After a decade of strategic mergers, impulsive couplings and messy divorces--the birth of new media--this chart shows that national media landscape still bears the oversized footprints of a handful of giant corporations.
The NationWhere do Americans get their news and who controls what they consume? Ten years ago, when The Nation first charted a map of the National Entertainment State, four colossal conglomerates spread across the media landscape. Today, that map has significantly changed, because of the rise of new media and a vigorous reform movement, but the old corporate giants still hold most of the cards. Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft are quickly rising, but are not included in this chart because they do not own–not yet, anyway–the major television networks, which remain Americans’ #1 source of news.
Illustration by Peter Ahlberg. Research: Emily Biuso, Sarah Goldstein.
Download a PDF of the 2006 National Entertainment State Chart.
The NationTwitterFounded by abolitionists in 1865, The Nation has chronicled the breadth and depth of political and cultural life, from the debut of the telegraph to the rise of Twitter, serving as a critical, independent, and progressive voice in American journalism.