Since the deregulation of media in the US and Britain – shortly followed by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) – global media has become a playground for media conglomerates to consolidate power and expand influence. The seven dominant media conglomerates – Disney, AOL-Time Warner, Sony, News Corporation, Viacom, Vivendi, and Bertelsmann – have utilised a neoliberal market to their advantage over the past three decades through such consolidation and expansion. Neoliberalism is an ideology based on free market capitalism, deregulation, privatisation and minimal state-intervention. 35 years ago, the media sphere was typically analysed through a national scope. However, today it is more accurately seen through a transnational scope. The neoliberal market that is present today has resulted in a lack of diversity within the media, “the commodification of everything without public regulation undermines human solidarity and tends to reproduce atomized, consumerized social relations” (Artz 2015, p. 71). Moreover, the global media system is inherently affected by the neoliberal impact on journalism. The profit-based principles of neoliberalism has resulted in local news starving. Since the emergence of a neoliberal society, the quantity of journalism has gone up, while the quality has gone down. While neoliberalism has its flaws and competitors, it has controlled global media for the past 35 years and will continue to do so for the next decade.
While the concept behind neoliberalism is to enable a more democratic marketplace, the reality is that the lack of regulation provides the perfect environment for larger corporations to monopolise. Major global media corporations such as Google have implemented scarcity tactics whereby, “economic value is created through market demand for scarce resources” (Mansell 2011, p. 24). The issue thus arises that neoliberalism is enabling the monopolisation of local media and essentially individuality. This is due to the fact that “the neoliberal stance … is to allow the free play of these strategies in the interests of open innovation and economic growth” (Mansell 2011, p. 24). The reality is, smaller companies are going to continue to struggle as long as neoliberalism is present in a global market. Since the establishment NAFTA and WTO, large corporations have realised the potential for exponential growth in a market that was already booming to begin with. Mass media has become key to both a neoliberal society and a technological society. Neoliberalism has cleverly positioned itself as a crucial part of global media system making it extremely difficult to weave out or diverge from. The lack of regulation that a neoliberal environment allows, enables conglomerates to diversify their goods and services. They are able to employ transnational practices and spread themselves across various mediums and nations. Thus, the neoliberal society in which we live is also an era of transnationalism, “transnational capitalism’s cultural aspirations are not US dominance, but profits for the few and consumerism for all (Sklair, 2001, p. 289).” (Artz 2015, p. 81). While the high demand for media has resulted essentially in consumerism for the masses, it has eradicated localised and culturally relevant media. We’ve simply entered an era whereby the majority of readily available media is mainstream. Moreover, the smaller corporations that often express and facilitate pluralism are being intimidated and squashed by the conglomerates. “In some respects, the global media market more closely resembles a cartel than it does the competitive marketplace” (McChesney 2001, p. 10).
In the past 35 years that neoliberalism has been prominent in society, the role of journalism in the global media system has changed significantly. Notably, the emergence of a participatory media culture has made professional journalism less and less relevant, “in a neoliberal free market economy, news has no right to exist if it cannot pay its way,” (Fenton 2011, p.66). A neoliberal economy is not only driven by a free market but also fundamentally by profits. Thus, as Fenton (Fenton 2011) argues if smaller media companies cannot keep up with the changing times due to lack of resources, they have no place in a neoliberal economy. The issue that then arises is an increasing lack of pluralism in the media. Neoliberalism is so fundamentally reliant upon the economy that individualism really has no place in a mass media, mass consumption environment. Phelan & Slater (Phelan & Salter 2017) argue that the credibility of journalism is being undermined due to such neoliberal desires, “journalists’ ability to do work guided by properly journalistic criteria becomes increasingly undermined by economic field imperatives” (Phelan & Salter 2017, p. 8). Anyone has the ability to break news at any time with the advent of social media, which makes the role of professional journalists less relevant in the digital age. While it can be argued that a participatory media culture is good, the reality is that the individual voices of the many are shadowed by the mainstream conglomerates anyway. Artz (Artz 2015) argues that locality is key to success of the global media system, “local partners are crucial for facilitating entry into new markets” (Artz 2015, p. 73). However, it's becoming increasingly difficult for local partners to break free from the grasp of global media conglomerates. Not only has the neoliberal principles allowed for transnational practices without regulation, it has also enabled privatisation of sectors. The problem facing journalism is that of displacement, it has become so far spread across various nations that it no longer represents certain communities, cities, or even nations.
What could previously be understood as ‘national media’ is now no longer a viable term to explain the current global media environment. Today, the term transcultural media is far more accurate and self-explanatory. In an era of mass consumerism, neoliberalism is seemingly the ideal answer. However, as elucidated in this essay it has also resulted in key issues that are undermining previously crucial aspects of the global media system. Notably, the emergence of Giantism over the past 35 years has resulted in concentrated media ownership. This has directly influenced the lack of cultural identity and representation in the media. Global media has become more mainstream than ever before due to the neoliberal principles and policies that are in place. The conglomerates that are dominating global media are using their power to distribute media that is desired by the masses, they aren't catering for individual or even specific societal needs. The future of global media is completely in the hands of these conglomerates who seemingly have no desire to incorporate varied opinions, cultures, and ideologies. The problem is that neoliberal policies allow that to happen. “The global media system is better understood as one that advances corporate and commercial interests and values and denigrates or ignores that which cannot be incorporated into its mission.” (McChesney 2001, p. 16). What McChesney (McChesney 2001) is alluding, is that in a neoliberal world, individualism and pluralism have no place if it interrupts the flow of the economy. Not only is that a concerning reality for smaller countries that have no affiliation with mainstream media. But also for communities and groups whose voices cannot be heard due to the monopolization of the market.
The neoliberal media environment of the present is one that facilitates monopoly and disregards pluralism. The media conglomerates that are currently dominating the market will not only sustain that power but will continue to expand and grow over the next decade. This is due to the increasing societal need for mass production and mass media. The ‘we need it now’ mentality is more present than ever and a neoliberal global media system can provide that. However, what this neoliberal environment is eradicating is any sense of individuality for certain groups and communities. With such a heavy focus on profit, the media – for the most part – has become increasingly mainstream in all aspects. Arguably, the participatory journalistic culture has increased pluralism but often those voices are muted by the larger corporations that continue to distribute the norm. If the global media system wishes to incorporate more diversity, it must take into account the effect of monopolisation on independent media companies. Furthermore, the neoliberal economy will continue to drive profits for global media in the short term but it will eventually fail if it doesn't begin to acknowledge media outside of the mainstream.