am curious about possible other planets or black holes, weird space stuff like that. I just want to know anything I can about space and our universe. I think there is much debate about whether or not we should go into space, or what other planets are like and if we could ever live on them. I also think there is a debate over how many planets there are and how big the whole universe is. “A black hole is a creation of gravitation.”