American Media Concentration Trends in Global Context: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract:     
This paper would report the conclusion of a multi-year, 30-country project on media concentration around the world. Authors in these countries have followed a common methodology and developed extensive analyses of their countries, for 13 media/telecom/internet industries. This was unprecedented for many countries on their own, let alone for a global comparative study. We now have both horizontal cross-country observations as well as vertical time series, with company-specific market shares and revenue figures, cross-media ownership, cross-border ownership, and state ownership. In the process, we have developed an extensive data base ready for exploration.

In the past, I have provided intermediate results. We are soon able to report findings and conclusions.

Choosing among the many results, I propose to focus on the relative trends of the U.S. and contrasting it with the trends of the other countries. This will enable us to identify where the U.S. developments follow general trends, thus less likely to be containable by government policies, and where the U.S. is moving differently. I will analyze econometrically various explanatory variables. This will assist in identifying policy directions that might be effective. I will also be able to analyze the trends in cross-border ownerships, overall national concentrations (using a new type of aggregate index), and several other issues.

Keywords: mass media, media concentration, international media

working papers series