View source for Mainstream media

{{Short description|Mass news media that influence many people}}
{{Globalize|1=article|date=October 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
[[File:2008_newsstand_LasVegas_USA_2338004203.jpg|thumb|Newsstand in Las Vegas, 2008|alt=A newsstand showing many magazines. There are TVs showing the news in the background.]]

'''Mainstream media''' ('''MSM''') is a term used to refer collectively to the various large [[Mass media|mass news media]] that influence many people and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought.<ref name="Chomsky">[[Noam Chomsky|Chomsky, Noam]], "[http://www.chomsky.info/articles/199710--.htm What makes mainstream media mainstream]", October 1997, ''[[Z Magazine]]''.</ref> The term is used to contrast with [[alternative media]].
 
The term is often used for large [[Media conglomerate|news conglomerates]], including [[newspaper]]s and [[broadcast media]], that underwent successive [[Mergers and acquisitions|merger]]s in many countries. The [[concentration of media ownership]] has raised concerns of a homogenization of viewpoints presented to news consumers. Consequently, the term ''mainstream media'' has been used in conversation and the [[blogosphere]], sometimes in oppositional, pejorative or dismissive senses, in discussion of the [[mass media]] and [[media bias]].

==United States==
{{main|Media cross-ownership in the United States}}
In the United States, movie production is known to have been dominated by [[major film studios|major studios]] since the early 20th century; before that, there was a period in  time which [[Motion Picture Patents Company|Edison's Trust]] monopolized the industry.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}} In the early 21st century, the music and television industries was subject to media consolidation, with [[Sony Music Entertainment]]'s parent company merging their music division with [[Bertelsmann|Bertelsmann AG]]'s [[Bertelsmann Music Group|BMG]] to form [[Sony BMG]], and Warner Bros. Entertainment's [[The WB]] and CBS Corp.'s [[UPN]] merging to form [[The CW]]. In the case of Sony BMG there existed a "Big Five", later "[[Big Four record labels|Big Four]]", of major [[record company|record companies]], while The CW's creation was an attempt to consolidate ratings and stand up to the "Big Four" of American [[network television|network (terrestrial) television]] (although the CW was actually partially owned by one of the Big Four in CBS). In television, the vast majority of broadcast and basic cable networks, over a hundred in all, are controlled by eight corporations: [[Fox Corporation]], [[The Walt Disney Company]] (which includes the ABC, ESPN, FX and Disney brands), [[National Amusements]] (which owns [[Paramount Global]]), [[Comcast]] (which owns [[NBCUniversal]]), [[Warner Bros. Discovery]], [[E. W. Scripps Company]], [[Altice USA]], or some combination thereof.<ref>{{cite web|last=Steiner|first=Tobias|title=Under the Macroscope: Convergence in the US Television Market between 2000 and 2014|url=https://www.academia.edu/2017902|publisher=academia.edu|access-date=4 Aug 2015}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

=== Media mergers and concentration in the United States ===
Over time the rate of media mergers has increased, while the number of [[media outlets]] has also increased. This has resulted in a higher [[concentration of media ownership]], with fewer companies owning more media outlets.<ref>[http://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6?IR=T Entertainment More: Infographic Media Corporation Mergers And Acquisitions These 6 Corporations Control 90% Of The Media In America], ''Business Insider'' (June 14, 2012).</ref>

Some critics, such as [[Ben Bagdikian]], assailed concentration of ownership, arguing that large media acquisitions limit the information accessible to the public.<ref name=Shafer>{{Cite web|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/08/the-media-monotony.html|title=The media monotony.|last=Shafer|first=Jack|date=2004-08-04|website=Slate Magazine|language=en|access-date=2020-04-08}}</ref> Other commentators, such as [[Ben Compaine]] and [[Jack Shafer]], find Bagdikian's critique overblown.<ref name=Shafer/> Shafer noted that American media consumers have a wide variety of news sources, including independent national and local sources.<ref name=Shafer/> Compaine argues that, based on economic metrics such as the [[Herfindahl-Hirschman Index]], the media industry is not very highly concentrated and did not become more concentrated during the 1990s and 2000s.<ref name=Shafer/> Compaine also points out that most media mergers are not purely acquisitions, but also include divestitures.<ref name=Shafer/>

One of the biggest mergers/acquisitions in the mainstream media world was [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] Acquiring [[21st Century Fox]] and all of their assets. One of the main things that was accomplished with this merger was completing the rights to the rest of the Marvel movie franchise. Previously Disney did not have the rights to franchises such as [[X-Men]] and certain [[Spider-Man]] movie rights. With the acquisition they now do. 21st Century Fox was purchased for 71.3 billion dollars in March 2019.

