I have been talking a lot about media consolidation and the FCC these last few weeks. Those who are against further consolidation argue that allowing large media bodies to own more media outlets will result in homogenized editorial voices.
While I do agree that variety of opinion is essential to a democratic society, I feel that the definition of an editorial voice has changed drastically over the past 10 years, subsequently calling for the need to repeatedly reexamine our media ownership laws. Editorial voice can no longer be singularly defined by the output of a media production/creation body.
Is Google An Editor?
The question as to whether or not Google is a media company is as old as the company itself. By no means do I wish to bring up this issue once again as, by now most of us have our opinions on it, but in light of the recent happenings in the FCC, I do feel that it appropriate to touch upon this issue.
Behind every algorithm is a human being and every human being makes choices
For those that argue that Google has no editorial voice, I would love to hear your opinion on the latest move by Google to set all Pay Per Post blogs to a page rank of zero.
I am by no means a fan of Pay Per Post, and do not necessarily feel that Google’s action was wrong, but one thing is for sure, it was a decision.
A decision that affects the way people get information; a process also known as media. Sure, Google is not saying, “don’t read Pay Per Post blogs” but they are limiting your ability to find Pay Per Post blogs via their search engine; the search engine which enjoys 60% market share.
So Where Does This Leave Us?
To what degree does Google possess and editorial voice and at what point will the FCC step in and try to regulate this voice the way that they are regulating the cable industry (most recently Comcast)?
Speak up, this is important!
Tags: comcast, fcc, google, pay per post, page rank, cable