What is the advantage and disadvantage of private media ownership?

Answer 1

There is public and state owned, private broadcasters, and community media. Each of them will have different pros and cons depending on the area they are located and what they are trying to do.

Answer 2

1. Government/State Media Ownership

Government or State media are the part of a government, which function as its mouthpiece. It is also called state owned media; a media, that works for Mass Communication, which is ultimately controlled and funded by the state. The news outlets may be the sole media outlet or may exist in competition with privately controlled media. Some critics claim that government media are not media by themselves, only appendages of the government

Advantages

· State owned media are media for people. It is not an individual who holds the authority, and hence, it is not guided by an individual interest.

· Government media are open to all and accommodate voices of general public. In a true sense, state owned media can best act as voice of the voiceless.

· Its content is usually more prescriptive, with no pressure to attract high ratings or to generate advertisement revenue.

· The contents are considerably more reliable, credible and accurate, compared to that of independent media.

· State media have far much greater reaches than independent media in terms of population and geography and therefore, are preferred by the national plans and other campaigns that require maximum public attention.

Disadvantages

· It serves a particular interest group, not general people.

· In some cases, state media can be used frequently by the autocratic government as the Propaganda tools.

· It suffers deliberate manipulations of its contents by the ruling party, reducing its efficiency and credibility.

· Government may censor the content which it deems illegal, immoral, or unfavourable to government, hence, it is not independent of the governing party.

· State owned media are also criticized for the boundary they impose in media competition. Unlike independent media, state owned media cannot ensure people's acquisition of unbiased information.