| Since the extensive de-regulation of media ownership in the 1980s, media corporations have combined to form giant conglomerates, the arms of which extend across all forms of media, and frequently into non-media enterprises. The trend toward increased conglomeration within these industries is indisputable, but the results of conglomeration on media content are still hotly debated. Many scholars argue that conglomeration leads to changes in content, particularly in the practice of using conglomerate-owned properties to promote other conglomerate-owned properties---an exercise known as cross-promotion. Given the economic and political reach of media conglomerates within contemporary society, understanding the decision-making processes within these institutions is essential. This project seeks to develop a clearer understanding of the logics of media conglomeration, and its fundamental motive of synergy by interrogating the most common evidence of synergistic efforts: cross-promotion.;This dissertation offers institutional analysis of media conglomerates and content analysis of specific instances of cross-promotion along with interviews with industry professionals to develop a clearer picture of the logics currently at work within the culture industries. The resulting project demonstrates that these logics are far less simple and totalizing than previously believed, as these are vast and complex industries, populated with thousands of individuals all working toward multiple (and often disparate) goals simultaneously---sometimes economic, sometimes political, sometimes creative, and often a delicate balance of all three.;The project highlights the specific strategies used in deploying cross-promotion, and indicates the way media companies balance their commercial and creative imperatives. Deeper knowledge about these industry operations can help scholars better determine whether conglomeration is something to be embraced or feared. Ultimately, the project reveals that although synergy continues to be a prime motivating factor in consolidating media ownership, and although that consolidation does pose a potential threat to the ideal free and open media marketplace, the effects on content are dictated less by corporate command intended to directly maximize the value and thus power of the parent company, and more by what is most advantageous for discrete media texts and producers. |
