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In the contemporary world, every business is going global. The world of media is no exception to this phenomenon. The media companies are gradually but steadily transforming from the traditional regional affairs to the international scene (Cook 2006). Gone are the days when the only international media companies were a handful. Currently there are tens of the same. Globalizing the media business has come with quite a number of effects both to the news observers and the owners of the media companies. The effects and influences of the globalization of the media houses are fundamentally felt in all spheres of life. However, it is not the easiest thing trying to estimate the extent to which the global companies impact on the content that reaches the final consumer. The development of global media companies has numerous effects on the way in which news reporting is carried out. This paper seeks to elucidate the diverse ways in which the development of global media companies makes news reporting more homogeneous.
Before we look at how development of media corporations brings about homogeneity, it is important to have a clear picture of what homogeneity really is. Homogeneity is a state of extreme similarity between two or more objects (Cook 2006). Saying that items A and B are homogeneous, means that the two items have identical properties, and any person ready to choose an item A, can possibly select item B without expecting any difficulties at all. One of the major functions of the media corporations is to inform the world on the current happenings and events that affect the lives of the human race. Such information in most cases relates to economic issues, social aspects of life, politics, sports and games as well as the various unforeseen disturbance4s such as earthquakes and floods. This information is usually current in nature and is collectively referred to as news.
The development of international media corporations has made news reporting more homogeneous than it was when the companies were operating regionally. The homogeneity that global media corporations have brought can be seen in the way in which the media houses put across the information to the general public (Machin & Leeuwen 2004). Looking at the major media companies that are ruling the international market such as CNN and BBC, the manner in which news reporting is done is to a great degree identical. For instance, the news reporting is made of the same components. Both media houses have a news bulletin consisting of political news across the world, sports news relating to the international scene as well as such unforeseen natural phenomena as droughts and hurricanes. The world of news reporting is in such a way that the content of the bulletin of one media house is almost identical with the one carried out by another.
Another issue that is the centre of the homogeneity in news reporting by the various global media companies is the technology used. The global media corporations are currently rapidly embracing the technology developed by the telecommunications engineers nurtured in today’s global universities and other institutions of higher learning (Machin & Leeuwen 2004). The technology adopted by the various houses is state-of-the art technology. Adoption of such technology by one media house leads to popularity in the same among other companies. This can be attributed to the fact that all media corporations need to match up with the competition. The end result is that the global media corporations use the same technology. Consequently, the media reporting becomes similar. A very good example illustrating this is the current popularity of the iPad technology. It has become a common feature in the news reporting of the various companies.
One other factor contributing to such homogeneity is the reliance on the social media. Currently, all the major media companies that operate globally have fully updated profiles and fan pages in the major social networks (Machin & Leeuwen 2004). The media companies, for instance BBC, CNN, and Al Jazeera all have a page on twitter. These pages are updated in real time in such a way that any new occurrence taking place is made known to the users of such sites. The reliance that the media companies have placed on such social sites makes it possible for one media house to learn the latest events from information posted by another. As such they end up passing the same information using different words and phrases. At the end of the day, the news reported to the public is homogeneous.
Competition is an inherent part of any type of business. The media industry is no exception to the stiff competition. The competition among companies causes them to look for various ways in which they can differentiate their services (Cook 2006). They hence scout for the best news reporters and news anchors. This results in a phenomenon known as professional poaching. This is a process where a competing company acquires the human resources of its competitor usually with the promise of better terms of employment. This means that they poached anchors bring in to the poaching company the practices of the corporation from which they were poached. This means that they will make the reporting of news appear exactly as that of their former employers. This enhances the homogeneity in news reporting by the global media companies. It is however worth noting that much as the global media corporations may appear homogeneous in many aspects, they can be differentiated by their efforts to gain competitive advantage in the industry.
Reference List
Cook, T. E. 2006. The News Media as a Political Institution: Looking Backward and Looking Forward. Political Communication. Vol. 23 Issue 2, P159-171.
Machin, D., & Leeuwen, T. 2004. Global Media: Generic Homogeneity and Discursive Diversity. Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies. Vol. 18 Issue 1, P99-120.
