Corporate Power

The chapter for this week focused on Corporate Power and how it shapes the media to how the environment is perceived. The ability for average citizens to get unbiased news is become more and more apparent. We have to question every form of media because it is ultimately serving the views of a transnational corporation. For instance, Fox News is an incredible republican news channel. In all of their programs there are more representatives from the Republican Party compared to the Democratic Party. It is difficult for average Americans to understand all sides when their news program is clearly one sided. It is up to the citizen to search for this “unbiased news” however on the most part this will not occur. The film “Manufacturing Consent” reemphasized how the media is controlled through political institutions and elites, it is these groups that ultimately make drastic decision in society. I enjoyed how the article and film incorporated the propaganda model such as the New York Times that create history rather than transmit it.

Multinationals are only concerned with their own profit margins; concern with the environment is their last worry. Corporation’s ability to be “natural persons” allows them to take control and be unaccountable to the environment. An example of this is in the Mexican maquiladoras. Companies have continually degraded their surroundings in addition to poor treatment of the workers. Once the cheapest labor is no longer available they search for it in other countries.

I thought the presentation done by Adam and Tasha thoroughly explained the significance of the corporation and the lack of its accountability towards environmental efforts. The article and the videos they chose well represented the media and the perceptions of the environment it creates along with the significance of the corporation within this. Overall, the corporation will continue to have its influence in society and the media. As citizens we need to position ourselves to educate beyond the media and to see the issues from our own perspectives.