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Ben H. Bagdikian
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The Media Monopoly Paperback – January 1, 1997

by Ben H. Bagdikian (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 23 ratings
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This sixth edition of the classic work on control of the modern media describes the digital revolution and reveals startling details of a new communications cartel within the United States.

"An eye-opening attack on the growing concentration of major media."
-Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    289 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Beacon Press
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1997
  5. Dimensions
    5.47 x 0.98 x 8.03 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0807061557
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0807061558
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Beacon Press; 5th.. edition (January 1, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 289 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0807061557
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0807061558
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.47 x 0.98 x 8.03 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 23 ratings

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Ben H. Bagdikian

Ben H. Bagdikian

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
23 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

nat
5.0 out of 5 stars It's the quickest way to understanding why america is failing and why the rest of the globe thinks americans are stupid fat and lazy
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
Ever wanted a reference point to reality? Read this book. It's the quickest way to understanding why america is failing and why the rest of the globe thinks americans are stupid fat and lazy. We're not stupid. We invented this internet but this book explains why we are so misinformed which is worse than being uninformed.
2 people found this helpful
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Abbas Aboo Hamidi
5.0 out of 5 stars As it was promised
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2017
Verified Purchase
Very satisfied
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Bluebird
5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this book
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2019
I don't think we can put our heads in the sand anymore and pretend that what this author talks about is not happening. A brave book, but the question is do people have the courage to read it?
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Newton Ooi
4.0 out of 5 stars What liberal media?
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2007
Verified Purchase
One of the slogans of American conservatives is that the American media is liberal and left-leaning. This book argues the opposite, and that from the 1960s onwards, the takeover of family-owned and family-runned media outlets by large, usually multinational corporations has reduced the quality of news-reporting. Furthermore, media (news) outlets are now primarily vehicles for advertising. The effects of this are multiple. First, there are implicit and explicit pressures within many news organizations to NOT report news that might be damaging to the public image of either that organization's advertisers, parent owners, or other businesses owned by that organization's parent owners. Second, many news organizations purchased by corporations in effect become advertising and propaganda vehicles and not impartial news dispensers any more. Third, in order to satisfy advertising needs, news editors are often forced to mellow the content of their news to make it less offensive and controversial, since offensive and/or controversial content can lessen the buying mood of watchers/readers, which in turn reduces the efficacy of advertising. Fourth, many locales are now served by one news outlet per medium; i.e. one newspaper, one TV station and one radio station. In some instances, all the news outlets in one geographical area (re city) are owned by one corporation. The effect of this is a gradual reduction in the diversity of news in the general media within each city or township. This, argues the author, is highly damaging to the participatory democracy that is the USA. Last, all of this is done in the face of rising profit margins within many news organizations; i.e. the surrender of editorial privilege to advertisers is done solely to increase profits, and not to ensure profitability.

The author argues his points in various ways. First, he provides numerical data to justify his claims. These include the number of privately-owned and publicly-owned news organizations over the past century. Second, the author details specific case studies showing how corporate (advertisers) needs have overtaken editorial judgement within various news organizations. Third, the author provides some of his own subjective evaluation of news content over the decades.

I found this book's arguments highly convincing. There is a small addition for the new Internet medium, but it is quite short and deserves further expansion; hence I give the book only four out of five stars. But this is still a great book and highly recommended for those interested in the social sciences, and any American voter in general.
2 people found this helpful
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Giancarlo Nicoli
5.0 out of 5 stars It makes you understand "how it all works".
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2001
Now you have a map: it's up to you to decide where to go. "The Media Monopoly" gives you all the elements you need to understand how the mass media "world" works. Your decisions are now informed ones.
The author kept his writing short and simple. Well and clearly written, this book raises questions that are to be addressed, sooner or later (you'll find plenty). It explains you why media companies merge; why they have so much power and how they exploit it (to pay less taxes, for instance). How they select editors and journalists: who they fire, who they keep, why - with real cases examined -. It also explains why their big size is dangerous, and it reports a few uncelebrated examples of self-serving behaviour (after p. 39). Here is their power: "In 1949, for example, William Randolph Hearst, head of one large publishing empire, and Henry Luce, chief of another, Time, Inc., were both worried about communism and the growth of liberalism in the United States." Enter "Billy Graham, an obscure evangelist holding poorly attended tent meetings in Los Angeles. (...) Hearst and Luce interviewed the obscure preacher and decided he was worthy of their support. Billy Graham became an almost instantaneous national and, later, international figure preaching anticommunism. In late 1949, Hearst sent a telegram to all Hearst editors: "Puff Graham". The editors did - in Hearst newspapers, magazines, movies, and newsreels. Within two months Graham was preaching to crowds of 350,000." A hint: don't dismiss this example because it took place so many years ago and because it involved an anticommunist: mass media "puff" products, persons, politicians every day.
I have to say that here and there I don't agree with the suggestions or with the opinions of the author. As an example (see p. 41) Mr. Bagdikian somewhat condemns intervention of owners into the content of news. I'm an owner of a (small) publishing house, and of course I do intervene in the content of news! It's my job to do that! I also elsewhere don't agree with the author - alas, this is a review and not a critical essay. My point is: please, as you always should do, keep your critical thought well awake when you read this book. That said, it tells you truths that are awkward for you to deal with. If you want to live better your time, this book is a must.
Note: I'm Italian, so I'm not able to wander through US bookshops and see what's new, what's hot and what's not. I bless Amazon for its software suggested me this book, and fellow readers for their fair reviews helped me buy it.
13 people found this helpful
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Cecil Bothwell
5.0 out of 5 stars And it keeps getting worse
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2007
Bagdikian began the assault on the stultifying concentration of media ownership before most of us even recognized it was happening. Though his specifics are dated, his arguments remain cogent and his warnings urgent, and things have only gotten worse in the decades since first publication of this important work.
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Davis Bailey
5.0 out of 5 stars An accurate but stunning portrayal of media conglomeration
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2000
With the Universal-Polygram, Viacom-CBS and AOL-Time Warner merger/acquisitions in progress, one read of Ben Bagdikian's "The Media Monopoly" and the author's stunning vision of the world's media conglomerates dwindling in size and scope of unbiased content, becomes a grim reality. Without any legal or regulatory intervention, this merging of Old and New Media companies can only hurt free enterprise and ultimately the consumers. With the recent news, Bagdikian's logic remains to be true. "The Media Monopoly" is a masterpiece as Bagdikian explicitly details what drives the modern mass media machine: capitalism via advertising as opposed to content.
28 people found this helpful
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