Corporate Bias 1
RUNNING HEAD: Corporate Bias
Corporate Bias: Time magazine and the coverage of America Online
Introduction
On January 11, 2001, the AOL Time Warner merger created what was then the
largest media conglomeration in history. While it was heralded as a business move with
multiple benefits, to both the media giants and the public at large, critics were concerned
that the results of such a large-scale merger could negatively impact the media systems
and limit the number of voices heard in what should be an open marketplace of ideas,
especially in the form of corporate bias. (Tucher, 1997; Baker, 1998; Farhi, 1998; Shaw,
1999; Shaw, 1999; Kaufman, 2000;
Winslow, & Dallas, 2002; Tyndall, 1999/2000;
Hickey, 2000; Hickey, 2001; Jurkowitz, Aucoi, & Hartigan, 2000; “The Media Borg
wants you,” Salon, 2001; Aherns, 2002; Hickey, 2002; Lowry, 2002; & Miller, 2002).
Though concerns were raised, little empirical work has examined whether this mega-
merger actually provided evidence of corporate bias in media content. Consequently,
this
study aims to evaluate whether or not evidence of corporate bias exists in the coverage of
America Online in Time magazine through a content analysis of three years of news
coverage.
The late 1990s were a time in which mergers and acquisitions provided major
media companies the opportunity to accelerate the implementations of new technologies
and broaden content offerings, while maintaining and increasing a consumer base (Chan-
Olmsted, 1998). These mega media corporations have become major machines that
gather, repackage, distribute, cross-promote and sell entertainment and information
across multiple formats. While these mergers and media convergence are both heralded
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