Global Communication, 5th Edition

7Media Stakeholders Outside the United States

Although some global media systems such as CNN, the BBC, Disney, and News Corporation come to mind as high‐profile stakeholders in the global media world, there are clearly other major players. This chapter identifies the major global media stakeholders outside the United States and describes their various communication interests.

Although the United States frequently attracts substantial criticism for exporting a culture of Hollywood sex and violence, and for largely dominating music videos, television, and theater screens around the world, some of the major global enterprises, such as Sony, Vivendi, Bertelsmann, and others, are foreign‐owned multimedia corporations. Not only are they foreign‐owned, but some of their holdings include American media businesses, or this has been the case in the past.

Japan's Sony Corporation, for example, controls Columbia Pictures. Random House is an American book publisher which is a part of Penguin Random House, owned by Germany's Bertelsmann. France's Lagardère retained sole control over Elle, Car and Driver, and other magazines until its international magazine business was sold to American‐based Hearst in 2011. Lagardère retains control over its magazines in France only, and of the Elle trademark internationally.¹

French‐based Vivendi controls Universal Music Group and formerly owned video game maker Activision Blizzard. Vivendi is now, however, merely a minority shareholder in Activision Blizzard, ...