=== The "big five" ===
{{update|section|date=March 2022}}
{| class="wikitable sortable" align="center"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#efefef;" | Conglomerate<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120207144953/http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/main ''Ownership Chart: The Big Six.''] Free Press, 2009. (archived)</ref>
! scope="col" style="background:#efefef;" | Media outlets
! scope="col" style="background:#efefef;" | 2018 revenues
|-
| [[Comcast]]
| [[NBCUniversal]]: [[NBC]] and [[Telemundo]], [[Universal Pictures]], [[Focus Features]], [[DreamWorks Animation]], 26 television stations in the [[United States]] and cable networks [[USA Network]], [[Bravo (US TV channel)|Bravo]], [[CNBC]], [[MSNBC]], [[Syfy]], [[NBCSN]], [[Golf Channel]], [[E!]], [[Olympic Channel (United States)|Olympic Channel]], and the [[NBC Sports Regional Networks]].  Comcast also owns the [[Philadelphia Flyers]] through a [[Comcast Spectacor|separate subsidiary]].
|$94.5 billion<ref name=comcast2018rev>{{cite web|title=Comcast 2018 Revenue|url=https://www.cmcsa.com/node/32466/html#s0A9CFB1086F251F0827540D8078F8135|website=CMCSA.com|access-date=15 July 2019}}</ref>
|-
| [[The Walt Disney Company]]
|Holdings include: [[ABC Television Network]], cable networks [[ESPN]], [[Disney Channel]], [[National Geographic Channel|National Geographic]], [[Nat Geo Wild]], [[FX (TV channel)|FX]], [[FXX]], [[FX Movie Channel]], [[A&E Network|A&E]] and [[Lifetime (TV network)|Lifetime]], approximately 30 radio stations, music, video game, and book publishing companies, production companies [[Marvel Entertainment]], [[Lucasfilm]], [[Walt Disney Pictures]], [[Pixar Animation Studios]], [[20th Century Studios]], [[Searchlight Pictures]] and [[Blue Sky Studios]], the cellular service [[Disney Mobile]], [[Disney Consumer Products|Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media]], and [[theme park]]s in several countries. Also has a longstanding partnership with [[Hearst Corporation]], which owns additional TV stations, newspapers, magazines, and stakes in several Disney television ventures.
|$59.4 billion<ref name=disney2018rev>{{cite web|title=Disney 2018 Revenue|url=https://www.thewaltdisneycompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2018-Annual-Report.pdf|website=TheWaltDisneyCompany.com|access-date=15 July 2019}}</ref>
|- 
|[[News Corp (2013–present)|News Corp]]/[[Fox Corporation]]*
|Holdings include: the [[Fox Broadcasting Company]]; cable networks [[Fox News Channel]], [[Fox Business Network]], [[Fox Sports 1]] and [[Fox Sports 2]]; print publications including the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' and the ''[[New York Post]]''; the magazines ''[[Barron's (newspaper)|Barron's]]'' and ''[[SmartMoney]]''; book publisher [[HarperCollins]]. 
(*) As of 2020, Two Murdoch companies, with publishing assets and Australian media assets going to [[News Corp (2013–present)|News Corp]], and broadcasting assets going to [[Fox Corporation]].<ref name=bbc-splitofficial>{{cite news|title=News Corp officially splits in two|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23104822|work=BBC News|date=28 June 2013 |access-date=June 29, 2013}}</ref>
|$39.4 billion ($9 billion News Corp<ref name=newscorp2018rev>{{cite web|title=News Corp 2018 Revenue |url=http://investors.newscorp.com/node/9146/html#toc603651_10|website=NewsCorp.com|access-date=15 July 2019}}</ref> and $30.4 billion 21st Century Fox<ref name=21cf2018rev>{{cite web|title=21st Century Fox 2018 Revenue |url=http://investor.21cf.com/node/19541/html#ITEM_6_SELECTED_FINANCIAL|website=21cf.com|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=3 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803133047/http://investor.21cf.com/node/19541/html#ITEM_6_SELECTED_FINANCIAL|url-status=dead}}</ref>)
|-
| [[Warner Bros. Discovery]]
|Formerly the largest media conglomerate in the world, with holdings including: [[CNN]], the [[The CW Television Network|CW]] (a [[joint venture]] with [[Nexstar Media Group]] and [[Paramount Global]]), [[HBO]], [[Cinemax]], [[Cartoon Network]]/[[Adult Swim]], [[HLN (TV channel)|HLN]], [[NBA TV]], [[TBS (American TV channel)|TBS]], [[TNT (American TV network)|TNT]], [[truTV]], [[Turner Classic Movies]], [[Warner Bros. Pictures]], [[Castle Rock Entertainment|Castle Rock]], [[DC Comics]], [[Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment]], and [[New Line Cinema]]. 
|$28.9 billion<ref name=warnermedia2018rev>{{cite web|title=WarnerMedia 2018 Revenue|url=https://investors.att.com/~/media/Files/A/ATT-IR/financial-reports/annual-reports/2018/complete-2018-annual-report.pdf|website=ATT.com|access-date=15 July 2019}}</ref>

