Sydney Kate Watson, asst. arts & living

If you are not a communications major, or did not take COM 220, Foundations of Mass Communications, just for the fun of it, then you might not know that only four companies own most of the media you consume. Yes, you read that right, four companies: AT&T, Comcast, Disney and CBS Viacom. 

For many people, including myself, this is a concern. Are we just going to let four companies, the number of people that can fit in a Waffle House booth, determine what media is produced for us to consume? Well, according to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations, I suppose we are. 

From 1934 through the 1970s, the FCC felt that multiple people should be the owners of media, and as a result the commission regulated how many broadcast stations and radio stations a singular person could own in the market. They also put an emphasis on localism in the sense that they wanted as much of it as possible. 

So, how did these multiple, local people turn into a full Waffle House booth? Well, that is all thanks to a little thing known as “de-reg-u-lation.” During the Reagan administration, the FCC hopped on a mellow wave, and relaxed their regulations of media ownership, because the common thought is that regulation hurts the free market. During this time, the big three networks, ABC, CBS and NBC, all traded hands, and there was a massive industry churn. 

1996 brought about the Telecommunications Act, and interestingly enough, the big three networks did not report on this legislation at all. Even though, this legislation impacted every single American, since every American consumes media. This legislation further relaxed media ownership rules and decided that telephone and cable companies now have the power to compete in the media ownership arena. The ownership cap is raised to 35%, and the number of players in the game steadily dropped. In the 1980s, there were 50 companies in media and by the start of the 2000s, there were six. 

Throughout that history, there was very little protest by U.S. citizens, probably because they were not informed about what these new regulations meant for them. However, in 2003, the FCC attempted to once again raise the ownership cap to 45%, and for the first time, citizens protested. People organized and gathered outside the commission’s building, and notable figures, such as Jessie Jackson, were supporting the protests. The commission did not pass the cap increase in 2003, but in 2017 they did. Not only did they raise the cap, but the FCC also removed all restrictions for what companies could own, local studio requirements and, as the extra syrup to top off your waffle, overturned net neutrality. 

In contemporary America, a waffle house booth of companies owns 90% of media content. AT&T is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies with a net worth of $171.76 billion, yes, with a b. Comcast is the largest cable system in America and has a net worth of $103.56 billion. Disney, who we all believe to own everything, only has a net worth of $67.42 billion. Finally, ViacomCBS, who has gone through a long time will they-won’t they relationship, has a much smaller net worth of $25.29 billion. 

This Waffle House booth has too much power, and at some point, I hope the FCC will draw a line, but who is to say. I encourage you to Google and see exactly what media these big four own, because I promise, it will shock you.