The Corporate Media Pyramid | Holology by Freydis

CORPORATE MEDIA PYRAMID

Introduction
CanWest
Google
Microsoft
NBC (GE)
News Corp. (FOX)
Reuters
Sony
TimeWarner

Viacom
Walt Disney
Yahoo!
A China Warning
References
Resources
News
Related Reports
New Media

The Corporate Media Pyramid, written by Freydis

Americans and Canadians, like most people everywhere, enjoy media based entertainment, perhaps even more than they like food, but few of them really know where either product comes from of where their money is really going when they consume either product. This report focuses on the mass-media entertainment industry. This is an especially crucial segment of the business world to clarify because the majority of Americans receive the news and information they use to make important decisions from the mass-media.

Brands and logos are certainly a study in their own right but on a more practical level for the average consumer merely sorting out which brand fits with which company is often a daunting task, and indeed even the research for this report was not always easy because many corporations do not make the ownership of media subsidiaries very clear. This report is not meant to depict every mass-media company but is simply an attempt to clarify the dominant Internet-age mass-media corporations and their major holdings and subsidiary brands. That suffices to cover the majority of news and information used by the English-speaking public.

More Channels but Fewer Alternative Voices

Just as I found while researching food brands (see DOR's Corporate Food Pyramid), media companies do the same thing: rapid brand multiplication without significant product alteration. This may increase product sales but ultimately it just adds to confusion. Concocting multiple alternates of the same or nearly identical product creates an illusion of choice but mitigates the ability of the consumer to make accurate purchasing decisions or to support or penalize corporate actions. This report will hopefully aid analysis of those and other concerns. The number cable television channels available to the consumer rapidly multiplies creating the illusion of a wide spectrum of variety and corporate control when in reality the exact opposite is occurring. A dwindling number of very influential media companies and very wealthy individuals control and ever widening array of entertainment programming.

We all should be concerned about powerful monopolies dominating a sector that we critically depend upon every day. Accurate and useful information is absolutely necessary for everyone to make correct and beneficial decisions, especially in a democracy! It's no secret that whoever controls the mass-media controls the political landscape as well. The first and foremost goal of every public corporation is to make a profit - as much money as fast as they can, but after a financial gain is achieved the owners and other influential persons are free to pursue whatever ideological, theological, or personal agenda they wish to, and pursue it they do. This is why corporate media consolidation is such a critical issue because, it narrows the variety of voices and opinions being seen and heard by the American public and artificially constrains the range of ideas and solutions circulating within 'acceptable' public debate. Mass-media influence can be broken down into two portions: capital control (the money) and content control (the message). Determining capital control is relatively easy because the financial details of publicly traded companies must be reported to government authorities and published for public viewing. Determining content control is more difficult but the general agenda and tone of the media outlet is usually fairly clear and is very unlikely to contradict the views and agendas of the capital controllers. Fox news for instance leaves little doubt as to which political side they favor.

Perhaps even more important than capital and content is distribution because media has to be delivered to the audience. Most of the major media conglomerates have at least some wholly owned distribution assets be they billboards along streets, TV and radio stations, or Internet sites that can be used to deliver corporate content to the audience.

Owners and managers of media corporations have every right to control, censor and edit the content on their media outlets by virtue of the ownership they exercise over those assets. They can choose to sell advertising to one person or group and deny it to another based on whatever reasoning, or lack of it, that they choose. This is why private ownership of the mass-media is so often harmful to the safety and welfare of the public. When media corporations also own the means of distribution their control of information comes full circle because the media managers can decide what information they want released and where it goes and at the same time deny alternate information from ever being released or distributed. Private ownership and control over the means of media distribution is especially dangerous because it gives the controller every option to refuse to allow anyone they don't like and any information they don't like from ever being published or broadcast and thereby reaching the public.

"When you're exposed to network TV news, it's always good to bear in mind that you're watching millionaires working for billionaires, telling stories whose main purpose (from an economic perspective) is to get you to hold still long enough for corporate advertisements to rearrange your value system." - Jim Naureckas, 2007, editor of Extra! by FAIR.

This is the reason why laws and regulations are put in place to prevent any single media company from controlling too much media content or distribution in one region. Not surprisingly given the profit motive and the desire to control information mass-media companies have spent billions of dollars to subvert these rules and in the process have severely corrupted public officials in their favor.

The real problem is that news and information are not considered a public good in the United States but is instead treated as merely another commodity to be exploited for private profit. As long as this very short-sighted and self-destructive belief maintains its grip on the attitude of leaders and citizens mass-media consolidation will only continue while the quality and diversity of news and information critical for accurate decision-making will deteriorate further. As it stands today with the commercial mass-media you can pretty much take whatever their consensus is at any given moment and invert it to get the real truth on matters. Our contemporary mass-media effectively serves the function of molding public opinion to fit the beliefs and values of the ruling elite. And unfortunately the editors and journalists of the mainstream mass-media work hand-in-glove for the establishment rather than analyzing assumptions and perceptions and criticizing those in power as is the expected function of journalists.

You Have Buying Power

Money is power, everyone spends money therefore everyone has power; don't squander this power - use it wisely. Nearly every consumer product has an alternative. If you don't like a store don't buy there; if you don't like the products or lifestyle a company promotes, don't buy their products and if you really dislike them you can go one step further and boycott them outright and tell others to do the same. Media corporations can be influenced by public input just like any other profit-driven business, even more so because they are regulated and licensed by government authority. With enough public protest a broadcaster can have their license revoked by the government, the FCC in the United States, and will be forced to either shut down or change their behavior.

Boycotts only work if you know about the company and you know what all their products are. This may seem simple but it's actually a very confusing task because brands are not always clearly connected to the parent company. Every consumer has significant power through the purchases they make on a daily basis - more so than they realize because even the largest company has a bottom line. Especially in a competitive marketplace boycotts and the actions of astute consumers do make an impact and corporate decision makers will react to public demand.

This report is not meant to be an exhaustive review and anyway the media companies are in a constant state of flux, buying one subsidiary and selling another while changing the name of the rest. Accurate reader input is always appreciated. If you know of a fact or piece of information not included here or are aware of a change or update please send me an e-mail and the source of your facts and I'll make the correction or add in the update as appropriate.

