When Oligarchs Go Shopping - Why Media Ownership Matters
In a public lecture at the Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS) on November 28, journalist and media policy consultant Olaf Steenfadt discussed the importance of media pluralism and changes within the media industry. “Independence and pluralism of media, opinions, and views - including criticism of people in power - is the safeguard of a healthy democratic system,” Steenfadt said.
Taking a historical perspective, Steenfadt outlined two reasons why media pluralism was problematic in the analogue world. Firstly, distribution was restricted by broadcast frequencies, which limited the number of channels possible on radio and TV. Secondly, media had high barriers to entry – the cost of equipment and production was prohibitive.
Steenfadt explained how these two paradigms of media changed with the rise of the internet and the digital revolution. The internet removed the dependence on broadcast frequencies and created infinite space for media outlets. It also dramatically lowered the cost of market entry. Today, broadcasting can be as cheap as filming on your smartphone. “However, we have a paradox of unlimited space and new media monopolies,” said Steenfadt. “The problem of not enough media pluralism hasn’t gone away.”
Steenfadt described several ways in which the internet is rewriting media’s analogue past. One change is the disappearance of business models and the precariousness of media. Steenfadt cited the examples of Al Jazeera, owned and run as a “hobby” by the emir of Qatar, and the Washington Post, now owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. “What are the motives of these owners? Is it purely philanthropic, or are there hidden motives?” asked Steenfadt. “We just don’t know.” He continued by observing that self-censorship often starts within such media outlets as reporters and editors seek to avoid offending their owners.
Another change is that new media players, like Bezos, are buying media outlets with losses without concern for a successful for-profit model. “They’re investing in public opinion,” said Steenfadt, “in a kind of oligarchization of the media sector.”
Steenfadt concluded by commenting on a shift in the importance of content. Traditionally, the maxim “content is king” ruled media. While household spending as well as advertising spend on media has rather increased in recent years, the relationship between content and demand has also changed. Aggregators like Google and Facebook filter content for consumers, creating a layer between content and consumers. “The problem is that these aggregators no longer put profits from subscriptions and advertisements back into content (the old business model) but rather into high technology,” said Steenfadt. Examples of high technology investments include self-driving cars, artificial intelligence, drones, and other tech projects.
Steenfadt described Reporters Without Borders’ Media Ownership Monitor project that includes research on eight target countries with detailed information on media ownership as well as background on individual and corporate owners. Steenfadt cited Turkey as an example where the main media owners are hugely dependent on government contracts to run their other lines of business such as transportation. The information gathered in the Media Ownership Monitor is intended for the general public. Steenfadt emphasized that the project “calls for and delivers transparency” through its work with local non-profit partners in each target country. Six more countries will be added to the project next year.