Control.

Question: How many corporations own the media in the US?
Average class answer: 9248
Real answer: 5

Haha. I don't remember what I put as my answer, but I think it was pretty high up there. But really though, only 5 companies own 90% of our media?? It's the same way with music. Five companies control 90% of worldwide music.

I found this website...you pick a media company, and they tell you everything they own. So I picked Viacom...and they own:

Cable

MTV

MTV2

mtvU

AtomFilms

Addicting Games

Gamerailers

Harmonix

MTVN International

MTV TR3S

Neopets

Parents Connect

Quizilla

Rhapsody

Shockwave

VH1

VH1 Classic

VH1 Soul

Virtual Worlds

XFIRE

Nickelodeon

Nick Jr.

BET

BET J

Nick at Nite

TV Land

NOGGIN

VH1

Spike TV

CMT

Comedy Central

Film

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Home Entertainment

Dreamworks Studiis

Paramount Vantage

MTV Films

Nickelodeon Movies

Home Entertainment

Who the heck needs to own all that?? The 5 gigantic media corporations could potentially take over our media. They have almost complete control over our options of what we can watch on tv, and the movies we can watch, and the music we can listen to. I don't know about you, but I think we should teach these big media companies a lesson...I think we need more independent musicians and filmmakers out there. There's already a lot, but we need MORE. It's scary that 90% of our media is in the hands of Viacom, AOL/Time Warner, Disney, Bertelsmann, and News Corporation, and that's it. That's like...our country being in the hands of 5 powerful men...

I was talking to this guy, and he was saying how Starbucks started as one guy in a local coffee shop, and then got bigger and bigger until it became the Starbucks we're all so addicted to now. (I don't know but...) I suppose that's how Disney and News Corps and the other huge companies started too. Little independent companies merging with other little independent companies and then taking over the industry. It's crazy. Don't be fooled into thinking that your media is diverse. It's all made by the same 5 companies. And that's all I have to say about that.