Freydis, 04.03.07

CanWest Global Communications Corporation

CanWest is the largest media conglomerate and the largest newspaper publisher in Canada. CanWest also owns a multitude of media operations from TV and radio to newspapers and Internet sites around the world. CanWest begins in 1975, when Israel "Izzy" Asper started a single television station in his hometown of Winnipeg. When Asper died in 2003, he left behind a global media empire that includes film production, newspapers and broadcasting stations on four continents. Leonard Asper, who succeeded his father, has said he wants CanWest, a family-controlled but publicly traded company with about $2.9 billion (Canadian) in revenues, to become one of the world's five-largest media conglomerates. [3] April 2009 - Like many other major North American newspaper publishers CanWest is suffering a major loss in profitability as advertising revenue evaporates during widespread economic decline. As a consequence CanWest has begun selling assets to raise cash. "Canwest is considering selling five conventional TV stations and has agreed to sell its stake in sports broadcaster Score Media. It has already sold the New Republic magazine in the United States to a group of private investors." [15]
CONTENT
Newspapers Abbotsford Times Alberni Valley Times Bargain Bundle Burnaby Now Calgary Herald Campbell River Courier Islander Chilliwack Times Comox Valley Echo Coquitlam Now Cowichan Valley Citizen Delta Optimist Dose (33% - Vancouver) Edmonton Journal Gazette (Montreal) Harbour City Star Langley Advance Leader-Post Maple Ridge Times Metro publication "and its extensive outreach delivers a new generation of premium audience to advertisers." Montreal Gazette Nanaimo Daily News National Post New Westminster Record North Shore News Oceanside Star Ottawa Citizen Pennyworth Shopper (Port Alberni) Province (BC) Regina Leader Post Richmond News Saskatoon Star Phoenix Saskatoon Sun Shop Windsor Southam Publications St. Catharines Standard St. John's Telegram The Now Community (Surrey) The StarPhoenix The TimesColonist (BC) Vancouver Courier Downtown Vancouver Courier Eastside Vancouver Courier Westside Vancouver Province Vancouver Sun (BC) Victoria Times-Colonist Westerly News (Port Alberni) Windsor Star Vannet Newspaper Group (publishes 13 community newspapers) Abbotsford/Mission Times Burnaby Now Chilliwack Times Coquitlam Now Delta Optimist Langley Advance Maple Ridge/Pitt meadows Times New Westminster Record North Shore News Richmond News Surrey Now Vancouver Courier The Vancouver Island Newspaper Group (publishes eight small newspapers) Campbell River’s Courier Islander Courtenay’s Comox Valley Echo Duncan’s Cowichan Valley Citizen Nanaimo’s Harbour City Star North Islander Parkville’s Oceanside Star Port Alberni’s Pennyworth Shopper Ucluelet/Tofino’s Westerley News
Television CanWest News Service (CNS) CH Hamilton CH in Montreal CH Vancouver Island CHBC - Kelowna, British Columbia CKRD - Red Deer, Alberta CoolTV DejaView Fox Sportsworld Canada Global Television Network Lonestar MenTV Mystery Network TEN Prime TV TV3 & TV4 (New Zealand) TVtropolis Xtreme Sports
Radio New Zealand MORE FM Channel Z RadioWorks (72%)
Magazines ed Financial Post Business Living Windsor TVtimes shout "aboriginal youth" Swerve
DISTRIBUTION
Film CanWest Entertainment Fireworks [multiple]
Internet All Sport Ventures (controlling interest) canada.com celebrating.com connecting.com driving.ca faceoff.com FP DataGroup FPinfomart.ca Internet Broadcasting Systems (partial) LifeServ Corporation (partial) Medbroadcast Corporation (partial) remembering.ca working.com
Various Mobile Video Productions QuickTrac software QuickWire software

Toronto:CGS.TO

3100 CanWest Global Place
201 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3B 3L7

Yearly Revenue: $2,460,000,000

Profit Margin: 7.44%

Share Price: C$7

Full Time Employees: 10,656

Capital Control
CEO, President Leonard J. Asper, 43		Pay: $549,000 Shares Owned: ?
Chairman of the Board Derek H. Burney, 66		Pay: ? Stock Options Used: Shares Owned: ?
Chief Financial Officer John Maguire		Pay: $254,000 Shares Owned: ?
Content Control CanWest mandated [in 2000] that the papers, from Vancouver to Halifax, print national editorials written in Winnipeg. Charles Shannon, a copy editor at the Gazette, the only daily serving Montreal's 1 million Anglophone readers, says, "One definite edict that came down was that there should be no criticism of Israel. And by that I mean not even a mild rapping of the wrist." Shannon says he was instructed to change Reuters copy to reflect CanWest's position. "The message that was passed down to the copy desk was to change 'militant' to 'terrorist' when talking about armed Palestinians," he says. "It was a political change." But there's one area where the Asper family and [Marty] Peretz's politics are clear and in perfect alignment: Israel, where the Aspers' foundation has spent millions sponsoring community centers, schools and museums. [3] Many of the newspapers owned and operated by CanWest in Canada, The Leader-Post in Regina for example, have no competitors. In major markets CanWest owns multiple newspapers, about a dozen in British Columbia for example. In effect the Asper family that controls CanWest operates as a news and information monopoly for much of Canada.
Executive VP, Director, Chairman of National Post David A. Asper		Pay: $353,000 Stock Options Used: Shares Owned: ?
President and CEO, CanWest MediaWorks Canadian Operations Peter D. Viner		Pay: ? Stock Options Used: Shares Owned: ?
President, CanWest Mediaworks International Thomas C. Strike		Pay: $454,000 Stock Options Used: $ Shares Owned: ?
Facts and figures snapshot taken March, 2007.


Google Incorporated

Although Google has limited media holdings now they are an aggressive enterprise with more than $11 billion in cash they can spend and a record of attempting to acquire business interests in practically every area they can get into. With the recent purchase of YouTube mass-media entertainment is proving no exception to Google's expansion-oriented business model. What makes Google particularly important to closely monitor is the enormous influence that Larry Page and Sergey Brin exert over the company as revealed in the most recent Form 10-K filed with the SEC, excerpted below. Also of note, although Page, Brin, and CEO Eric Schmidt advertise the fact they take only a token yearly salary their stock wealth makes them one of the few richest people in the world. Despite the benevolent corporate posturing it's not difficult for suspicious minds to see Google Incorporated as the Internet version of Wal*Mart in sheeps clothing. In April 2007 Google bought the Internet advertising company DoubleClick for $3.1 billion. [5] In June of 2007 Google paid an undisclosed amount for GrandCentral.com, an online company that organizes customer telephone numbers. In July 2007 Google paid $625 million in cash for Postini, a software security company specializing in instant messaging and other Web-based communications. "Google executives say the deal will help it move further into business services such as e-mail, instant messaging, online calendar services and online productivity software." And, "The company [Google] makes nearly all of its money from selling text-based ads posted alongside search results." [8]
DISTRIBUTION
Internet YouTube AppJet (collaboration software) AdMob (Mobile advertising) DocVerse (online collaboration using Microsoft-formatted software) Dodgeball Keyhole Picasa Blogger deja.com JotSpot GrandCentral.com Postini Google [various]
Advertising AdWords (Google's advertising program) Google Base (digital online database for classified ads) DoubleClick	Advertising accounted for 99% of revenues in the fourth quarters of both 2006 and 2005. GoogleWeb sites accounted for 62% of 2006 fourth quarter revenues and 57% of the prior year period's revenues. Google NetworkWeb sites contributed 37% of 2006 fourth quarter revenues and 42% in the 2006 quarter. From: Standard & Poor's

NASDAQ: GOOG

1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043

Yearly Revenue: $10,600,000,000

Profit Margin: 29.02%

Share Price: $675

Full Time Employees: 5,680

For a full list of Google Incorporated's subsidiary companies read SEC form 10-K EX-21.

