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The Media and Corporate Connections
Source: The Media:
An Analysis of Influence by Progressive Living
"To illustrate how pervasive the corporate influence is throughout
the major media, the table that follows identifies
the interconnections between the six largest or most influential broadcasting
companies and other major corporations.
In that table, corporations color coded in red are those that have
connections with more than one broadcaster. Corporations coded in green
also have connections to the top 28 most interconnected companies.
(In addition, a few of the connections through social clubs for the wealthy
and/or powerful are listed.) Thus, companies coded in red or green are in
a position to exercise tremendous media influence; and companies coded both
red and green, such as Chase Manhattan, are super offenders. We
would also single out the former Citicorp (now merged with Travelers to form Citigroup)
as a corporation deeply immeshed in secret FTAA negotiations, and which also has an exceptionally
bad environmental record.
Unsurprisingly, and again consistent with a pro-corporate bias,
all of the major broadcast and print media were either
directly involved in secret FTAA negotiations (which even Congress was kept
ignorant of) or else had an interlocking directorate with a company that was, except
for Viacom and Fox. As international trade and globalization are among the most important and newsworthy
topics today, the failure to adequately inform the American people of their
own role and interest in these matters is a severe rupture of journalistic
integrity. Of course, corporations owning media corporations have no business
whatsoever making 'campaign contributions' to presidential candidates."
Broadcast Media Connections with
Major Corporations
News Corporation
|
Owning Corporation
|
Has Interlocking Board Members With:
|
| NBC |
General Electric Co.
(13th largest "donor" to the Bush campaign) |
Allied Signal Inc, American Stores Co, Anheuser-Busch Co Inc, Baxter
International Inc, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (fourth largest "donor"
to the Bush campaign), Champion International Corp, Chase
Manhattan Corp, Chubb
Corp, Citicorp
(as Citigroup seventh largest "contributor" to the Bush campaign),
Exxon Corp (as Exxon Mobil the 11th largest "donor" to the Bush
campaign), Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, J. P. Morgan
& Co Inc, Kellog
Co, Kimberly-Clark Corp, Mellon Foundation,
PepsiCo Inc (22nd largest "donor" to the
Bush campaign), Philip Morris Inc (second largest
"donor" to the Bush campaign), Quaker
Oats Co, Stanley Works, Textron Inc, Washington Post Co (for other
connections with, for example, Microsoft-the third largest "donor"
to the Bush campaign see the NBC web site) |
| Viacom Inc. |
Viacom Inc. |
AlliedSignal Inc, Avnet Inc, Bear Stearns Co Inc, Duke Power Co, Melville
Corp, Nynex Corp, Orange & Rockland Utilities Inc |
| ABC |
The Walt Disney Co.
(23rd largest "donor" to the Bush campaign) |
America West Airlines Inc, Bank America Corp,
Federal Express Corp, Florida Progress Corp, Hilton Hotels Corp,
K-Mart Corp, Mitchell Energy & Development,
Northwest Airlines Corp, Pacific Enterprises Inc, Unum Corp, Xerox
Corp |
| CNN |
AOL-Time Warner Inc.
(8th largest "donor" to the Bush campaign) |
Allstate Corp, America West Airlines Inc, American Express Co, American
International Group Inc, Aon Corp, Becton, Dickinson & Co, Chevron Corp
(as Chevron Texaco the 19th largest "donor" to the Bush campaign),
Citicorp (see above),
Colgate-Palmolive Co, Cummins Engine Co Inc, Dell Computer Corp, Foundation
Health Corp, Genentech Inc, Illinova Corp, Inland Steel Industries Inc,
Kellogg Co, K-Mart Corp, Mobil Corp (see above), Olsten Corp, Philip
Morris Inc (second largest "donor" to the Bush campaign),
Sears Roebuck & Co, Springs Industries, Sunbeam Corp, Triarc Co Inc,
Turner Broadcasting System Inc, WHX Corp |
| CBS |
Westinghouse Electric Co. |
Aetna Life and Casualty Co, Ashland Inc, BDM International Inc, Banc
One Corp, Bell Atlantic Corp, Campbell Soup Co, Cardinal Health Inc, Chase Manhattan Corp,
Columbia HCA Healthcare Corp, Dell Computer Corp,
Dow Jones & Co Inc, Duracell International Inc, General Dynamics Corp,
Gillette Co, Harcourt General Inc, Kaman Corp,
MBIA Inc, Melville Corp, Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc, Prudential
Insurance Co of America, Quaker Oats Co,
Phone-Poulenc Rorer Inc, Rockwell International Corp, Sun Co Inc, Union
Pacific Corp, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Warnaco Group Inc, Warner-Lambert Co,
Westinghouse Foundation |
| Fox |
The News Corporation, Ltd.
