Famous Media Critic Slams Mainstream Media as Right Wing Terrorism

Ben Bagdikian is a staunch media critic who studied 20^th Century media and its influence on the public. His research work is mostly qualitative and structured through the lens of the functionalist theory. Bagdikian uses these theories and his research as ammo for his scathing criticisms in books such as The Media Monopoly, where he takes shots at conservative corporate media concentration and cultural hegemony, which he claims are a threat to the health of American democracy.

Bagdikian, whose main period of study is the late twentieth century, uses qualitative research to study media ownership and its effect on content. Most of his research work is anecdotal with very little structured analysis. His main focus is on how corporate media ownership negatively affects content. Although he has received some criticism for his lack of structured analysis, he claims that the process of journalism and the psychological and sociological aspects involved in the inner workings of a news organization are so complex that it is virtually impossible to accurately analyze the issue other than by relying on individual accounts and anecdotal evidence. (Mayor, 2005).

Typically, he will compare media content to what the media companies advertisers are selling to try and show how reporting is more concerned with advertiser interests than informing the public of information they need to now. In an interview with PBS, he claimed that ads accompanied by serious news do not have a lot of impact. In order to sell, they have to be accompanied by soft entertainment features. (PBS.org)

Often times, his focus is not on what the media is reporting, but what they are not reporting. For example, he has examined media content in the business sections of major city dailies to find that most of the content focuses on information to help investors and bankers, with little or no financial advice or employment information to help the average consumer. He also highlights how corporate advertising of sugary drinks and fashion has dominated child oriented television to the exclusion of educational programming.