Capital Control 73% of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock. In particular, as of December 31, 2006, our two founders and our CEO, Larry, Sergey and Eric, owned approximately 85% of our outstanding Class B common stock, including options to purchase Class B common stock, representing approximately 66% of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock. Larry, Sergey and Eric therefore have significant influence over management and affairs and over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of our company or its assets, for the foreseeable future. In addition, because of this dual class structure, our founders, directors, executives and employees will continue to be able to control all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval even if they come to own less than 50% of the outstanding shares of our common stock. This concentrated control limits our stockholders’ ability to influence corporate matters and, as a result, we may take actions that our stockholders do not view as beneficial. As a result, the market price of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected. From: Google Inc. Form 10-K filed March 1, 2007, italics added.
CEO Dr. Eric E. Schmidt, 52		Pay: $1 Stock Options Used: ? Eric E. Schmidt owns 12,500,000 shares worth about $5,500,000,000 [2]
Co-Founder, Executive Committee Member Larry Page, 34 Co-Founder, Executive Committee Member Dr. Sergey Brin, 33		Pay: $1 Stock Options Used: ? Larry Page owns 32,100,000 shares worth about $14,000,000,000 Sergey Brin owns 31,600,000 shares worth about $14,000,000,000 [2]
Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President George Reyes		Pay: $811,881 Stock Options Used: ? Shares Owned: 33,333
Senior VP of Marketing and Management Jonathan J. Rosenberg, 45		Pay: $944,533 Stock Options Used: ? Shares Owned: 38,833
Content Control
Google currently produces very little, if any, original content opting instead to create venues for material produced by others then exploiting those venues as a vehicle for advertising revenue. Google's forums, like YouTube, are edited for content deemed inappropriate or offensive and increasingly Google is under intense pressure to block user content that infringes wealthy copyright holders (i.e. Disney, NBCu, etc.).
Facts and figures snapshot taken March, 2007.


Microsoft Corporation

It's an open question whether Microsoft is really a media company. They have made efforts in the past to buy up content creators but mostly they focus on media technology companies when they stray from their core business of software. Google has been rapidly outpacing Microsoft in software but especially Internet media. Nonetheless Microsoft has an enormous amount of cash they can use to buy other companies, $26.4 billion to be exact, and build their own media empire if they ever fully commit to doing so. Perhaps more important to watch in the near-term is that Microsoft has expressed, and displayed, a keen interest in using their software to connect and merge every possible electronic device from cell phones to personal computers. This unified interoperability will form a critical element of media control in the 21st century. In May of 2007 Microsoft spent $6 billion to buy aQuantive incorporated, an online advertising company, making it the largest acquisition in Microsoft's history and a competitive action in response to Google's recent purchase of DoubleClick incorporated. [5] In October 2007 Microsoft bought a 1.6% stake in Facebook, a private company currently valued at $15 billion. Wait ... $15 billion, really?! I suppose the same people foolish enough to pay almost $700 dollars for a single share of Google Inc. will have no problem with a $15 billion price tag on Facebook, a company that's been charitably described as 'a place to waste time'. A slightly more accurate description of Facebook is 'a place to watch advertising'. Facebook hopes to become an advertising magnet by substantially increasing its current audience of nearly 50 million active users, who connect with friends on the site through messaging, photo-sharing and other tools. The Facebook investment represents a coup for Microsoft because it provides the world's largest software maker with a toehold on one of the Internet's hottest platforms and a potentially lucrative forum for selling online ads. In its fiscal year ending in June, Microsoft's online ad revenue rose 21 percent to $1.84 billion. Over the same period, Google's ad revenue totaled $13.3 billion. [12] December 2007 Microsoft buys London-based Multimap, also: Last week the company said it purchased Seattle startup WebFives, formerly Vizrea, which provides a Web-based file-sharing service for Internet and mobile video, photos, audio, and blogs. All of these efforts are part of a now two-year push to add services and content for its online brands to boost the revenue of its Online Services Business segment. In addition to making acquisitions, Microsoft also has been partnering with online content and service providers to offer online advertising. On Monday, the company announced a deal to be the exclusive provider of display and contextual advertising for CNBC.com, a deal similar to ones it already has in place with Facebook globally and Digg in the U.S. [14]
CONTENT
Internet The Code Room Multimap (online mapping service) MSDN TV
TV MSNBC (with NBC)
Games Bungie Studios (computer games developer) Lionhead Studios (computer games developer) Netgames USA
DISTRIBUTION
TV MSN TV (formerly WebTV) Peach Networks (TV technology company) UltimateTV (digitally recorded TV)
Internet MSN aQuantive (online advertising) Facebook (1.6%) Massive (game network) MessageCast (message alert technology) Mongo Music Music Central OnFolio WebFives (formerly Vizrea. File-sharing service for Internet, mobile video, audio, blogs. Windows (various) ZoneFriends (buddy matchmaking system) ZoneLAN (game matchmaking system) Zone Message

NASDAQ: MSFT

One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399

Yearly Revenue: $46,060,000,000

Profit Margin: 25.86%

Share Price: $31

Full Time Employees: 71,000

For a full list of Microsoft Corporation's subsidiary companies read SEC form 10-K EX-21.

