Final answer:
The theory concerns media consolidation where ownership of media outlets is held by fewer corporations, resulting in an oligopoly. This reduces competition and diversity of information, prioritizes corporate interests, and could compromise the impartiality of news and information. Currently, a handful of conglomerates dominate the U.S. media, influencing public discourse and potentially reducing innovation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The theory that media economics and technology concentrate ownership refers to media consolidation, a process through which ownership of media outlets is increasingly concentrated in the hands of fewer entities, resulting in an oligopoly situation. Over the decades, the number of corporations controlling the majority of media outlets has dramatically shrunk. In 1983, 50 corporations owned most of the U.S. media, while by 2021, just four conglomerates controlled the same percentage.
This consolidation can have several impacts on the type of information available to the public. It tends to prioritize the interests of the corporations' stockholders over the public interest, leading to a representation of the political and social interests of a select few rather than a diverse population. It also minimizes the incentives for innovation and can limit exposure to different viewpoints, thus influencing public perception and discourse. Furthermore, monopolistic tendencies resulting from media consolidation can reduce competition, leading to potentially less effective services and higher prices for consumers.
Consolidated media companies weigh their profitability and obligations to government regulators more heavily than the public's right to know. This can translate to a compromise in the diversity and impartiality of information that is disseminated to the public. With conglomerates like Comcast, the Disney Corporation, Time Warner, CBS, and Viacom controlling a vast swath of the media landscape, the illusion of choice and objectivity in media content is called into question.