Archives: Internet

Some policymakers and media companies argue that the Internet provides diverse news and information.  Because it's so easy to connect and share information over the Internet, they believe rules designed to protect diverse viewpoints and regulations limiting who owns television stations and newspapers are no longer necessary. 

But those same media companies that dominate your TV and newspapers already have a lot of influence over the Internet.  Your access to a wide range of viewpoints and local community news is at stake as media conglomerates get larger. 

Consumers Don't Get Much Local News on the Internet

As explained in the Media Ownership section, only a handful of companies control many of the important news sources most Americans turn to.  Furthermore, news and information on the Internet is already dominated by the same companies that control local and national television stations and newspapers.

Consumers Union commissioned a survey in January 2004 to find out where and how people get news and information (PDF).  Just 10% identified the Internet as their most important source of national news, and only 2.2% said it was the most important source of local news. 

In October 2004, the Pew Internet & American Life Project reported (PDF) that 72% of high-speed Internet users and 51% of dial-up users got news and information from the Web sites of major news organizations like CNN.com.  But only 16% of broadband users and 7% of dial-up users used alternative news sites like AlterNet.org or NewsMax.com.

Big media conglomerates already own some of the busiest websites on the Internet.  Most of them are companions to offline brands, like NYTimes.com or CNN.com.  But now many independent sites are being bought too.  NewsCorp, which also owns Fox, DirecTV and more, recently purchased MySpace.com, a social-networking site designed for younger websurfers.  MySpace also regularly ranks among the top websites, in June 2005 placing sixth, behind only Yahoo, eBay, MSN, Google and AOL.