Crossover Into Other Media Outlets example essay topic

The media has become a tremendous influence on life as we know it today. Each media outlet generates an incredible amount of money. With plenty of money to be made by media outlets, corporations that have nothing to do with media, want to stake a claim of their own into the media. To this, they will use their substantial funds to by ownership of media companies. As these non media companies buy more media outlets, they form what is called a conglomeration. These conglomerations can often grow to have a huge impact on the media as a whole.

The term conglomeration is defined as "the increase in the ownership of media outlets by non media companies" and very often a single conglomeration will have a claim in all forms of media. Books, once a media outlet known for being run by small operations are now very much tied up into corporate America. Independent book publishers are almost an afterthought in an industry dominated by giants like Hearst Books, the Penguin Group, Bantam Double-day Dell, Time Warner publishing and others. These were once small publishers, but all have since become part of large national or international companies. These same corporations, own Newspapers across the country and a number of magazines. In the movie industry Warner Brothers, Columbia, Paramount and 20th Century Fox are just some of the studios that are parts of these corporations.

Many will also have their own television and radio stations. With conglomerations there are arguments in support and against them. Conglomerations have many positive aspects to them. They provide much needed capital, to pour into the different media outlets. This is especially beneficial for books, who don't have as many streams of income as some of the other media outlets.

Also with conglomerates you can often publish books that take more risks in some instance. Smaller book or movie companies in some cases may not be able to afford the risk of a project that has great potential earnings, but also a great potential for failure. Since the conglomerations will have money coming in from other sources they can sometimes afford taking a risk on some things. Also conglomerations have the ability to undertake projects on a grand scale. They have the money to produce a movie blockbuster, which in the long run can earn them far more than the millions they put into it.

And in some cases if one media outlet owned by the conglomerate is hugely successful, it may potentially crossover into other media outlets. The conglomerate may take a movie character, and have their video game company produce video games, while they also have the story transcribed into a novel. They can also produce promotional magazines, and eventually they can continuously play the movie on their Television Station. A fine example of crossover would be Batman. Originally a popular character in DC Comics, in the late 80's the parent company of DC Comics, Time Warner produced a hugely successful Batman movie.

The movie spawned three sequels. Hundreds of toys were produced. Books with Batman's name on them have shown up for children and teens. Highly successful cartoon shows starring the caped crusader have been playing on television since the early 90's.

However there are detraction's from conglomerations. One negative is that some conglomerates have so much under their corporate umbrella that they spread themselves too thin. Some of the products they pay less attention to will see their quality take a turn for the worse. Quality also takes a hit, when these corporations force production to be rushed, to maximize profit. For instance in the book industry production is not only rushed but, important steps in editing are cut out, so the project will cost less time and money. In the movie industry, the blockbuster mentality takes hold thanks to conglomerations.

Rather than producing movies that are fine works of art, movie studios now produce action packed concept films that are a much easier sell. The general feeling towards conglomerates is that they have no passion for any of the industries they stake a claim in. Profit outweighs all other considerations. Whether one thinks conglomerates have taken the soul out of many forms of media, or has made them superior to what they once were, no one can deny that conglomerations have had a huge and lasting impact on the media as a whole. Now as we see conglomerations not only expand their enterprises but also merge with other conglomerates, one can only assume that conglomerations will continue to impact the media in a huge way.