|-
| [[Paramount Global]]
|Holdings include: [[MTV]], [[Nickelodeon]]/[[Nick at Nite]], [[VH1]], [[BET]], [[Comedy Central]], [[Paramount Pictures]], [[Miramax]], and [[Paramount Home Entertainment]]. [[CBS Television Network]] and the CW (a joint venture with [[Nexstar Media Group]] and [[Warner Bros. Discovery]]), cable networks [[CBS Sports Network]], [[Showtime Networks|Showtime]], [[Pop (American TV network)|Pop]]; 30 television stations; [[CBS Radio, Inc.]], which has 130 stations; [[CBS Studios]]; book publisher [[Simon & Schuster]].
|Unknown (was previously [[Viacom (2005–2019)|Viacom]] and [[CBS Corporation]] before merging in 2019)
|}

===American public distrust in the media===
Trust in the media declined in the 1970s, and then again in the 2000s. Since the 2000s, distrust in the media has been polarized, as Republicans have grown substantially more distrustful of the media than Democrats.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Ladd|first1=Jonathan M.|last2=Podkul|first2=Alexander R.|editor1-first=Elizabeth|editor1-last=Suhay|editor2-first=Bernard|editor2-last=Grofman|editor3-first=Alexander H|editor3-last=Trechsel|date=2020-06-04|title=Sowing Distrust of the News Media as an Electoral Strategy|url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190860806.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190860806-e-17|access-date=2021-04-05|website=The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Persuasion|pages=426–454|language=en|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190860806.013.17|isbn=978-0-19-086080-6}}</ref>

As of 2022, only a reported 56% of 18-27 year olds report that they trust information from US-based mainstream media.<ref>Nayeri, F. (2024, September 29). As mainstream media faces unprecedented challenges, can it save itself?. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/29/world/democracy-media-challenges.html
</ref> Growing  distrust of the media is linked to a host of different indicators, with those who subscribe to more radical ideologies or populist followings more likely to harbor a distrust of the media.<ref name="concepts causes and consequences">Fawzi, N., Steindl, N., Obermaier, M., Prochazka, F., Arlt, D., Blöbaum, B., Dohle, M., Engelke, K. M., Hanitzsch, T., Jackob, N., Jakobs, I., Klawier, T., Post, S., Reinemann, C., Schweiger, W., & Ziegele, M. (2021). Concepts, causes and consequences of trust in news media – A literature review and framework. Annals of the International Communication Association, 45(2), 154–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2021.1960181 </ref> Other identifying information such as age, race, and gender have been found to produce different levels of trust in the media regarding specific issues as well.<ref name="concepts causes and consequences" />

