The Future of Media
- Resistance and Reform in the 21st Century

Editors:
Robert McChesney, Russell Newman and Ben Scott

Literature Review by Shveta Raina
5/2/2007

The Future of Media is an amalgamation of various articles by authors who believe that there needs to be a public outcry against the way that Media is being run today. Russell Newman and Ben Scott describe it as “A user’s guide to winning back our media, written by those who are fighting the battles firsthand.” (Newman, Scott 5) While the first part of the book describes why there is a need for action from the public, the second part of the book highlights how media activism can take shape, and provides each reader with steps on how to take action. I believe that while the problems presented in this book are current and real, the solutions prescribed might not be the surest way to success.

The editors seek to establish that “The digital convergence of traditional print media, broadcasting, telecommunications, and the Internet now promises to drive a series of major policy changes that will substantially reshape the media of the future and with it, the future of our society.” They go as far as to say that these changes will decide “who owns what networks or newspapers…who will control access to public information…[and] whether or not the public will be involved in the governance of our own media.” (Newman, Scott 3) They divide the book argument into five sections, each with several articles by authors describing how they see the current issues in media.

The first section, ‘The Threat to a Free Press,’ examines the problem of corporate and political media ownership, in light of current media controls with respect to the Iraq war and other “propaganda campaigns.” In Newman and Scott’s article on “The Emerging Struggle for a Free Press,” the four myths that they believe exist about corporate media power are enlisted in detail. These highlight that the existing profit-driven United States media system is not the American way, professional practices in journalism will not protect the public, the media does not give the people what they want, and the Internet will not set us free. Thus the authors intend to tell people that they can change the status quo, and the current reasons they allow it to exist are just myths that need to be shelved.

The second section is on ‘Systematic Marginalization,’ and highlights perhaps a less- discussed skeleton about media ownership – that of race and the media. Malkia Cyril’s article on “Media and Marginalization” provides people with tools to combat the problems that arise from only 2% of television news directors, and 1.9% of radio news directors, being black, as of 2002. It calls for Media Justice, and asks that controlling media content, not media access alone, be central to this battle. It cites the example of a Clear Channel radio station in the San Francisco Bay area where a popular radio host, a person of color, was fired in October 2001 for his antiwar sentiments, and perhaps for drawing an audience that the radio station did not want to encourage, people who were “young, of color, and working class.” Thus the argument of marginalization is extended from race, to people of certain political views and economic standings as well, leading to the thought that only the majority is given a voice in mainstream media.

The next section is on ‘Media Regulation in the Public Interest,’ where it is explained that media conglomerates, FCC decisions, and skyrocketing advertising are beneficial only to a select few. Vidya Krishnamurthy’s article on “The Media and Campaign Reform” describes how current political campaigns don’t help voters make an informed decision; instead, they rake up money for media corporations and political clout for candidates who can generate funding. The only way to help this disastrous situation, and lead to greater accountability among political candidates, Krishnamurthy advises, is for broadcasters to use their control over public airways to offer meaningful and engaging programming.

We now move to a section on what the title of the book promises – the future. In ‘Toward a New Media Age: The Politics of Convergence, New Media, and Innovation,’ the authors look at what problems exist in the current and upcoming era of constantly evolving technologies. In Sascha Meinrath’s article on “Wirelessing the World,” we are hit with the fact that even while we think that the Internet and going wireless will give us more freedom to share information, and give the public a chance to own media at last, unfortunately control over wireless technologies again has been harnessed by a few corporations. Meinrath cites the story of Cingular Wireless, which has managed to buy a majority stake of the US wireless systems.

In conclusion, the section on ‘The Future of Media in a Global Age,’ talks of global media policies that need to be established in the interest of the public at large. The unfortunate reality is that “The commercialization and concentration of media is a key part of neo-liberal globalization.” (Costanza-Chock 259) Thus combating the issues of combined media ownership in a fast integrating world is an even greater challenge. When media activists defend localism, diversity and pluralism, these are seen as barriers to trade in today’s WTO negotiations, and hence create opposition to several lucrative negotiations for countries, and political and economic systems that are at the forefront of most international organizations.

I believe that the problems written about in this book are real. Each author creates a strong point, and definitely backs it up with examples. In fact, on the front page of today’s New York Times was an article about Rupert Murdoch of The News Corporation, making an unsolicited bid to buy Dow Jones and Company for $5 million, from the Bancroft family. The family has believed that newspaper ownership must be in the form of a public trust, and has controlled the Journal since 1902. If Murdoch was to win this battle, he would control one of the most widely read and respected financial newspapers. His views were broadcasted on the Fox News Channel, also owned by his company. At this rate, the notion that we are receiving different perspectives in the media is completely violated since ownership is already and further becoming vested in just a few hands.

However the solutions in this book are a bit idealistic. Much more than just the action-steps described in the last seventy pages of the book is needed to create real change. This is because the themes of the book strive to fight what epitomizes the world today – capitalism, globalization, and economic synergies. In order to fight the effects of such a huge, intertwined system, you have to begin within the system, not outside it. Also if you would like people who control the media today to sit-up and take notice of a book like this, it cannot exude such an Anti-Republican, anti-Bush sentiment as it does. It will just further alienate those in power from those who want the power, instead of helping them to work together. As Vidya Krishnamurthy writes, “The fact is that the media is a part of the problem. They have to be a part of the solution.” (Krishnamurthy 148)

If we really want to make a difference then it has to be done by sitting at a table with people from the very political parties and economic corporations that this book shuns and drafting new media policy that can change the way the future of media will run. These new policies should take into account regulation of the media, take stringent action against marginalization, and encourage local media networks. In the United States, the is sue of media control takes into consideration Republicans versus Democrats, or issues of race; in places like China, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan it is a matter of a tradition, conservative and nationalistic government versus the people. In fact in Afghanistan the first thing that the Taliban tried to control was the media. This is because the media is a way of reaching out to the common man and influencing his beliefs, it is a very powerful tool that must not be misused. Let’s hope that the authors of Future of Media recognize that in seeking to control the media they do not alienate those who currently control it, and hence lose the battle before it has even fully begun. We, as readers, should encourage them to fight real problems with realistic solutions.