Capital Control With 9.79 billion shares of Microsoft outstanding Bill Gates owns about 10% of the company, giving him significant voting influence over the business even regardless of his official status within the corporate hierarchy.
Co-Founder and Chairman William H. Gates III, 51		Pay: $966,000 Stock Options Used: ? Shares Owned: 919,499,336
CEO and Executive Director Steven A. Ballmer, 50		Pay: $966,000 Stock Options Used: $680,000 Shares Owned: 408,252,990
Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner, 42		Pay: $839,000 Stock Options Used: ? Shares Owned: ?
Pres of Business Unit Jeffrey S. Raikes, 49		Pay: $1,100,000 Stock Options Used: ? Shares Owned: 5,405,379
Co-president of Platform Products & Services Kevin R. Johnson, 46		Pay: $1,100,000 Stock Options Used: ? Shares Owned: ?
Content Control
(uncertain)
Facts and figures snapshot taken March, 2007.


NBC Universal (NBCU)

In 1926 NBC was established as the first radio network in the US, and quickly gained market share under two parts: NBC-Red and NBC-Blue. In the early 1940s the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) forced NBC to break up and NBC-Blue eventually became ABC (now owned by Disney). NBC Universal, formerly the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and Vivendi Universal Entertainment. NBC Universal is a media and entertainment company, jointly owned by General Electric Company [80%] and Vivendi Universal [20%]. NBC Universal was formed in May 2004 through the acquisition of Vivendi Universal Entertainment, a division of the French-owned Vivendi Universal, by General Electric. The transaction brought together a major U.S. television network, seven cable television channels, motion-picture and television production studios, and several theme parks. [1] Since NBC is owned by General Electric, one of the largest conglomerate corporations in the world, NBC doesn't have stock traded on Wall Street and thus NBC's financial figures are part of GE and not easily discernable. According to Fortune magazine NBCU is estimated to be worth $40 billion in 2007, bigger than CBS or Viacom. [6] In October 2007 NBC Universal purchased Oxygen Media, the cable-television network co-founded by Oprah Winfrey, for $925 million with the aim of attracting younger female viewers. "More than 40 percent of Oxygen's viewers are women between 18 and 49, helping NBC target a demographic coveted by advertisers. ... The network will be operated by NBC's entertainment cable division, which is led by Jeff Gaspin, chief operating officer of Universal Television Group." [11] NBC Universal agreed to buy The Weather Channel and Weather.com for $3.5 billion from Landmark, a privately held media company, in July 2008. April 2009 - The major media bosses continue to envision the Internet as a passive one-way forum for them to push content onto paying consumers, yet their corporations still struggle to ‘monetize’ the Internet. Along these lines ABC has purchased a stake in Hulu.com, an Internet site delivering TV shows founded by NBC and News Corporation. Hulu.com competes with Google's YouTube and CBS's TV.com. Maximum profits come from monopolies and restricting entry of new competitors, but the fundamental nature of the Internet is contrary to both desires and therefore it remains difficult to exploit for corporate benefit. As a consequence the major media corporations will work to manipulate regulators to support their aims, just as in the past, while they desperately seek to regain lost revenue from declining print and broadcast venues as well as control over the flow of information that's now slipping away.
CONTENT
TV American Movie Classics Bravo CNBC (earned $274m in 2006 [6]) Court TV History Channel MSNBC (with Microsoft) NBC NBC Weather Plus Oxygen Media PAX Telemundo Weather Channel	The NBC Universal Television Stations division comprises 10 NBC television stations in major U.S. television markets, along with 16 Telemundo stations and one independent Spanish-language television station. Together, these stations cover more than 30% of the nation's viewing households, and annually generate approximately $1.5 billion in revenue from advertising sales. ... The company's Telemundo stations are in key Hispanic markets to capitalize on the nation's fastest-growing population segment, and station duopolies in six of the nation's top 20 markets enhance profitability and enable the stations to deliver the highest quality programming to their audiences. [2]
Film Universal Pictures Focus Features Rogue Pictures
Internet Hulu.com (with ABC and NewsCorp) - competes with Google's YouTube and CBS's TV.com iVillage.com getTrio.com Weather.com
DISTRIBUTION
Distribution nbbc (the National Broadband Company) 27 TV stations

General Electric
NYSE: GE

3135 Easton Turnpike
Fairfield, CT 06828-0001

Yearly Revenue: $160,660,000,000

Share Price: $40

Full Time Employees: ~600,000

Capital Control
President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Zucker		Pay: $? Stock Options Used: $? Shares Owned: ?
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Lynn Calpeter		Pay: $? Stock Options Used: $? Shares Owned: ?
Executive Vice President Bruce Campbell		Pay: $? Stock Options Used: $? Shares Owned: ?
Content Control (Estimated)
President, NBC Universal Cable and Digital Content Jeff Gaspin		?
President and COO of Universal Studios Ron Meyer		?
President, Media Works, Chief Information Officer for NBC Universal John Eck		?
Facts and figures snapshot taken March, 2007.


News Corporation

Rupert Murdoch's massive media operation spans the globe. The U.S. and Canada markets make up 56% of News Corporation's revenue, 30% is from Europe, and 14% from Australasia and everywhere else. Recent deals include one to push FOX TV, such as American Idol, onto Apple's iTunes service and mobile content destination Mobizzo.
CONTENT
TV 20th Century Fox TV Fox News FX Speed National Geographic TV Fuel My Network TV (formed in merger between the UPN and WB networks) Star TV Fox Reality Channel Fox College Sports Fox Sports [multiple] Regional sports networks (including FSN Ohio, FSN Florida and 40% of FSN Bay Area) Stats Inc. NDS (interactive TV technology)
Film Blue Sky Studios Fox film studio Fox Searchlight New World Communications
Radio Classic FM Radio Veronica Sky Radio Germany Sky Radio Denmark Sky Radio Netherlands
Internet (Fox Interactive Media unit created in August 2005) AmericanIdol.com AskMen BroadSystem careerone.com.au CARSguide.com.au ChinaByte.com homesite.com.au Hulu.com (with ABC and NBC) - competes with Google's YouTube and CBS's TV.com IGN Entertainment in2mobi.com.au Intermix kSolo Milkround (job search) New Digital Media News Optimus NEWS.com.au Photobucket Rotten Tomatoes Scout Media truelocal.com.au WhatIfSports
Magazines Alpha Big League donnay hay magazine InsideOut New York Post News America Marketing Nursery World SmartSource TV Guide/Gemstar (largest shareholder)
Newspapers Daily Telegraph Fiji Times Gold Coast Bulletin Herald Sun Independent Newspaper Ltd. New York Post News International News of the World Newsphotos Newspix Newstext NT News Post Courier Sunday Herald Times Sunday Mail Sunday Tasmanian Sunday Territorian Sunday Times The Advertiser The Australian The Courier-Mail The Mercury The Sun The Sunday Mail The Sunday Telegraph The Sunday Times The Times Times Educational Supplement Times Higher Education Supplement Times Literary Supplement TSL Education Wall Street Journal Weekly Times
DISTRIBUTION
Publishing HarperCollins Zondervan Access Amistad Avon Caedmon Children's Books Group Ecco Eos Fourth Estate Greenwillow Books HarperMorrow Joanna Cotler Books Katherine Tegen Books Laura Geringer Books New Outdoor (billboard advertising) PerfectBound Quill Rayo ReganBooks Trophy Vida Publishers William Morrow William Morrow Cookbooks
Direct Broadcast Satellite DirectTV 37% controlling stake in BSkyB (UK) FoxTel SkyItalia
Music Rawkus Mushroom Records

NYSE: NWS

1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036

Yearly Revenue: $26,740,000,000

Profit Margin: 12.48%

Share Price: $23

Full Time Employees: 47,300

For a full list of News Corporation's subsidiary companies read SEC form 10-K EX-21.

