Date of Award

12-1-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Heather Crandall

Second Advisor

Dr.Cunningham Carolyn

Abstract

The mass media in the United States have a wide breadth of power and influence over society. Yet, despite the crucial role the media play they are controlled by only six companies that are mega transcultural conglomerates. (Legislation has been passed, namely) The Telecommunications Act of 1996 has encouraged and enabled the rash of media consolidations that has led to the dense concentration of media ownership today. This thesis utilized the Propaganda Model as the theoretical foundation to examine the relationships between the elites of the corporate and political sectors integral to the creation of the current media landscape. A triangulation of methods, which include content analysis, a case study, and meta-synthesis methods, was used to gather data. The case study examined in this thesis was the merger of Comcast and NBC in 2011. As part of the case study, content analysis of coverage given to the merger in the NY Times was conducted to determine whether there was a pro- or anti-merger bias evident. Meta-synthesis methods were used to amalgamate the findings of the case study into a coherent assessment of corporate and political relations in approving the merger. This study’s findings consist of significant political connections and lobbying dollars spent on the part of Comcast, a pro-merger bias in NY Times coverage, increased prices for consumers and reduced television content for viewers. The Propaganda Model was instrumental in conceptualizing the findings of this study by providing a framework of media filters and first-, second-, and third-level predictions about media behavior. The results suggest that collusion between corporate and political officials played a key role in the consolidation of Comcast and NBC, and that the public interest was impacted negatively.

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