Media proprietor
A
media proprietor is a person who controls, either through personal ownership or a dominant position in a
public company, a significant part of the
mass media. Media proprietors are commonly called "media
moguls", "
tycoons", "
barons", or "bosses".
The figure of the media proprietor first became prominent in the 19th century with the development of mass circulation newspapers. In
United Kingdom they included
Lord Northcliffe,
Lord Rothermere and
Lord Beaverbrook, and were known as "press barons" since most of them were given
peerages. In the
United States the best known press tycoon was
William Randolph Hearst.
In the 20th century the definition of proprietorship expanded to include ownership of
radio and
television networks, as well as film studios, publishing houses and more recently
internet and other forms of
multimedia companies. The term "press" baron was replaced by "
media" baron, reflecting this. Some of the most prominent media proprietors of recent decades have been
Rupert Murdoch,
Robert Maxwell,
Conrad Black,
Silvio Berlusconi,
Axel Springer and
Ted Turner.
Media proprietors are frequently accused of using their positions to further political agendas, and some of them have in fact done so. The British press barons exercised personal control over their papers and used them to wage political campaigns, usually though not always in the interests of the
Conservative Party. British Prime Minister
Stanley Baldwin once accused the London press of "exercising the prerogative of the harlot through the ages: power without responsibility." In recent years Rupert Murdoch has been frequently accused of abusing his media power to support such politicians as
Ronald Reagan,
Margaret Thatcher,
John Howard and
George W. Bush. In
Italy Silvio Berlusconi used his almost total control of the country's commercial television system to make himself Prime Minister. In the United States, most
media conglomerates are accused of being
left-wing biased, while
News Corporation through its cable network
Fox News is accused of being
right-wing biased.
*
Emilio Azcárraga,
Grupo Televisa*
Bill Bresnan*
Silvio Berlusconi,
Fininvest,
Mediaset*
W. Jeffrey Brown,
All Headline News,
AHN Media Corp*
Edgar Bronfman, Jr.,
Warner Music*
Serge Dassault,
Dassault Group*
Jesús de Polanco,
PRISA,
Sogecable*
Richard Desmond,
Northern and Shell,
Express Newspapers*
Barry Diller,
IAC/InterActiveCorp CEO
*
Michael Eisner,
Walt Disney Company Chairman
*
William Randolph Hearst, newspaperman
*
Robert Hersant, newspaperman
*
Samir Jain &
Vineet Jain of
The Times Group*
Silvio Santos,
SBT*
Roberto Marinho,
Rede Globo*
Leo Kirch, of
KirchMedia*
Jean-Luc and his son
Arnaud Lagardère,
Lagardère Group*
John Malone of
Liberty Media*
Victor Collin Matthews, Baron Matthews*
Jean-Marie Messier, former head of
Vivendi Universal*
Robert Maxwell, politician and newspaperman
*
Thomas Middelhoff of
Bertelsmann*
Rupert Murdoch of
News Corporation*
Tony O'Reilly,
Independent News & Media Group*
Kerry Packer and his son
James Packer of
Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL)*
Generoso Pope Jr., founder of
The National Enquirer &
American Media, Inc.*
Sumner Redstone,
Viacom Chief
*
Axel Springer, of
Axel-Springer-Verlag*
Howard Stern, of
Sirius Satellite Radio and On Demand Television
*
Martha Stewart, of
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia*
Ted Turner, former
Time Warner Vice President
*
Oprah Winfrey of
Harpo Studios*
Citizen Kane*
Media conglomerate*
:Category:Mass media owners*
:Category:Newspaper publishers*
:Category:Magazine publishers
