The MAD Media

Mapping who owns what:

Disney's Vast Kingdom

Chances are if you say the name Disney, you are likely to see recognition in other’s faces as they smile and think about cartoons and Hannah Montanna. What many Mickey Mouse loving fans don’t realize is that those are only a fraction of what the company either owns or holds shares in. In fact, Disney is among the top global media giants, coming to a close second behind Time Warner in sales (McChesney). Disney has ownership in fields of film, broadcast television, cable television, radio, music, publishing, magazines, parks and resorts, and retail; i.e. ESPN, A&E, US Weekly, Walt Disney and Hollywood Records, or ABC network and radio to name a few.

From the morning news to every teeny-boppers heart throb, Disney has the world in its grasp. So what does this mean? Whether it be Disney or any other large major media company, there is a right to be concerned. By allowing such corporations to expand their ownership in sales, we are also allowing them to expand their influence over our media. In a democratic society, what freedom of choice do we really have when our different sources can all be traced back to a handful of corporations? By segmenting power to a few, we lose that freedom of the ability to choose for ourself. Just think about how easy it is to coy people into loving a new Disney film when the toy companies, the radio station and the news all have shares in the corporation!

The last thing we need is a dictator rule of the media, even if it is run under the name of Disney.

Work Cited

McChesney, Robert. "The Global Media Giants We are the World." EXTRA! (1997): n. pag. Web. 13 Oct 2009. .