Problems of Media Concentration

Media concentration can occur in a variety of ways and for different reasons. Companies can integrate horizontally and vertically or through product diversification and internationalization. Often media concentration is considered to have a detrimental effect upon democratic systems, which vitally depend on a diverse media system, that reflects the whole variety of ideas, viewpoints and opinions that exist in a society and represents a wide range of political and cultural societal groups.

A concentrated media market might not only have a disadvantageous impact upon pluralism and allow media owners a heightened influence on public opinion, but can also enable the large market players to close the market to new entrants, independent producers, or drive out weaker competitors. In this case the result may be a market monopoly or oligopoly, which besides being considered counter-competitive in the media market also produces social costs.

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History: "Indigenous Tradition"

In preliterate societies the association of rhythmic or repetitively patterned utterances with supernatural knowledge endures well into historic times. Knowledge is passed from one generation to another. Similar as in the Southern tradition intellectual property rights are rooted in a concept of 'collective' or 'communal' intellectual property existing in perpetuity and not limited to the life of an individual creator plus some number of years after his or her death. Often rights are exercised by only one individual in each generation, often through matrilineal descent.


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Neighboring rights

Copyright laws generally provide for three kinds of neighboring rights: 1) the rights of performing artists in their performances, 2) the rights of producers of phonograms in their phonograms, and 3) the rights of broadcasting organizations in their radio and television programs. Neighboring rights attempt to protect those who assist intellectual creators to communicate their message and to disseminate their works to the public at large.

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