Week 1: Assignment and Response to Classmates

ThursdayOct 5 at 6:46pm

Manage Discussion Entry

On April 3rd, 2016 a front-page article in the Orange County Register stated that the owner of, my local County paper changed to Digital First Media. Ron Hasse, President, Southern California News Group, addressed the public ensuring the tradition of the paper would remain.

Hasse claimed, “This will not change with the Register, which will maintain its brand, unique voice and editorial perspective and, of course, its commitment to local journalism.” He also noted that “With the addition of the Register and The Press-Enterprise, our Southern California News Group now owns 11 daily newspapers and associated websites. Our publications may share a parent, but they are all distinct and unique.”

Upon further research, I found that Digital First Media is a privately owned company and has only non-governmental shareholders. On their webpage, it states that they are “People first” and “pride ourselves on sharing engaging stories that inform, inspire, and connect with readers across a diverse collection of trusted local media brands.” While in an article titled MEDIA A Litmus test for freedom states, “The government's track record on media reform, however, leaves western observers sceptical about the chances of early changes in the structure of the electronic media.”

Since there are no other non-media connections that I was able to find, it seems as though the Orange County Register stays true the pure essence of the public's right to know by presenting news that is both fair and balanced. As the text states, “The major political problems in the private sector are concentration of ownership of media in the hands of large business conglomerates and concentrated control over the production of news and entertainment programs” (Functions of Mass Media, 2015).

-Mallory Murray

References

Done, K., & Manasek, J. (1998, Jul 07). MEDIA A litmus test for freedom. Financial Times

Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/248591188?accountid=32521

Graber, D., Dunaway, J. (2015). Mass Media and American Politics, Ninth Ed. Sage Publications,

Inc:Â Thousand Oaks, California.

President, C. S. (2016, April 5). A welcome message from the Register’s new owner. Retrieved

October 05, 2017, from http://www.ocregister.com/2016/04/05/a-welcome-message-from-the-registers-new-owner/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Who We Are. (n.d.). Retrieved October 05, 2017, from

http://www.digitalfirstmedia.com/who-we-are/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.