Mass media

:For other uses of the term "Media", see media (disambiguation).

History

During the 20th century, the advent of mass media was driven by technology that allowed the massive duplication of material at a low price. Physical duplication technologies such as printing, record pressing and film duplication allowed the duplication of books, newspapers and movies at low prices to huge audiences. Television and radio allowed the electronic duplication of content for the first time.

Related Topics:
20th century - Technology - Printing - Record pressing - Film duplication - Television - Radio

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Mass media had the economics of linear replication: a single work could make money proportional to the number of copies sold, and as volumes went up, units costs went down, increasing profit margins further. Vast fortunes were to be made in mass media.

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In a democratic society, an independent media serves to educate the public/electorate about issues regarding government and corporate entities (see Mass media and public opinion). Some consider concentration of media ownership to be the single greatest threat to democracy.

Related Topics:
Mass media and public opinion - Concentration of media ownership

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Sometimes mass media is referred to either as "corporate media" or as the "mainstream media," and abbreviated as "MSM".

Related Topics:
Corporate media - MSM

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Especially in the United States, usage of these terms often depends on the connotations the speaker wants to invoke. The term "corporate media" is rather used by leftist media critics to imply that the mainstream media is manipulated by large multinational corporations. This is countered by right-leaning authors with the term "MSM", the acronym implying that the majority of mass media sources is dominated by leftist powers which are furthering their own agenda (see Conspiracy theory, Media bias in the United States).

Related Topics:
Leftist - Conspiracy theory - Media bias in the United States

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