Monopolies, Mickey Mouse, and Maximum Ride

    In Journalism I class today, we continued a discussion on binary models in mass media. We went a little bit more in depth into the content-distribution model, the information-entertaiment model and the horizontal/vertical monopoly model. However, what really caught my attention in our discussion of these topics was conglomeration (when one larger thing absorbs a plethora of smaller things). Mr. Miller had a map that connected larger companies to smaller, yet still popular and important, companies that they owned. Apparently, Disney owns ESPN and ABC, while Time Warner is in charge of Cartoon Network, Cinemax, and a sizable amount of other assets that I had never even heard of until today. I interact with these programs and overhear conversations my peers are engaging in about them, yet I still didn't know who owned them until this lecture! Also unbeknownst to me was the fact that Disney can shut down or take control of any business who is flaunting their copyrighted characters for publicity, even if it is just this old, rundown daycare in the West End (or my little sisters' pediatrician who happens to LOVE disney decal in her office waiting rooms...watch out, doctor!).
   What really struck me as interesting, though, was Mr. Miller's analogy to the ocean. He explained how all of these larger companies are like great white sharks. They each have loads of cash that they can use at their disposal, powerful monopolies, and audience admiration. They won't attack each other, but they will attack smaller businesses (or the smaller "fish") that attempt to overtake them using some new software or providing a similar item of better quality. They have the power to overtake and destroy these small businesses, that being said if the owners do not accept their extremely generous offers first.
      All of this got me thinking. It reminded me of the Maximum Ride book series by James Patterson. In it, one company called Itex takes over the majority of the world's manufacturing companies. They distribute all items from diapers to microwaveable pizzas to books and DVDs. It's a long story, but the shortest version is that they try to take over the world using these smaller businesses. This scared me when I first read it a few years back, but now it causes me to think more about today's society. Is this what is destined to happen? Will Disney buy out every company on the face of this earth, including its fellow white shark businesses, and take over the world? Will Amazon do it? Will Time Warner do it? Is it even a possibility? These are all questions that were stirred by such an interesting lecture, guided by one map hanging over Mr. Miller's door. To answer my own questions, I believe that for the time being, it is not possible that one company will dominate the majority of the world's manufacturing companies. In the future, I see small possibilities sprinkled here and there, but I don't see any plans for world domination. Maximum Ride did deal with evil corporate scientists who I do not depict in a high standing position of a large company like Itex. So, until they come along, we should be safe (I hope).