American media consolidation
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American media consolidation is John Kiriakou's explanation for the uniformity of American news, and one he keeps separate from his claims about CIA influence on the press.

The count

"Essentially the entire American media is run by six corporations or oligarchs. Now it's going to be five." The reduction he was referring to was the contested sale of Warner Brothers, the parent of CNN.

Why owners want more of it

Asked why the buyers needed still more control when, in the interviewer's framing, the networks had long been available to the agency anyway, Kiriakou allowed that coverage of Gaza was probably part of it but put the main weight elsewhere: "I think the real reason is a little bit more crass, and that is just billions and billions of dollars in profits."

The consequence

The effect he describes is not censorship but the absence of an alternative anyone reaches for. "The only place you can go is independent media. But so few Americans have the time or the inclination to seek out independent media. They just sit in front of the television, turn on CNN or MSNBC, now it's called MS Now, or Fox News, and they think they're being educated. In fact, they're not. They're being propagandized."

See also

- CIA media relations
- The CIA and Hollywood
- Operation Mockingbird
