Do you know ABC or CNN?

How well do you know where your television programming comes from?

Let's investigate the ownership of these two popular news outlets and possible bias resulting from their media ownership companies.




 ABC News is the news division of the American Broadcasting Company, which is owned by the Disney Media Networks division of the Walt Disney Company. The Walt Disney Company is a media conglomerate. In addition to ABC-owned television stations, The Walt Disney Company also owns a number of other major media outlets including ESPN, The History Channel, and of course, their namesake Disney Channel. The Walt Disney Company holds an enormous position in film and theater, music, television, and radio. Besides owning media platforms, The Walt Disney Company has a number of other ventures ranging from parks and resorts to consumer products. The Walt Disney Company operates through primary four business segments: The Walt Disney Studios, Parks and Resorts, Media Networks, and Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media. From the Walt Disney Company’s ownership of ABC News, there is often a bias on ABC News to promote the Disney brand. Actual news that should be reported on is left out of the spotlight in favor of spreading publicity for other enterprises of the Walt Disney Company.

CNN is another news source that I consult frequently. The Cable News Network (CNN) is owned by the Turner Broadcasting System, which is a division of Time Warner Inc. Time Warner is a media conglomerate. Through its subsidiary Turner Broadcasting, the company runs a portfolio of popular cable TV networks including CNN, TBS, and TNT.  Time Warner Inc. also holds divisions in Internet, publishing, film, and telecommunications. Time Warner has operations running from film studios such as Warner Brothers Entertainment to comic book publisher DC Entertainment. Furthermore, the company operates the popular pay-TV channels HBO and Cinemax.  I found that CNN also has a bias because CNN promotes in-house brands. CNN.com covers news that promotes other Time Warner operations such as the Conan show on TBS.

 The intended audience for both ABC News and CNN is the general American public. The news on both of these news outlets is intended to inform the ordinary people about events happening around them and in the world. Both ABC News and CNN News can be understood by people of all ages, from young to old. I do fit into the intended audience because I am someone in America who wishes to learn more about the news and interesting events happening around me. One potential bias that arises from the news sources’ intended audience is that these news outlets do not stray from the popular opinion. The ABC News and CNN rarely portray an unpopular or unfamiliar viewpoint to its viewers. I have encountered an example of the potential bias in the news source’s reporting.

I believe that there is a conflict of interest on ABC News. Because ABC News is owned by Walt Disney Company, the television shows that are broadcast on ABC News such as Good Morning America often endorses the celebrities seen on the Disney Channel. By having the celebrities shown on ABC news, the celebrities and the Disney show reaches a wider and older audience than the Disney Channel. The Walt Disney Company is helping spread the popularity of their other ventures through ABC.