Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The following paper studies the way in which media mergers in France and the United States are framed. This is done in order to ascertain whether media mergers, that are symptomatic of the growing concentration in the global media industries, are presented as purely commercial events or as events with civic repercussions. Content analysis of articles in the French press covering the Vivendi Universal merger in France and in the American press covering the AOL Time Warner merger in the U.S. was conducted. Results suggest that in both countries the respective mergers are mostly framed as economic events, thereby removing the event from the realm of political contention.