Capital Control The company's board is controlled by its chairman, Rupert Murdoch, who owns about 29.9% of the company's Class B shares (NWS; voting) and 3.3% of the Class A shares (NWS.A; non-voting). In November 2004, the board adopted a "poison pill," most recently extended again in October 2006 to deter the purchase of additional shares by Liberty Media, the company's second largest shareholder, which currently holds a 19% voting stake (Class B shares). From: Standard & Poor's
CEO K. Rupert Murdoch, 75		Pay: $25,908,939 Shares Owned: 16,118 'Murdoch Family Trust':33,955,910
President, COO and Director Peter Chernin, 55		Pay: $29,759,855 Stock Options Used: $4,680,000 Shares Owned: ?
Chief Financial Officer, Senior Executive VP David F. DeVoe, 59		Pay: $8,999,590 Shares Owned: ?
CEO of FOX News, Chairman of Fox TV Stations Roger Ailes, 66		Pay: $8,505,248 Stock Options Used: $1,340,000 Shares Owned: ?
Content Control (Estimated)
Publisher of New York Post, Chairman & CEO of News America Marketing Paul Carlucci		Pay: $? Stock Options Used: $? Shares Owned: ?
Facts and figures snapshot taken March, 2007.


Reuters Group PLC

Founded in 1851 by Paul Julius Reuter, Reuters Group is a worldwide news content provider that produces photos, graphics, video and print news, financial data, and more - in other words just about everything needed to fill up the remaining space in a newspaper or news program after all the advertising is packed in. World's largest international multimedia news agency - 2,400 editorial staff, journalists, photographers and camera operators in 196 bureaux serving approximately 131 countries In 2006 Reuters filed over two and a half million news items, including 656,500 alerts, from 209 countries around the world published in 18 languages. Reuters is among the most read news sources on the Internet reaching millions in their offices, homes or on PDAs From: Reuters
CONTENT
Categories: Reuters TV & Video (raw video and packaged news reports) Reuters Pictures (news photos) Reuters Graphics (illustrations) Reuters Online Services (multimedia news for websites)
DISTRIBUTION
Reuters Newswires (text based news repackaged and reprinted by other news and entertainment companies) Reuters also produces and operates multiple data feeds with a particular focus on financial information.

NASDAQ: RTRSY

The Reuters Building
South Colonnade
London, E14 5EP
United Kingdom

Yearly Revenue: $4,950,000,000

Profit Margin: 11.89%

Share Price: $80

Full Time Employees: ?

Capital Control
Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director Thomas H. Glocer, 47		Pay: $2,910,000 Shares Owned: 372,145
Chief Financial Officer David Grigson, 52		Pay: $1,300,000 Shares Owned: 63,430
Chief Operating Officer, President of Business Divisions Devin N. Wenig, 39		Pay: $1,050,000 Shares Owned: 105,843
Content Control
Editor In Chief , Global Managing Editor and Head of Editorial Operations David Schlesinger, 46		Pay: $ Shares Owned: ?
Facts and figures snapshot taken March, 2007.


Sony Pictures (Sony Corporation)

Sony Pictures is owned by the Sony Corporation of Japan. "Sony Pictures Entertainment's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home video acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities, development of new entertainment technologies and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries worldwide." Columbia Pictures is owned by Sony. BMG Music is owned by Sony 50% and Bertelsmann AG 50%. "Pictures segment engages in the production, acquisition, and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, and home entertainment; television broadcasting; digital content creation and distribution; and operation of studio facilities."
CONTENT
Film Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group Columbia Pictures Sony Pictures Classics Screen Gems TriStar Pictures Sony Pictures Digital Sony Pictures Imageworks Sony Pictures Animation SonyPictures.com Sony Online Entertainment
TV Sony Pictures Television Group AXN Animax Japan SoapCity Game Show Network (50% with Liberty Media) Movielink (jointly owned with Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. Studios)
Music Sony BMG Music Entertainment (50% with Bertelsmann) Arista Records BMG [various] Columbia Records Epic Records J Records Jive Records LaFace Records Legacy Recordings RCA Records RCA Victor Group RLG - Nashville Sony [various] So So Def Records Verity Records Sony/ATV Music Publishing (joint venture with Michael Jackson) Music Choice (venture with Time Warner, EMI, Motorola, Microsoft, and several cable companies: Cox, Comcast, Adelphia, Time Warner Cable)
DISTRIBUTION
Internet Sony Online Entertainment / Station.com Sony Connect Inc. (online music service)
Other Sony Electronics Sony Computer Entertainment America PlayStation 989 Sports Metreon Sony Pictures Studios Post Production Facilities DVD Authoring Center Worldwide Product Fulfillment

Sony Corp.
NYSE: SNE

7-35 Kitashinagawa 6-chome
Shinagawa-ku
Tokyo, 141-0001

Yearly Revenue: $66,850,000,000

Profit Margin: 1.59%

Share Price: $45

Full Time Employees: 158,500

Capital Control
Chairman & CEO Sony Corporation of America Howard Stringer		Pay: Shares Owned: ?
Co-Chairman, SPE and Chairman, SPE Motion Picture Group Amy Pascal		Pay: $ Shares Owned: ?
Content Control
Chairman & CEO Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) Michael Lynton		Pay: $ Stock Options Used: $ Shares Owned: ?
Facts and figures snapshot taken March, 2007.