(12th largest "donor" to the Bush campaign) |
Bankers Trust New York Corp, Bayou Steel Corporation, Global Asset Management
USA Inc, Hudson General Corporation, MCI Communications, News America Holdings
Inc, News American Publishing Inc, News International PLC, Sesac Inc, Times
Newspapers Holding Ltd, 20th Century Fox |
|
Print Media Connections
Newspaper Corporation
|
Has Interlocking Board Members With:
|
| Gannett Co. Inc. |
Airborne Freight Corp, American Express Co,
Bancorp Hawaii Inc, Bank America Corp, Continental
Airlines, E.I. du Pont De Nemours and Co, FPL Group Inc, Ford Motor Corp
(29th largest "donor" to the Bush campaign), Frontier Corp, Kellogg Co, Navistar
International Corp, PHH Corp, Union Pacific Corp (2 directors) |
| Knight-Ridder Inc. |
ALCO Standard Corp, Champion International Corp, Chubb
Corp, Delta Air Lines Inc, Digital Equipment Corp, Eli Lilly and
Co, Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co, J.P. Morgan & Co Inc,
Kimberly-Clark Corp, Phillips Petroleum Co, Raytheon Co (2 directors),
State Street Boston Corp, Tandy Corp, Texas Instruments Inc |
| The New York Times Co. |
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Campbell Soup Co, International Business Machines
Co, Lehman Brothers Holding Inc, PepsiCo Inc,
Springs Industries Inc, Texaco Inc, US Industries Inc |
| Times Mirror Co. |
Amoco Corp, Black & Decker Corp, Boeing Co, Cox Communications Inc,
Edison International (2directors), Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc, Nordstrom
Inc, Procter & Gamble Co, Rockwell International
Corp, Ryder Systems Inc, Sun America Inc, Talborts Inc, Travelers Group
Inc |
| Washington Post Co. |
American Express Co, American Stores Co, Ashland Inc, Bank of New York
Co. Inc, Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Coca-Cola Co,
Conrail Inc, Darden Restaurants Inc, Geico Corp, General
Electric Co, Gillette Co, H. J. Heinz
Co, Home Depot Inc, J. P. Morgan & Co Inc,
Lexmark International Group Inc, McDonald's Corp, Morgan Stanley Group Inc,
National Services Industry Inc, Polaroid Corp, Rohm and Haas Co, Salomon
Inc, Textron Inc, Union Pacific Corp, Wells Fargo
& Co. |
|
. . .And How Many of Those Connections
Conduct Themselves
The 28 most-interconnected corporations (via interlocking directorates),
with media affiliations and other influential affiliations or practices
noted. For insight into the nature of the Business Roundtable, follow this link.
Company
|
Number of interlocks
|
Ties to Media?
