The media is defined as communication outlets used to exchange information and convey

messages among communities to encourage understanding and stimulate the development of

society. Apparently, it is more than that to some people. Besides satisfying people’s needs, the

media also supports businesses to promote brands that attract consumers to know and use their

products and services. Communication is an effective tool for leaders to leverage for their

business growth while contributing to the development of the national economy. In this case, the

businesses are media megacorporations. With the progressive media practices in less than a

hundred years, the growth of those corporations has spurred significantly more than ever even

though some policies and legislations had held them back.

The media industry is not an exception to the reformation and the laissez-faire

abandonment in the 1930s when President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal was promulgated.

Although it did not specifically target the media industry, the signs of monopoly and vertical

integration were condemned, and unethical practices were suspected by the government. For

instance, the five vertically integrated major film studios were obliged to divest their theater

chains by the Supreme Court after the court case United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.,

leading to Paramount Decrees which collectively forced movie studios to dismantle the

interlocking structure of motion companies. Furthermore, President F.D.Roosevelt articulated his

policies and reformulated the view of Americanism in his radio talks with a simple and common

language to explain complicated issues and programs. Besides, he also convinced the Americans

to give up isolationism and enter WWII by explaining reasons for Americans to involve and

assist Great Britain. As President Roosevelt introduced the utility of the media as a tool for

marketing corporate and state institution interests; consequently, media and communication did

not merely serve the public’s interests anymore. Correspondingly, the media fervently
manipulated people into frameworks of war, political parties, and consumer capitalism in the

1940s.

Subsequently, the regulatory environment of the 1940s had moderately survived to the

1970s and 1980s, and established a precedent for the federal government's significant role in the

media industry. Passed in 1980, Sherman Antitrust Act outlawed interlocking conglomerates that

form a monopoly by colluding with one another and imposing pricing in a particular market.

Nevertheless, deregulatory policies became more widespread and dominated the interest of the

industry.

Earlier in the century, muckrakers represented the public's interests, not the interests of

corrupt corporations and political officials of the era. Today's media is drastically different from

that of the muckrakers' age. Modern news organizations have the potential and capability to

reach a wider community via more mediums than they ever have before. However, the has failed

to serve the public good with the advantages of innovative technology. The collapse of antitrusts

and regulatory policies was followed by the rapid rise of deregulation. Most of the national news

agendas were saturated with slogans and debates, calling for a shrinking government and the role

of government as defender of corporations. Therefore, horizontal and vertical integrations

returned to the media industry on a larger scale after being exiled by the government for forty

years. The integrations did not solely institute within a particular industry but across industries

such as film, cable, and broadcast stations, shifting the industry from heterogeneity to synergistic

acquisition of complementary businesses. Thenceforth, the deregulation and resurgence of

vertical integration paved the way for convergence of media industries in the 1980s, leading to

the subsequent mergers of AOL-Time Warner, Comcast-NBC, Viacom-CBS, and

NBC-Universal. As many commissions and departments (such as FTC, FCC, and DOJ)
facilitated the deregulation and consolidation, the Big Five have become main influencers in

altering the country’s politics; correspondingly, one of their substantial accomplishments is the

Telecommunications Act of 1996 which permitted cross-ownership and diminished regulations

on media consolidation of media outlets. The law caused less competition and authorization of

companies such as Comcast and AOL to purchase multiple related businesses in local markets.

Regarding MGM, Amazon's acquisition was fueled by the same purpose of the Big Five's

consolidation which is possessing all kinds of media outlets for mutual promotion. With the

escalated mergers, parent companies become more influential and competent in acquiring small

businesses that stand in their way. In addition, those megacorporations promote their interrelated

book publishers, cable networks, celebrities, radio, and television talk shows with their vast

resources. With such cartel-like processes, therefore, creative talent and new voices can never

replicate those conglomerates' success, or even stand on their own without being merged.

Moreover, the concurrence of concentrated media power in news and commentary and corporate

political reinforcement has restricted the impact of voters over which issues and candidates will

be presented on Election Day. Reasons for political officials to contribute to those conglomerates

are because they are parts of the backbone of the economy, and political issues/campaigns, not to

mention lobbying. As mentioned in the article, “The Apprentice” has both aired shows and

unaired footage, which some have claimed contains unflattering footage of Mr. Trump. The

future of democratic societies seems to be obscured since the media outlets can be biased and

manipulate the public based on which political party they ally with.