As McChesney argues throughout this book, the corporate control of our media outlets has a substantial impact on the content that the public is exposed to. In general, I agree with McChesney on this point. I also agree that corporate control of media is just as dangerous online. However, there are fundamental differences in the two forms of media. Online content is both easier to produce and available to a wider audience. More importantly, there are relatively few barriers to entry into the online media market.
Indeed, corporate media has a large presence on the web, and there is pressure for more independent media organizations to monetize their content. However, there are plenty of “news” organizations that are holding their own without backing from corporations. Funded from private donations, websites such as Wikileaks.org and Truthdig.com are attracting a large volume of visitors, and are producing content that would never be posted by corporate media. In my opinion, the wild and unregulated nature of the Internet serves the democratic purpose of media.
What makes an online source credible?
What can we do to encourage the public to seek media that is not controlled by corporate interests?
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