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An oligopoly is an economic structure that refers to a marketplace. The Macquarie dictionary states it to be a market structure with a relatively small number of firms accounting for a large proportion of output. Oligopolies are highly evident in the media industry. Industry convergence and the introduction of new media technologies have heavily influenced the formation of these structures within the industry. The main concern raised from these structures is a lack of diversity and not acting within public interest.
Currently the media industry is dominated by two media moguls, Kerry Packer and Rupert Murdoch. At present cross and foreign ownership laws are in place to stop these moguls forming a monopoly. However, many academics question the effectiveness of these laws. The media cross ownership laws state that persons cannot own a combination of commercial TV and radio/newspaper and commercial TV/ or newspaper and commercial radio (http://www.scaleplus.law.gov.au ). However current policy gives very little consideration to new media technologies. Media cross-ownership laws only cover television, radio and newspaper. Consequently a lack of diversity can already be seen in new technology mediums.
Australia already has the most concentrated media ownership among western democracies and this is of considerable concern. Ultimately the media industry is powered by money and business is conducted to make money. Critics then argue that people like Packer and Murdoch are abandoning their social responsibilities in the name of commercial interests (Bucy, 2005 pg 72). This impacts the youth of today considerably. Because they are at an age where they use the media to gauge and make sense of the world around them, getting a diverse overall picture is vital (Livingstone, 2002 pg 4). However, at present this is not delivered. Consequently youth are forming an identity based and dictated by the dominant media influences.
An example of just how much power media moguls have under an oligopoly can be witnessed through the company News Corporation. It has media interests in websites, online shopping, television and newspapers just to name a few (Cunningham and Turner pg 7). Because of this fact a considerable amount of the content produced by these mediums is recycled. And because news will often be presented with a commercial interest in mind, the media as a social informer is quickly diminishing.
The media has a social responsibility to society and particularly young people. For young people it is imperative they learn about new media and become media literate. If this does not occur they will not be able to partake in the public sphere, which is a metaphoric sphere which gives people access to democracy, the right to free speech and should be free of commercial and political interests. However, academics such as Hartley have suggested that the public sphere is now purely a product of the media, and currently the media due to oligopolies does not promote this environment (Hartley 2002 pg 191-192).
While policy is in place to protect public interest respected academics Cunningham and Flew have even gone as far as to suggest that media moguls heavily influence and even make government policy (Cunningham and Turner pg 60). Tiffen often refers to the two media moguls with his saying “two it too few�. If young people are not educated about these issues now, despite the fact that they are media savvy, they may have little or no influence over policy issues in the future and the content they are provided with will be determined by those in power; those who have media ownership.
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Adele Graves 09:00, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
