152 CHAPTER 5|PUBLIC OPINION AND THE MEDIA
second trend is cross-ownership, which involves one company owning several
diff erent kinds of media outlets, often in the same community. For example, the
Tribune Company in Chicago owns the WGN radio station, the WGN TV station,
and the Chicago Tribune daily newspaper. These trends have given rise to media
conglomerates, companies that control a wide range of news sources.^90 Today
all four major television networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox) are part of larger
companies that own many other broadcast and cable stations, movie production
and distribution companies, radio stations, newspapers, and other media out-
lets. Nuts and Bolts 5.2 shows the diverse holdings of one such company, News
Corporation.
Deregulation has been controversial. Some FCC commissioners have argued
in particular that concentration limits citizens’ choices and forces programming
to become increasingly homogenized. Despite this and other concerns, at the
moment there is no sign that the increased number of sources is leading to a bet-
ter-informed population—or that media concentration in some markets is having
the opposite eff ect.MEDIA EFFECTS ON CITIZENS AND GOVERNMENT
The study of media eff ects explores whether exposure to media coverage of poli-
tics changes what people think or do. There is considerable evidence that media
coverage infl uences its audience. However, much of the impact stems from what
such stories leave out, how they present certain information, or even whether a
story is reported at all. Political scientists label these mechanisms as priming, fi l-
tering (also called agenda-setting), slant, and framing.^91
Modern theories of media infl uence distinguish various ways in which cover-
age can aff ect media consumers’ beliefs. Most obvious is the use of the media as a
forum for persuasion, overtly seeking to persuade people to change their minds
about a candidate or an issue. However, people are not always conscious of thiscross-ownership The trend
toward single-company ownership
of several kinds of media outlets.
media conglomerates Compa-
nies that control a large number of
media sources across several types
of media outlets.
media eff ects The infl uence of
media coverage on average citizens’
opinions and actions.
AS THESE STARK IMAGES from Vietnam and Iraq illustrate, photos and televised images of war have the potential to capture attention and
shape public opinion.