Corporate Control

One thing that we discussed in class that has really changed the way I consume media is the topic of corporate control. The same eight(ish) companies own just about everything we hear, see, and read, whether on the radio, television, newspapers, or on the Internet. We've discussed this topic in some of my telecommunications classes as well, and to be completely honest it disheartens me a bit. The passing of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 gave these corporations the power to monopolize the media. The mad dash for control left the media in an oligopoly with only a handful of companies owning the outlets. What we as the general public is the select hegemonic viewpoints being blasted at us from all around. Creativity is replaced with capitalism. Programs aren't put on air based on what their ideals are, rather programs are put on because they will make money. No one cares about anything unless they can suck a profit out of it.
It saddens me that as a whole we're okay with this. When i bring up media ownership around my family or some of my peers I'm left with blank stares. Whether they aren't understanding the severity of what I'm saying, they don't understand, of if they just don't care, I'm not quite sure.
The fact that my scriptwriting and my creative writing professors are trying to train me to write what is popular and what is successful rather than just working on teaching me how to create sickens me as well. People talk about how they hate government control so much, but the media has become it's own government, and the only way to be a part of it's dictatorship is to buy yourself in.