== United Kingdom  ==
In the UK, during 1922, after the closure of many radio stations, the [[British Broadcasting Corporation]] started its first daily radio transmission and started to grow an audience.<ref name="History of the BBC-1920s">{{cite web |title=History of the BBC-1920s |url=https://www.bbc.com/timelines/zxqc4wx |website=BBC.com |access-date=18 November 2018 |archive-date=9 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409151727/https://www.bbc.com/timelines/zxqc4wx |url-status=dead }}</ref> Later that year [[John Reith, 1st Baron Reith|John Reith]], a Scottish engineer, would be appointed the first General Manager for the BBC.<ref name= "History of the BBC-1920s" /> Later on January 1, 1927, the [[BBC]] was fully established by Royal Charter and renamed the British Broadcasting Corporation with Reith as the first Director-General.<ref name= "History of the BBC-1920s" /> During November 1936 the BBC began to expand into television broadcasting and was the first broadcaster to start the trend of a regularly scheduled TV service.<ref name="History of the BBC-1930s">{{cite web |title=History of the BBC-1930s |url=https://www.bbc.com/timelines/zqbfyrd |website=BBC.com |access-date=18 November 2018 |archive-date=9 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409151740/https://www.bbc.com/timelines/zqbfyrd |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Today the BBC is one of two chartered public broadcasting companies in the United Kingdom. The second is ITV, Independent Television, which was established in 1955 as the first public commercial television company after the Television act of 1954 in an effort to break up the monopoly the BBC had on television broadcasting, gaining fifteen regional broadcasting licenses in less than twenty years.<ref name="ABout ITV/History">{{cite web |title=About ITV/History |url=https://www.itvplc.com/about/history/2017 |website=Itvplc.com |access-date=19 November 2018}}</ref><ref name="Television Act of 1954">{{cite web |title=Television Act of 1954 |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/radio-television-bbc.htm |website=The National Archives |access-date=19 November 2018}}</ref> Today the BBC and ITV are the two free to air digital services offered to everyone in the United Kingdom and each other's biggest competitors. The BBC has nine national television channels, BBC three, the first channel to switch from television to online, an interactive channel, ten national and forty local radio stations, BBC Online, and BBC Worldwide.<ref name="BBC at a glance">{{cite web |title=BBC at a glance |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/whoweare/ataglance |website=BBC.com |access-date=18 November 2018}}</ref> ITV currently holds thirteen of the fifteen regional broadcasting licenses in the United Kingdom that carries their multiple channels including ITV, ITVhub, ITV2, ITVBe, ITV 3, ITV4, CITV, ITV Encore, 
Britbox, a video-on-demand service in collaboration with the BBC to bring British television content to the United States and Canada, and Cirkus, their own video-on-demand service.<ref name="About ITV/ What we do">{{cite web |title=About ITV/ What we do |url=https://www.itvplc.com/about/what-we-do |website=itvplc.com |access-date=19 November 2018}}</ref>

==Shifting media platform popularity==
{{main|Social media as a news source}}

News consumption has shifted with age demographics along the rise of digital platforms such as [[social media]]. Traditional outlets like television and newspapers commonly associated with "mainstream media" face declining audiences as younger users increasingly turn to platforms such as [[TikTok]], [[Instagram]], and [[Facebook]] for news. According to Pew Research Center,<ref name="news platform fact sheet" /> these platforms are a primary source of information for Millennials and Gen Z, a change that moves away from traditional media towards more online-focused platforms.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Preferred platform use by % of U.S. adults<ref name= "news platform fact sheet">Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C. News Platform Fact Sheet, 2024, https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/news-platform-fact-sheet/</ref>
|-
! scope="col" | 
! scope="col" | Television	
! scope="col" | Radio
! scope="col" | Print
publications
! scope="col" | Digital devices
|-
! scope="row" | Ages 18–29
| 8%
| 2%
| 3%
| 36%
|-
! scope="row" | Ages 30–49	
| 18%
| 6%
| 3%
| 72%
|-
! scope="row" | Ages 50–64
| 42%
| 8%
| 3%
| 46%
|-
! scope="row" | 65+
| 86%
| 72%
| 46%
| 27%
|}

This shift in consumer platform taste has led to a crisis in the smaller local news scene, with an estimated average of 2 newspapers going out of business per week.<ref>Penelope Muse Abernathy (2023, November 16). The state of local news. Local News Initiative. https://localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/projects/state-of-local-news/2023/report/
</ref> Larger mainstream media companies with greater budgets will also be forced to navigate the technological shift, with large news companies such as ''[[The New York Times]]'' and [[Fox News]] having dedicated teams work on high quality online websites.

==See also==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{div col|colwidth=20em|small=yes}}
* [[Agenda-setting theory]]
* [[Big Three television networks]]
* [[Deregulation]]
* [[Fake news]]
* [[Freedom of speech]]
* [[Freedom of the press]]
* [[Hyperreality]]
* [[Influence of mass media]]
* [[Lists of corporate assets]]
* [[Local News Service]]
* ''[[Manufacturing Consent]]''
* [[Media culture]]
* [[Media democracy]]
* [[Media imperialism]]
* [[Media manipulation]]
* [[Media proprietor]]
* [[Media transparency]]
* [[Monopolies of knowledge]]
* [[Network neutrality]]
* [[New media]]
* [[Old media]]
* [[Partido da Imprensa Golpista]]
* [[Politico-media complex]]
* [[Prometheus Radio Project]]
* [[Propaganda model]]
* [[Protest paradigm]]
* [[Sensationalism]]
* [[Social impact theory]]
* [[Social influence]]
* [[State controlled media]]
* [[Telecommunications Act of 1996]]
* [[Viral phenomenon]]
* [[Western media]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Media culture}}

[[Category:Concentration of media ownership]]
[[Category:New media]]
[[Category:News media]]
[[Category:Mass media events]]
[[Category:Mass media issues]]
[[Category:Influence of mass media|*]]
[[Category:Social influence]]
[[Category:Hyperreality]]