Plutocracy and media corporations in the United States

Abstract

The text draws on Shiller’s idea that the Political Economy of Communication works constantly on structure and infrastructure. Therefore it analyzes the concentration of power in the United States following Mills’ studies (and his power elite), Domhoff’s (and his ruling class), and Dreier’s (and his work on interlocking directorates), between others. The media industry comes to join this corporate power, following the same patterns that the rest of the elite. The participation of media industry in politics and their connections with other major US corporations shows it. The data update concernig these issues wants to reveal the false autonomy of mass media, and its integration to the “endless chain” outlined by Brandeis at the beginning of the twentieth century.