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A media proprietor, media mogul or media tycoon refers to an entrepreneur who controls, through personal ownership or via a dominant position in any media-related company or enterprise, media consumed by many individuals. Those with significant control, ownership, and influence of a large company in the mass media may also be called a tycoon, baron, or business magnate. Social media creators and founders can also be considered media proprietors.

History

In the United States, newspaper proprietors first became prominent in the 19th century with the development of mass circulation newspapers. In the 20th century, proprietorship expanded to include ownership of radio and television networks, as well as film studios, publishing houses, and more recently internet and other forms of multimedia companies. Reflecting this, the term "press baron" was replaced by "media baron", and the term "media mogul" (or "Hollywood mogul" when applied to people specifically working in the motion picture industry, having actually spawned a similarly named computer game) was popularized in colloquial English.

Media proprietors often claim that their publications are editorially independent, but this is questioned.[1]

Social networking services such as Facebook are sometimes considered media companies, due to their influence.[2] Media and technology play a significant role in mass-media production.

Notable media proprietors

This list has no precise inclusion criteria as described in the Manual of Style for standalone lists. Please improve this article by adding inclusion criteria, or discuss this issue on the talk page. (June 2022)

References

  1. ^ Hanretty, Chris (27 March 2014). "Media outlets and their moguls: Why concentrated individual or family ownership is bad for editorial independence". European Journal of Communication. 29 (3): 335–350. doi:10.1177/0267323114523150. ISSN 0267-3231. S2CID 53710900. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Mark Zuckerberg appears to finally admit Facebook is a media company". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2018.((cite news)): CS1 maint: url-status (link)