I enjoy so many shows from HBO. What's not to like? I'm a huge Game of Thrones fan (among their other amazing series), and I found out that they're owned by Time Warner Cable. They also own Warner Brothers, Cartoon Network, and CNN among other things. This caught me off guard as I always believed HBO was an alternative to cable television. No commercials, no censorship, just artistic expression. But they owned by the same company that owns CNN? I'm hoping that there aren't too many cooks in the kitchen of HBO meddling in their episodes. I would like to enjoy my Game of Thrones, blood and gore and all without censorship.
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Blog 2: Who Owns the Media?
Growing up in a lower middle-class family with 5 siblings and parents who worked more than full time, I would often find myself positioned in front of a television. When my parents didn't have the time or money to entertain all of us individually, we would just rent a movie from Blockbuster and all sit down and enjoy it together. So needless to say, I watched a LOT of movies and television shows. So media has played a large part of my life. Admittedly, it made me a little hesitant to pull back and criticize the movies and TV that I love so much. While I'm still an avid film and television viewer, I have definitely filtered what I've watched. I promise I am not pretentious, but I will usually avoid media that I consider trash so I don't waste precious hours of my life that I won't get back.
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I really connect with you when you talk about how use found your self if front of a TV when you where younger becuase your parents couldnt entertain you. This was the same case for me my mom waorked at 3 in the morning and would get off of work to pick me up so she always had to take a nap when i got home from school, so media had a big impact on my childhood as well
ReplyDeleteHi Adrian, I was also shocked that some of our favorite TV shows were owned by bigger corporations that also own other TV channels that we would not find ourselves watching. I found it interesting how big corporations such as Time Warner Cable can have access to so many shows and audiences.
ReplyDeleteHey Adrian, like you, I was surprised that the owners of these conglomerates form large "umbrellas" over the much smaller and more recognizable channels. It makes me think twice about who the person at the very top of the chain is, because the names I see most often, like HBO, are often not in complete control of their messages. I also watch a lot of television and I am glad that I now know about how limited the sources of TV are because it can lead to homogenous content in the shows we all watch.
ReplyDeleteHi Adrian, I can't personally relate to the sitting in front of a TV for hours, but I did see this habit with my brother. He'd watch Cartoon network for hours on end. Since the start of our class, I asked him if he remembers watching so much TV and if he knew who owned that channel to my surprise he did! He understood that the 6 major conglomerates were behind all the channels. This is information I didn't know until recently.. I wonder if maybe his exposure to so much TV made him question who was behind it all? Now knowing that there isn't much variation in who control channels is a little worrisome because these companies literally control everything we're exposed to.
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