Capitalism And Monopolies: How Five Companies Control All US Media

You're probably aware that Disney owns Marvel and Lucasfilm, but do you really know how consolidated the American media landscape is? In this episode, we're looking at how just five mega-corporations control the entirety of US media.

Capitalism And Monopolies: How Five Companies Control All US Media – Second Thought

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About Second Thought:
Second Thought is a channel devoted to the things in life worth thinking about! Science, history, politics, religion...basically everything you're not supposed to talk about at the dinner table. Welcome!

[SecondThought]

Hey everyone! I hope you all enjoy the video. A couple quick corrections: Dreamworks is owned by Comcast, and Disney now owns the majority of Hulu. Like I said in the video, properties change hands all the time and it's difficult to keep up, but the trades/mergers/acquisitions are always between those five giant mega-corporations.

[arttukettunen]

"It's not dictatotship if 1.1% control everything, only when it's under 1%"

- Legal loopholes

[gerritclaesen]

and still Americans think they live in a democracy, what a joke

[TutorWindow]

"Given the illusion of choice." Good quote.

[madeline]

It's important to know that this isn't just media. Ever industry is like this. All the food in the supermarket is owned by a few companies.

[andrewm]

We may not have state-run media, but we have a media-run state! Seriously, the fact that corporate lobbying is still legal makes for economic authoritarianism

[boxsterbenz]

"He who controls the message controls the masses."

[jacubboy]

At this point they function as monopolies. It just doesn’t fit the definition of monopoly created decades ago.

[TheCablife]

“The United States isn’t a country, it’s 3 corporations in a trench coat”
-someone on the internet

[zpHyRx]

Imo, we clearly have monopolies. Consider this:
The definition of a monopoly is, as stated, "A single company dominates a market and sells a good or service with no close substitutes"
I want to focus on the term "no close substitutes", because nowhere near there is an interchangable competitor for a news channel covering one specific view. Another newschannel representing a different standpoint is by no means a "close substitute" for the consumer. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is what ultimately matters.
So legally this should definetely be seen as a monopoly.
I am not a US citizen, but can someone go to court with this, please?

[flutee]

"Power doesn't draw corruption, corrupted people are drawn to power." -someone with common sense

[AccordionJoe]

I am old enough to remember with all major cities had two, three, four, even five daily newspapers and just as many local TV stations. Competition helped provide real journalism. Those days, sadly, are gone forever.

[Dango]

This is why I pirate everything






Not really, I'm actually broke

[filenuke]

The complete gap between media and reality is sometimes terrifying, books like Manufacturing Consent really show you how warped people's worldviews are from the facts by companies

[zad]

I remember something about a guy that tried opening an internet company and being shut down by Verizon, at&t, and spectrum for trying to steal clients.

[kluhnahgoh]

Just a minor correction, DreamWorks is owned by Comcast not Disney

[TheMommaDiary]

I’m doing my college essay on the media controlling public opinion.
I’m here.
Now I’m leaving a comment to hopefully get into someone’s recommendation.

[SirNucleicAcid]

Second Thought deserves more viewers. Your arguments are well structured, well explained and backed by data and examples. The videos are not too long, which makes them easier too consume.

[kellarenna]

This is so obvious when we look at popular music today. Theres such a small number of mega artists who get cycled in and out in their different seasons. remember before the monopoly (2000's and earlier) what a vast range of artists gained popularity on a wide scale?

[unibyte]

Second Thought, you're doing great work here. Please keep spreading awareness of these pressing issues.