A new study shows the destructive, polarizing effect of modern news networks ties back to the passing of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
[adinserter block=”1″]The study, recently published in the International Journal of Public Opinion Research, shows a relationship between polarization and how much television people are watching.
According to one of the researchers behind the study, Professor Hmielowski: “After 1996, we see changes in polarization based on how much television people are using.”
Lawmakers allegedly believed the act would allow free market forces to expand enterprise, variety and healthy competition in the market of news broadcasting. Instead, the exact opposite happened.
A cursory look through news channels reveal that big players such as NBC, ABC, CNN and FOX news are quickly buying up smaller media corporations, turning them into mouthpieces for a quite blatant talking point agendas for the controlling network.
Even more alarming is the fact that 90% of all modern media is owned by only 6 large corporations: Disney, GE, News-Corp, Viacom, Time Warner, CBS.
Media Infographic: 6 Companies Control 90% of Modern Media
As news becomes more omnipresent but vested in pointed interests, and advertisers, the viewing public falls into watching the biased news networks and listening to the galvanizing reports that fill the airwaves. This results in polarization of the public, which is often reflected in the attitudes and actions of political leaders who are manipulating media or saying/doing what they need to remain in favor of the majority of their constituents.