Time Warner Incorporated

In January 2001, online access and content company America Online (AOL) merged with cable systems and media concern TimeWarner, forming AOL TimeWarner (later changed to TimeWarner in October 2003), in a $106 billion transaction. Revenues consist of subscriptions (51% of 2005 revenues), content (29%), advertising (17%), and other (3%). In March 2006, AOL and Google significantly expanded their search partnership, and Google invested $1 billion for a 5% stake in AOL. In July 2006, TimeWarner Cable and Comcast jointly acquired Adelphia's cable systems for a total of $12.7 billion in cash (of which TWX paid $9.2 billion plus a 16% equity stake in TimeWarner Cable). Including certain systems swaps, TWX acquired systems passing about 7.6 million homes, serving 3.2 million customers, for nearly $14 billion. From: Standard & Poor's AOL has gobbled up numerous online advertising companies in 2007 including: Quigo, “Quigo's technology lets advertisers buy Web ads based on specific pages, sections, topics or keywords. Its FeedPoint marketing business helps advertisers manage their relationships with search engines and comparison shopping sites.” [13] Tacoda ‘behavioral-targeting technology’, Lightningcast ‘specializes in inserting targeted ads within video and audio clips’, Third Screen Media ‘mobile advertising’, AdTech a ‘German network for delivering ads worldwide’, and Yedda an Israeli company with a question and answer search service.
CONTENT
TV CNN [various] HBO Cinemax TNT TBS CW network (WB merged with CBS's UPN) Cartoon Network E! Adult Swim Boomerang TCM [various] Toonami CETV Court TV n-tv BOING Hanna - Barbera Cartoons
Internet GameTap MapQuest Moviefone NASCAR.com PGA.com TMZ.com KOL Pogo RED
Magazines Life Time People Sports Illustrated Fortune DC Comics MAD Magazine ... and many, many more, < full list here >
DISTRIBUTION
Film & TV Castle Rock Entertainment Fine Line Features New Line Cinema Picturehouse Telepictures Productions Warner Brothers Witt - Thomas Productions
Internet AOL [various] AdTech - German network for worldwide advertising Advertising.com AIM CompuServe FeedPoint - online marketing ICQ Lightningcast - ‘targeted ads within video and audio clips’ Netscape Quigo - online advertising Road Runner (ISP) Tacoda - ‘behavioral-targeting technology’ Tegic Communications Third Screen Media - ‘mobile advertising’ TMZ.com Truveo - video search company Userplane - Totekasche Holdings Inc. online communications technology Winamp Weblogs Yedda - question and answer search company Xdrive
Publishing Aspect Back Bay Bulfinch Press Leisure Arts Little, Brown and Company Oxmoor House Southern Progress Corporation Sunset Books The Mysterious Press Time Inc. TW Kids Warner Books Warner Business Books Warner Faith Warner Treasures Warner Vision
Local TV Channels owned by Time Warner Capital News 9-Albany, Albany, NY MetroSports, Kansas City, MO News 8 Austin, Austin, TX News 10 Now-Syracuse, Syracuse, NY News 14, Carolina Charlotte, NC Raleigh, NC NY1 News, New York, NY NY1 Noticias, New York, NY R News, Rochester, NY

NYSE: TWX

One Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019

Yearly Revenue: $44,220,000,000

Profit Margin: 14.82%

Share Price: $18

Full Time Employees: 92,700

For a full list of Time Warner's subsidiary companies read SEC form 10-K EX-21.

Capital Control
CEO Richard D. Parsons, 58		Pay: $9,000,000 Stock Options Used: ? Shares Owned: 594,399
President, COO Jeffrey L. Bewkes, 54		Pay: $7,000,000 Stock Options Used: $680,000 Shares Owned: 1,243,000
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Wayne H. Pace, 60		Pay: $3,700,000 Stock Options Used: ? Shares Owned: ?
Executive VP and General Counsel Paul T. Cappuccio, 45		Pay: $3,700,000 Stock Options Used: ? Shares Owned: ?
Also note: Stephen M. Case owns 15,122,240 shares of TWX and R.E. 'Ted' Turner owns 1,741,370
Content Control
?
Facts and figures snapshot taken March, 2007.


Viacom Incorporated

Sumner Redstone's media machine is almost as inescapable as Murdoch's News Corp. Advertising sales make up 40% of revenue, 21% comes from affiliate fees, 30% from feature films, and 9% from other various sources such as merchandise licensing. CBS Outdoor, a division of CBS, operates advertising in outdoor spaces including buses, subways, malls, street furniture, and billboards with the motto "always on". CBS bought Internet news and entertainment company Cnet in July 2008. Cnet is now a part of CBS Interactive. In his own statements the CEO of CBS, Les Moonves, equates the Internet to Cable television and no doubt plans to treat his Internet properties in similar fashion – as a centrally controlled medium for pushing corporate opinions cloaked as objective news and information while maximizing revenue through maximum advertising. Seventy percent of CBS’ revenue comes from advertising.
CONTENT
TV CBS CSTV UPN MTV "A complete multiplatform niche for 12- to 34-year-olds" MTV2 mtvU Nickelodeon Nick at Nite TV Land VH1 Spike TV CMT: Country Music Television Comedy Central BET and BET Jazz, BET Gospel, and BET Hip Hop The N "network dedicated to teens" LOGO "MTVN’s new ad-supported basic cable channel for the LGBT audience" Noggin "A commercial-free educational network dedicated to preschoolers" Showtime Viva Radio Westwood One
Film Paramount Pictures Paramount Home Entertainment DreamWorks SKG
CBS Interactive Division (Internet & Software) bNet CBS News CBSsports.com CBS College Sports (CSTV.com) Chow.com Cnet Atom Entertainment (marketer and distributor of online games and movies, bought for $200m in 2006) Y2M College Publisher Xfire "online gaming platform" GameFAQs.com GameSpot.com GameTrailers.com Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. "specializes in creating music-based interactive entertainment and games" IFILM "leading video-entertainment destinations on the Web, with one of the largest collections of viral and user-generated video" Last.fm MaxPreps MetaCritic.com MP3.com NCAA.com Neopets "global media and entertainment company, owns and operates leading online youth communities" SportsGamer.com TechRepublic.com TheInsider TV.com - competes with Google's YouTube and ABC/NBC's Hulu.com Quizilla UrbanBaby.com Viacom has a 'strategic alliance' with Adobe Systems Incorporated. ZDnet (Ziff Davis)
DISTRIBUTION
Publishing & Distribution Blockbuster Video CBS Outdoor (billboards and outdoor advertising) Famous Music Kingworld MTV Books Simon & Schuster Publisher Subsidiaries Atria Books Kaplan Pocket Books Scribner The Free Press The Touchstone Fireside Group Aladdin Paperbacks Atheneum Books for Young Readers Little Simon Margaret K. McElderry Books Simon Pulse Simon Spotlight
Radio and TV Multiple TV and radio stations, < list >

NYSE: VIA

1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036

Yearly Revenue: $10,600,000,000

Profit Margin: 11.71%

Share Price: $39

Full Time Employees: 9,500

For a full list of Viacom's subsidiary companies read SEC form 10-K EX-21.

