Power Play: Investigating McChesney's Argument

This topic is one of particular importance to me. McChesney’s argument about the concentration of power of media owners and its resulting bias in the media channels can be seen and understood in a micro environmental way for me. As one of the more “involved” members of the Free Press, I have a similar relationship to the presentation of media on Babson’s campus—at least in most theoretical sense. I have recently accepted a role largely aimed at recruitment of writers and other staff members. My strategy was simple. I decided to begin by recruiting people within my social network. This choice reflected my assumption that these people would be more likely to agree to offer their help. As a person of color on Babson’s campus, I have the greatest affinity and more often than not, the closest relationships with those who also constitute a minority on Babson’s campus. This meant that the people I recruited did not normally represent the “white male”, which composes the majority of Babson’s student population, but were women or ethnic minorities, or, more often than not, were a combination of the two. This inclination was not intentional, however, it definitely, even for a short while, shifted the type of news that was covered.
In example, I remember seeking out a couple of my friends that belong to Black Greek-letter organizations during the Greek rush season on-campus. I felt it important for people to be exposed to different organizations that essentially serve the same purpose, but may not be considered as viable organizations to mainstream society. This article, entitled “The Divine Nine”, was featured on the front page of an issue of the Babson Free Press. I am not deranged enough to believe that this article would appeal to the masses of the Babson community. I am also aware that the fact that the Babson Free Press is only read by very few members of the community probably played a huge role in both my pursuit of the project and my ability to give the article such a large role in the issue. However, this little exercise proved that the bias of those in “power”—though in my case, this power derived from access, not resources, can be easily and perhaps unquestionably passed downward.
Given my personal experience with how simple it is for one who has the access and resources to manipulate the media, I am very supportive of McChesney’s argument. The concentration of power in the mass media can’t help but project the biases of the owners down the chain to the consumer.