In this week’s discussion we talked about content diversity in a media world that suffers from homogenization. Although many people believe we have a serious lack of diversity in our media content because of the so few media powerhouses in the industry (there are approximately 6), I decided to evaluate a single company and see how much diversity is showcased on their multiple media outlets.
The company I decided to focus on is Walt Disney. While the most common media outlet that comes to mind when thinking of Walt Disney is most likely The Disney Channel, it is important to know that this company is one of the biggest powerhouses in the media industry, and it is not all because of High School Musical and Hannah Montana. What many people do not know is that besides owning Walt Disney Pictures that owns films as popular as Toy Story, they also own Miramax Films. An example of a popular Miramax Film is the 90’s horror slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer, not exactly a film you’d expect to be coming from the same company as The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Another great example is that Disney also owns the television station ABC that features shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, and Cougar Town, shows that clearly differ from kid pop singers and teen slasher films.
While having a monopoly system in our media industry may not be the best news for small businesses, and may cause people to fear the of lack of diversity, it is clear that there is much range in the media, probably more than there ever has been. And this was just the analysis of one sole company. The differences between this company and others (Viacom, Time Warner, etc) will differ even more substantially.
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