From Risque Dancing to Dora the Explorer

Yesterday in class the topic of media homogenization was discussed in relation to network conglomerates like Viacom. I was looking at Rande’s post below and agree that although there are only 6 media powerhouses, there is still a wide range of diverse content generated by these companies. When I applied for the position at Viacom I originally wanted to work with MTV. However, after my first phone interview human resources contacted me to let me know that I had applied too late- all of the MTV marketing slots had been filled but I could work for Nickelodeon if I wanted to. This was extremely surprising news to me. I had no idea that the same corporation owned MTV and Nickelodeon. I took the job and began working at 1515 Broadway- probably Viacom’s largest building in the country. Although I work in the Nickelodeon department on the 37^th floor I have already encountered celebrities like Kathy Griffin and Chace Crawford who are affiliated with Viacom through one of their other 1,000 channels.

At first I felt a bit silly, I mean here I was a communications major and I was surprised to see the wide range of channels owned by Viacom. But the more time I spend at Viacom the more I see the range of diversity. Viacom works with Comedy Central, VH1, Nick at Nite, Noggin, Spike, CMT, TV Land and many more. One thing I worked on this semester was a research project using Twitter. Nickelodeon completely re-branded their image from the well-known “splat” to just the word Nickelodeon in bright orange font. They did this because they now own hotels, multiple channels and other areas they want to visually and physically connect for their clients. They also decided to change the names of some of their channels to make stronger ties to the Nickelodeon name- so The-N became Teennick and Noggin became Nick Jr.

My project was to go on Twitter and search for these names to find feedback on what people had to say about the name change. Like me (before I started working at Viacom), many people did not know that Nickelodeon had already owned these channels. And so most of the feedback was people reporting that they were annoyed that Nickelodeon had taken over their beloved channels- when in fact Nickelodeon had owned them all along! I was a bit hypocritical and frustrated with these viewers. I mean how could they be so wrong and not even realize that their favorite channel was run by Nickelodeon in the first place- I mean couldn’t they have done some research?

No. In fact I don’t even research who or what owns the channels I like to watch. Half the time I watch TV on my computer and so don’t even know which channels the shows run on. Overall my point is that companies like Viacom which owns Nickelodeon which owns multiple channels of its own, do well with offering diversity. From risqué dancers on MTV to children’s shows like Dora the Explorer, it would be difficult for any viewer to make ties to one conglomeration. I am not saying that there is no media restriction. I do know and agree that the media can restrict and control what they want their viewers to see. I do agree that when only 6 powerhouses exist, there can serious issues with control and homogenization. Yet I also agree that these companies like Viacom are intelligent. They know what their viewers want and they have done a good job providing all of their different viewers with the material they so desire.