Capital Control
Founder and Executive Chairman Sumner M. Redstone, 83 (Real name: Murray Rothstein)		Pay: $12,930,000 Stock Options Used: $28,900,000 Shares Owned: 12% of Viacom stock, and majority voting control over the company. [4]
Executive VP of Operations and Enterprises Robert M. Bakish, 43		Pay: $3,170,000 Stock Options Used: $680,000 Shares Owned: ?
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Wayne H. Pace, 60		Pay: $3,700,000 Stock Options Used: $0 Shares Owned: ?
Executive Vice President Michael D. Fricklas, 46		Pay: $3,880,000 Stock Options Used: ? Shares Owned: ?
CEO and President Philippe P. Dauman J.D., 53		Pay: ? Stock Options Used: ? Shares Owned: ?
Content Control
President Paramount Pictures Gail Berman		Pay: ? Stock Options Used: ? Shares Owned: ?
Facts and figures snapshot taken March, 2007.


Walt Disney Company

Disney is considered a 'content oriented' company and has a massive distribution network to support it. Disney markets and sells practically everything related to the company name from theme parks and resorts to films and toys. 43% of Disney's revenue comes from media networks and 7% from consumer products. The official corporate segments are: Disney Studio Entertainment, Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney Consumer Products, and Disney Media Networks. In July 2010 Disney signed an agreement to sell Mirimax Films, founded in 1979 by Harvey and Bob Weinstein and then sold to Disney in 1993, to a private investment group. The official reason stated being Disney's corporate desire to focus on more family-friendly films. Specific to the focus of this report Disney's media enterprise comprises the following brand names and subsidiary companies:
CONTENT
Television ABC A&E Lifetime Discover ESPN Disney Channel Family Toon Disney SOAPnet
Film Walt Disney Touchstone Pictures Marvel Pixar
Magazines Automotive Industries Biography (with GE and Hearst) Discover Disney Adventures Disney Magazine ECN News ESPN Magazine (distributed by Hearst) Family Fun Institutional Investor JCK Kodin Top Famille - French family magazine US Weekly (50%) Video Business Quality US Weekly
DISTRIBUTION
Cellular Phone Service ESPN Mobile Disney Mobile
Internet GO.com Hulu.com (with NBC and NewsCorp) - competes with Google's YouTube and CBS's TV.com
Music Walt Disney Records Hollywood Records Lyric Street Records
Publishing Hyperion Books including: Jump at the SunVolo, Michael di Caupa Books Buena Vista Disney Publishing including: Cal Publishing Inc., CrossGen Disney Global Children's Books including: Disney PressGlobal Retail, Global Continuity
Radio Radio Disney Multiple radio stations, < list >
TV Multiple TV stations, < list >

NYSE: DIS

500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521

Yearly Revenue: $35,160,000,000

Profit Margin: 12.35%

Share price: $35

Full Time Employees: 133,000

For a full list of Disney's subsidiary companies read SEC form 10-K EX-21.

Capital Control
CEO Robert A. Iger, 56		Pay: $17,000,000 Stock Options Used: $7,960,000 Shares Owned: 237,142
Chief Financial Officer Thomas O. Staggs, 46		Pay: $5,040,000 Stock Options Used: $618,000 Shares Owned: 186,260
Senior Executive Vice President Alan N. Braverman, 59		Pay: $3,850,000 Stock Options Used: $1,280,000 Shares Owned: 114,589
Content Control
?
Facts and figures snapshot taken March, 2007.


Yahoo! Incorporated

Yahoo! is one of the largest Internet companies with an assortment of business interests at least as diverse as that of Google, a primary competitor. The most recent business realignment strategy will divide Yahoo! into three groups: the Audience Group, the Advertiser & Publisher Group, and the Technology Group. In April 2007 Yahoo bought the remaining 80% of Right Media, an Internet advertising company, for $680 million after purchasing the initial 20% stake in the New York-based company in October 2006. [5] In June of 2007 Terry Semel, a veteran of the media business having worked at Warner Brothers for 24 years, was replaced by Jerry Yang as CEO. Many Yahoo! shareholders were unhappy with what they considered to lackluster financial performance in comparison to rivals such as Google. Yang, 38, co-founded Yahoo in 1994 with fellow Stanford University student David Filo, as a navigational guide in the Web's early days. Born in Taipei, Yang was raised in the heart of Silicon Valley, after his family emigrated to San Jose. For more than a decade Yang has had the title of Chief Yahoo, playing a key role in negotiating business development deals for the company. In an interview, Yang credited Semel for pushing him to play a greater role in operations and technology decisions, preparing him to be CEO. ... Semel was a long-time Hollywood studio executive who took charge of the loss-making company six years ago after the bursting of the technology stock bubble. He is credited with helping focus Yahoo on its advertising and media businesses. [7] In September 2007 Yahoo! purchased software maker Zimbra incorporated of San Mateo, California for $350 million, giving Yahoo e-mail, calendar and contact programs that users can access online and offline, similar to Microsoft's Outlook.
DISTRIBUTION
Internet Alibaba.com (40%) Gmarket (10%) Broadcast.com del.icio.us eGroups Flickr GeoCities Jumpcut Launch Media Online Anywhere Right Media (Internet advertising) HotJobs, ... and Yahoo! [just about everything else] Zimbra
Various Yahoo! has a 'strategic partnership' with Seven Network Limited, eBay, AT&T, and Verizon Communications.

NASDAQ: YHOO

701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089

Yearly Revenue: $6,430,000,000

Profit Margin: 11.69%

Share Price: $31

Full Time Employees: 9.800

For a full list of Yahoo! Incorporated's subsidiary companies read SEC form 10-K EX-21.

Capital Control
Chairman of Board, CEO Carol Bartz		Pay: $? Stock Options Used: $? Shares Owned: ?
CFO, Executive VP of Administration and Finance Susan Decker		Pay: $1,500,000 Stock Options Used: $30,890,000 Shares Owned: ?
Chief Operating Officer Daniel L. Rosensweig, 45		Pay: $1,650,000 Stock Options Used: $25,620,000 Shares Owned: 419,225
Chief Technology Officer Farzad Nazem, 45		Pay: $1,250,000 Stock Options Used: $63,770,000 Shares Owned: 612,362
Senior VP Michael Callahan, 38		Pay: $2,355,220 Stock Options Used: $6,671,785 Shares Owned: ?
Also note, David Filo owns 79,550,066 shares of Yahoo!
Content Control
?
Facts and figures snapshot taken March, 2007.

