Mediaboss Marketing

Back in 1983, approximately 50 corporationscontrolled the vast majority of all news media in the United States. Today, ownership of the news media has been concentrated in the hands of just sixincredibly powerful media corporations. Thesecorporate behemothscontrol most of whatwe watch, hear and read every single day. They own television networks, cable channels, movie studios, newspapers, magazines, publishing houses, music labels and even many of our favorite websites.Sadly, most Americans don't even stop to think about who is feeding them the endless hours of news and entertainment that they constantly ingest. Most Americans don't really seem to care about who owns the media. But they should. The truth is that each of us is deeply influenced by the messages that are constantly being pounded into our heads by the mainstream media. The average American watches 153 hours of television a month. In fact, most Americans begin to feel physically uncomfortable if they go too long without watching or listening to something. Sadly, most Americans have become absolutely addicted to news and entertainment andthe ownership ofall that news and entertainment that we crave is being concentrated in fewer and fewer hands each year.

The six corporations thatcollectively controlU.S. media today are Time Warner, Walt Disney, Viacom, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., CBS Corporation and NBC Universal. Together, the "big six"absolutely dominate news and entertainment in the United States. But even those areas of the mediathat the "big six" do not completely controlare becoming increasingly concentrated.For example, Clear Channel now owns over 1000 radio stations across the United States. Companies like Google, Yahooand Microsoft are increasingly dominating the Internet.

But it is the "big six" that are the biggest concerns. When you control what Americans watch, hear and read you gain a great deal of control over what they think. They don't call it "programming" for nothing.

Back in 1983 it was bad enough that about 50 corporations dominated U.S. media. But since that time, power over the media has rapidly become concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer people....

In 1983, fifty corporations dominated most of every mass medium and the biggest media merger in history was a $340 million deal. [I]n 1987, the fifty companies had shrunk to twenty-nine. [I]n 1990, the twenty-nine had shrunk to twenty three. [I]n 1997, the biggest firms numbered ten and involved the $19 billion Disney-ABC deal, at the time the biggest media merger ever. [In 2000] AOL Time Warners $350 billion merged corporation [was] more than 1,000 times larger [than the biggest deal of 1983].

--Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, Sixth Edition, (Beacon Press, 2000), pp. xxxxi

Today, six colossal media giants tower over all the rest. Much of the information in the chart below comes from mediaowners.com. The chart below reveals only a small fraction of the media outlets that these six behemoths actually own....

Time Warner

Home Box Office (HBO) Time Inc. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. CW Network (partial ownership) TMZ New Line Cinema Time Warner Cable Cinemax Cartoon Network TBS TNT America Online MapQuest Moviefone Castle Rock Sports Illustrated Fortune Marie Claire People Magazine

Walt Disney

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Who Owns The Media? The 6 Monolithic Corporations That Control ...

By Geena MartinezNewsWest 9

ODESSA - 2013 was a busy year for Odessa Animal Control and it didn't come without controversy.

The city service has been criticized on social media for how they operate. In the day and age of social media, issues can spread like wildfire, but when it comes to theOdessa Animal Control, officials are saying not so fast.

"A lot of the misconceptions that've been coming from Facebook simply aren't true," Cpl. Steve LeSueur, with the Odessa Police Department, said.

Recently, Animal Control has been getting a bad rap online about how the service operates and the number of dogs that are put down.

But Lt. Jerry Harvell says animal control is just that; animal control, meaning they're not only working with domestic cats and dogs.

"That's from snakes, coyotes, feral cats, feral dogs that run in packs, bobcats," Harvell said.

In 2013, animal control officers responded to more than 12,000 calls in the city and county. Nearly 6,000 animals were put down.

"Most of these animals that are brought in are either determined to be aggressive, they're sick, they're injured or they're wild," LeSueursaid.

We're told nearly 400 of the animals euthanized in 2013 were cleared for adoption but there's just not enough space at the shelter.

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Odessa Animal Control Speaking Out After Online Scrutiny

Liberty Media Corp. ( LMCA ) recently expressed its desire to take full control of SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. ( SIRI ), the largest satellite radio entertainment provider in the U.S. At present, Liberty media holds approximately 53% of SIRIUS XM. The new proposal will give Liberty Media a 100% stake and consequently SIRIUS XM will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the former.

Per the deal, in a tax-free transaction, each share of SIRIUS XM will be converted into 0.076 shares of a new issue of Liberty Media Series C common stock. The existing Series A and Series B shareholders of Liberty Media will get 2 shares in the Series C stocks for each share they possess.

After the completion of the whole transaction, the existing minority shareholders (excluding Liberty Media) of SIRIUS XM will control approximately 39% of Liberty Media. The deal is subject to the approval of a special committee of independent directors and public stockholders of SIRIUS XM, other than Liberty Media.

The decision to acquire a 100% ownership in SIRIUS XM is viewed as Liberty Media's attempt to consolidate its position in the U.S. cable TV industry. The company currently controls a 27.3% stake in Charter Communications Inc. ( CHTR ), the fourth largest pay-TV operator in the U.S.

Liberty Media is aggressively pursuing an idea so that Charter Communications can acquire Time Warner Cable Inc. ( TWC ), the second largest cable MSO (multi service operator) in the U.S. However, Charter needs to raise at least $25 billion for this takeover, which will significantly leverage the company's balance sheet. In that case, Liberty Media may need to inject funds for Charter Communications.

