Ownership and Regulation

In chapter two of "Mass Media and American Politics" by Doris A. Graber and Johanna Dunaway regulation of the media industry is discussed in detail. What is not necessarily discussed much is the role that media ownership can play in deciding what news will be reported on and how. The bias of a media outlet's ownership may play a part in what point of view is provided in a news piece. Perhaps what may be more alarming is ownership may have a decision in what stories are even reported at all by a particular news organization. The possible practice of censorship of a certain topic or point of view by media outlet ownership is one of the key reasons for regulation of the media.

An example of ownership shaping the point of view of a news piece could be the possibly that the political or ideological views of the media organization's ownership may be evident in the news content presented by the organization. When a story is reported by a media outlet with given political tendencies, it is possible the story will have a certain political flavor while offering little if any viewpoint of opposing political stance. Also if a media organization tends to utilize advisors and commentators typically cut from the same political fabric, this may allude to the political views of ownership. Certainly given the chance less ethical media organizations of particular bias would put forth obviously slanted views in an attempt to further their ideological or political positions.

Media regulation is the checks and balances that prohibit or at least attempt to deter this kind of viewpoint shaping and censorship. In terms of obvious censorship, there is clear legal recourse to protect the one's rights from being abused. However, in terms of slanting the viewpoint of a story, this can sometimes be harder to perceive and more difficult still to prove without a doubt. It is a reporter's ethical responsibility to have a balance of opposing viewpoint to compliment a fair news piece. When this ethical balance is not respected, it is the left to regulatory bodies to intervene. In response to unfair reporting, many media watch group have formed with the mission to ensure that their political or ideological views are respected and fairly portrayed in the media. These media watch group typically take it upon themselves to bring awareness to what they perceive to be potentially unfair media representations, while attempting to engage more formal regulatory bodies such as the FCC should an ethical offense be egregious enough.