According to Forrester Research spending on online advertising and marketing will increase from under $20 billion in 2007 to $26.0 billion by 2010, yielding an average annual growth rate of 11%. Standard and Poor's estimates that Yahoo!'s worldwide marketing opportunity will top $50 billion by 2010 and that marketing services will account for at least 85% of the company's revenue.

The highest-paid CEO of a publicly held company, Terry Semel of Yahoo! [resigned in 2007], was paid $71,600,216 in total compensation in 2006. By comparison, during this same period, James Simons, president and CEO of Renaissance Technologies, a hedge fund management company, pulled in $1.5 billion. That breaks down to $28,846,154 a week, $721,154 an hour, $12,019 a minute—or $200 a second! (This assumes Mr. Simons puts in a 40-hour week, 52 weeks a year.)

These fantastic levels of pay come as the average wages for all Americans declined for the third year in a row. The average hourly wage has been falling since February, when it stood at $17.42 an hour. The US Census Bureau reported on August 29 that household income grew by 0.7 percent in 2006. But while median income was also slightly up, this was because more people were working longer hours.

The IPS/UFE report shows that CEOs of large, privately held US companies averaged $10.8 million in total compensation in 2006, or more than 364 times the pay of the average American worker. In other words, on average these executives earn in a day what an average US worker takes home in an entire year. [9]

The China Warning

China presents a warning to the rest of the world on how private business' and government will quickly collude to block Internet freedom and access to information when profits and official powers feel threatened by a restive public.

China has refined a unique model of policing the Internet in which private business self-censors nearly as much as state censors themselves. ...

Google offers Chinese users a censored version of its search engine, and Microsoft acknowledges that it blocks Chinese-language blogs that contain forbidden language. Such language is said to include phrases such as "human rights" and "Taiwan independence." Cisco, a maker of telecommunications equipment that is the backbone of the Internet, sells China technology used in Internet surveillance. Skype collaborates with a Chinese partner that filters text chat on mobile phones. Yahoo has come under the greatest fire for providing Chinese authorities with personal information about Chinese subscribers, who were later sentenced to jail. ...

In an unusual partnership with state censors that began Sept. 1, 13 private Internet portals in Beijing began letting "pop-ups" of two cartoon policemen appear on users' screens every 30 minutes to remind them of lawful behavior.

Lih said China's Internet regulations are deliberately vague, leaving private Internet companies vulnerable and with hair-trigger fingers to delete anything sensitive.

"If you can keep it ambiguous, then the companies stay conservative to make sure they don't cross a mythical line," Lih said. "This is something that works even better than having hard guidelines." ...

By setting up complaint hot lines about "illegal" Internet activity, authorities want to harness individuals to cleanse the Web. Volunteers at university campuses, known as "little sisters," patrol online forums and steer debate in certain approved directions. [10]

China’s example is also a testament to the power of government regulation. Government rules can have a major impact on freedom of speech and privately owned, profit driven corporations will quickly fall in line even when the rules are vague. These wealthy business owners and executives are basically fearful and cowardly people who will follow the lead of regulators every time because they are deathly afraid of losing what they value most of all: money.

Open and vocal public criticism and economic pressure, to include boycotts and pressure on legislators, are vital elements in defeating this tendency towards censorship and oppression, or at minimum preventing it from spreading outside of China. 06.10.07

References

1. Standard & Poor's stock analysis reports
2. Google CEO, co-founders stick with $1 salary, by Paul R. La Monica, CNN, March 5, 2007.
3. TNR's New Owners, by Clint Hendler, The Nation, March 6, 2007.
4. Viacom: I want my LBO?, by Paul R. La Monica, CNNMoney.com, August 1, 2006.
5. Online Advertising Companies Are Gobbled Up, by Scott Mayerowitz, ABC News, May 26, 2007.
6. Life Imitates TV, by Patricia Sellers, Fortune magazine, p. 50-58, May 14, 2007.
7. Yahoo co-founder Yang to replace Semel as CEO, by Eric Auchard, Reuters, June 18, 2007.
8. Google Buys Online Security Firm Postini In $625 Mil Deal, Investor's Business Daily via CNN, July 9, 2007.
9. Top US hedge fund managers earn 22,255 times pay of average worker, by Kate Randall, WSWS, September 7, 2007.
10. As Internet censorship tightens in China, private firms pitch in, by Tim Johnson, McClatchy, October 5, 2007.
11. NBC Universal Agrees to Buy Oxygen for $925 Million, by Gillian Wee, Bloomberg, October 9, 2007.
12. Microsoft Buys Facebook Stake for $240M, by Michael Liedtke, AP, October 24, 2007.
13. AOL acquires online advertising company Quigo, by Anick Jesdanun, AP via USA Today, November 7, 2007.
14. Microsoft buys Multimap to boost advertising strategy, by Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service, December 12, 2007.
15. Canwest's Post to stop Monday edition for 9 weeks, by Wojtek Dabrowski, Reuters, April 29, 2009.

Resources

FCC Media Bureau
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), media analysis
Free Press, media policy and reform
Google Finance
Media ownership search by region
Project Censored - Study on board of directors for media companies reveals corporate connections
Reuters Finance
SEC Filings & Forms (EDGAR)
Who Owns What, Columbia Journalism Review
Yahoo! Finance

News

TV advertising worsening obesity and sickness,
by Emily Sohn, Discovery News, June 3, 2010
Product placement advertising makes its way into US news programmes,
by Ed Pilkington, Guardian (UK), July 22, 2008.
Media, Internet moguls meet at Idaho luxury retreat, most seeking more online revenue,
By Jeremy Herron, AP, July 7, 2008.
Bush administration fast-tracks relaxation of media ownership constraints,
by Naomi Spencer, WSWS, October 23, 2007.
MySpace, Photobucket acquisition rumors confirmed,
by Helen Leggatt, BizReport, May 9, 2007.
Google to buy DoubleClick for $3.1 bln,
by Eric Auchard, Reuters, April 13, 2007.
Viacom And Yahoo Strike Web Advertising Deal,
by Thomas Claburn, InformationWeek, April 10, 2007.
The Onion: New Disney Ride Simulates Disney–ABC Merger,
March 30, 2007.
TV study: 'Kids besieged by food ads' ,
by Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY, March 28, 2007.
Can Hollywood topple YouTube?,
by Elise Ackerman, Mercury News, March 23, 2007.

Related DOR Holology Reports

New Media

EveryBlock - Experimental local city news feed
The Real News - Video news

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