In America, especially during the course of the most recent election, people often hear of the menacing “mainstream media” and the corruption and bias they interject into their daily narratives. However, though it is fairly well known that money has a direct influence in the media, many Americans do not realize to what extent this plays a role in their perception of world issues.

The mainstream media consists of major media organizations such as CNN, FOX News, NBC and others of that nature. These organizations usually have strong party affiliations and are funded by large companies. In fact, six corporations fund and therefore control 90 percent of the media. These companies are Disney, Viacom, CBS, Time Warner, ComCast and NewsCorp, which own the media outlets mentioned earlier. 

The lead producer of social rights media organization Zainab Rights Masuma Somji, junior, said, “Working in the media, I know how important money is to a news organization. It fuels the publication and allows them to continue running. Unfortunately, this always comes at a price and that price is often pushing certain agendas. People should be conscious of this when reading or listening to the news and verify it with multiple sources to stay as informed as possible.”

In addition to this, the media operates on a hierarchy which allows for certain narratives to be published over others. This begins with the reporter, who has little to no say in the content they are allowed to publish because it complies with the beliefs of the news organization itself. This is because the news organization complies with the agendas being pushed by the next, more powerful layer of this hierarchy － the companies that provide them with financial backing.

However, the most influential part and the one that most directly influences the narratives that can be shown to the public is the foreign powers that large corporations, such as the “Big Six,” have financial ties to.

An example of this is the country of Israel, which has economically crucial connections to the United States government. All of the six media-owning corporations mentioned earlier are headed by prominent Jewish families within the United States and have offices in Israel, giving the country a certain level of control over the news the American public is exposed to. For instance, the Palestinian side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is highly underreported because of these connections despite the suffering of both sides of the issue.

While the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not necessarily an issue that pertains to Floridian high school students, inadequacies within the media have a major effect on the way an individual perceives the world. In the instance of Hurricane Matthew, Florida received 24/7 prime time coverage on all national news stations both before and after the storm had passed, despite being relatively unaffected. Meanwhile, as Florida received full coverage after being well outside of immediate danger, Haiti had been devastated to the level it had been during the earthquake in 2010.

Haiti could barely manage a 5-minute segment on national news despite still not fully recovering from their last tragedy. This negligence in the media not only showed this country’s lack of concern for events that do not concern it directly but also failed to broadcast a country’s suffering to the people who actually have the power to help it.

Junior and journalism student, Maheen Ismail said, “I would advise people to try to stray away from mainstream media sources for their main source of news and read from more independent organizations. While there is bias in all media, smaller organizations are less influenced by money and are therefore more trustworthy.”

With every story on mainstream media, it is important to remember that there is always an underlying bias present. The influence of money in the media allows for inadequacies to slip in and obstructs the truth from the public.