A full control of SIRIUS XM will immediately raise Liberty Media's market capitalization to approximately $27 billion from the current level of about $16 billion. Similarly, annual EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) of Liberty Media will jump from $1.4 billion to around $2.6 billion. Liberty Media will also gain approximately $625 million of annual free cash flow of SIRIUS XM.

Currently, both Liberty Media and Charter Communications carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) while both SIRIUS XM and Time Warner Cable carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

CHARTER COMM-A (CHTR): Free Stock Analysis Report

LIBERTY MEDIA-A (LMCA): Free Stock Analysis Report

SIRIUS XM HLDGS (SIRI): Free Stock Analysis Report

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Liberty Media to Fully Control SIRIUS XM - Analyst Blog

SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Universal Electronics Inc. (UEI) (Nasdaq:UEIC) today announced the latest release of its industry-leading universal setup and control SDK, UEI QuickSet. UEI QuickSet 2.4 follows up on the success of the original UEI platform that is currently deployed in over 70 million devices around the world including set-top boxes, connected TVs, media devices, game consoles, smartphones, and tablets.

With millions of connected devices already deployed, UEI QuickSet 2.4 delivers the simplest and most intuitive universal remote control setup and control experience available today. This technology enables an AV device remote control to be set up and programmed to control virtually any television or entertainment device in the home, with minimal or no user input.

With millions of new devices entering the digital living room, all vying to deliver entertainment content to consumers worldwide, the need for a universal control interface has become a priority for device manufacturers, content providers, and mobile platforms.

UEI QuickSet 2.4 delivers a universal setup and control experience that is unmatched in the industry. It includes features such as:

UEI QuickSet is currently deployed on a variety of platforms and operating systems including Linux, Windows, Android and iOS; supports embedded applications that have built-in IR blasters; devices that support two-way RF communication with remote IR blasters, such as connected bridges; and remote controls with built-in RF.

UEIs device code database is the industrys leading device database for universal entertainment control, giving users access to literally hundreds of thousands of control functions for virtually all digital entertainment electronics devices in the world. With well over 98 percent of installed TVs in the market supported, users across the globe will benefit from UEI QuickSets ability to deliver the right control code for their specific digital entertainment device.

Licensees of UEI QuickSet include leading cable and satellite service provides such as DIRECTV and Echostar Technologies, as well as leading brands in the gaming industry, such as Nintendo on their WiiU platform, and more recently, Microsoft on their groundbreaking Xbox One gaming system.

Video game consoles are fast becoming key platforms for delivering home entertainment, with features beyond gaming including video playback, over-the-top content, and social media connections. According to Neilson Research, half of the latest models of gaming systems (known as 7th Generation Consoles) are now located in the primary living/family room, making them an essential part of the home theater experience.

With UEI QuickSet, Microsofts Xbox One can deliver a seamless universal control experience using voice commands to control functions like powering on the TV and set-top box, controlling volume during gameplay and TV watching, as well as providing set-top box control of DVR and channel tuning.

Xbox One is a truly unique console concept, and UEI is proud to be an integral part of Microsofts latest platform, says Paul Arling, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for UEI. As the convergence of gaming and multimedia entertainment continues, UEI remains at the forefront of providing consumers with the underlying technology needed to ensure the best possible control experience. Our extensive device control code library combined with the ease of setup of UEI QuickSet continues to be one of our most important competitive differentiators.

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Universal Electronics Releases UEI QuickSet 2.4 Bringing Next Level of Automation to Universal AV Setup and Control ...

New York, New York (PRWEB) January 07, 2014

Social Assurity, the leader in helping students effectively manage their social media profiles for college and career, announced today the launch of a new set of personalized services enabling students to take control of and enhance their digital identities.

The newly launched Signature Series offers students a choice of services for managing their digital presence. Designed to build an authentic and optimized online identity, these services will increase students chances of gaining acceptance to the most competitive colleges and landing the best jobs.

Beginning with the social media Personal Assessment, an essential first step towards controlling ones social media identity, Social Assurity offers a gradated range of service options including investigative research and analysis, one-on-one consultations, reparation advice, customized optimization services, and on-going social media monitoring and management. The new flagship Elite Service incorporates all of these options into a complete end-to-end concierge management system.

Our new social media personal assessment provides teens, high school and college students an advantageous low cost option to receive immediate feedback on the current state of their social media presence, states Alan Katzman, founding member of Social Assurity. What surprises many students is discovering how far removed their social media holograph is from the person they genuinely are and how they want to appear to others. Our goal is to elevate the voice of our clients beyond all of the adolescent chatter.

Since its inception, Social Assurity has been recognized as a thought leader in the discussion on how social media is impacting college admissions and employment decisions. Social Assurity was the first to raise students' awareness of the implications of using Twitter and other native social media messaging platforms to communicate with colleges and businesses and by advising college and job applicants to bolster and augment their social media persona instead of hiding it.

"Given the large number of applicants to the most competitive colleges and jobs, it is imperative that serious applicants look at their digital presence as an asset and a natural extension of their college applications and professional resumes in order to set themselves apart from other qualified candidates," states Katzman. "Our mission is to help students achieve the optimum results while developing an impressive social media presence for their advantage."

Link:
Harnessing the Power of Social Media for College and Career