|
Other affiliations
|
| Chase Manhattan Bank |
45 |
Yes |
Council on Foreign Relations, Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor,
engaged in secret FTAA negotiations |
| Wells Fargo Bank |
41 |
No
(Advertiser) |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor |
| American Express |
40 |
Yes |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor, engaged in secret FTAA
negotiations |
| Prudential Insurance |
39 |
Yes |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor |
| Sara Lee Foods |
39 |
No
(Advertiser) |
Business Roundtable, Council on Foreign Relations, soft money/PAC contributor,
engaged in secret FTAA negotiations |
| Minnesota Mining and Mfg. |
37 |
No
(Advertiser) |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor, engaged in secret FTAA
negotiations |
| General Motors |
33 |
No
(Advertiser) |
Business Roundtable, Bohemian Club, soft money/PAC contributor, engaged
in secret FTAA negotiations, 30th largest "donor" to the Bush
campaign |
| Kroger Stores |
33 |
No
(Advertiser) |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor |
| Ashland Oil |
32 |
Yes |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor |
| Bank of America |
32 |
Yes |
Business Roundtable, Bohemian Club, soft money/PAC contributor |
| CSX |
32 |
No |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor, engaged in secret FTAA
negotiations |
| Bell Atlantic |
31 |
No
(Advertiser) |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor |
| Coca-Cola |
31 |
Yes |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor, engaged in secret FTAA
negotiations, 26th largest "donor" to the Bush campaign |
| Procter and Gamble |
31 |
No
(Advertiser) |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor, engaged in secret FTAA
negotiations, deceptive "front" organizations |
| Spring Industries |
31 |
Yes |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor |
| AMR |
30 |
No
(Advertiser) |
|
| Mobil Oil |
30 |
Yes |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor, Council on Foreign Relations,
deceptive "front" organizations |
| TRW |
30 |
No |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor, engaged in secret FTAA
negotiations |
| Xerox |
30 |
Yes |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor, engaged in secret FTAA
negotiations |
| Ameritech |
29 |
No |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor |
| Bell South |
29 |
No |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor |
| Union Pacific |
29 |
No |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor |
| Westinghouse Electric |
29 |
Yes
(Owns CBS) |
|
| Burlington Northern |
28 |
No |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor |
| Cummins Engine |
28 |
Yes |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor |
| Kellogg |
28 |
Yes |
Business Roundtable, soft money/PAC contributor |
| Kmart |
28 |
Yes |
(Now restructuring) |
| AOL-Time Warner |
28 |
Yes
(media empire) |
Business Roundtable, Council on Foreign Relations, soft money/PAC contributor,
involved in secret FTAA negotiations, eighth largest "donor" to
the Bush campaign |
|
Sources: Censored 1998: The News that Didn't Make the News,
by Peter Phillips & Project Censored, The Center for Responsive Politics, stop-ftaa, www.ita.doc.gov/td/icp/isac.html, Who Rules America?
by G. William Domhoff, When Corporations Rule the World, by
David C. Korten.
In addition to the influence exercised by the corporations listed
above, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) exercises tremendous
political influence, and has often acted against the best interests of consumers
and American citizens. (For a brief account, see Ralph Nader's Cutting
Corporate Welfare.)
For a glimpse into the media and Bohemian Grove, an all-male, private
club for the wealthy, with ties to prominent political figures, including
every Republican president of the 20th century as well as the present Bush
administration and cabinet,
see this link: http://www.fair.org/extra/best-of-extra/bohemian-grove.html
For a summary of Chomsky's critique of the media (which we believe
is supported in some measure by the analysis above) follow this link:
http://the-tech.mit.edu/V109/N25/media.25n.html
For Chomsky himself, see this link:
http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/articles/z9710-mainstream-media.html
Those seeking criticism of Chomsky's views might read the reviews
of his books at www.amazon.com
to get the flavor of both critics and proponents.
For other resources critical of the media see:
http://www.journalismnet.com/media/criticism.htm
The most comprehensive listing of alternative, progressive media may
be found in Project Censored's The Progressive Guide to Alternative
Media and Activism, from Seven Stories Press ($10.00). Be aware, however,
that some of these sources are of very limited value. Our own choices of
alternative resources are cited at this link (see "Staying Informed"). If you don't
have access to at least a few of these alternative sources of information,
you literally don't and can't know what's going on in America today, nor
can you hope to understand what the events of the day imply for the average
person. |
- For The Nation's
analysis of the "Big 10" media empires, including signposts to
ownership as well as subsidiaries, see this link:
http://www.thenation.com/special/bigten.html
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