David Hemondhalgh is among a range of academics who critically analyse the relationship between media work and the media industry. In his seminal book, The Culture Industries. He argues that major cultural organisations create products for different industries in order to maximize chances of commercial success.
Hesmondhalgh discusses the way the cultural industries operate and explores their effect on audiences: “Of one thing there can be no doubt: the media do have influence.”
He points out that societies with profitable cultural industries (e.g. USA, UK) tend to be dominated by large companies, have minimal government regulation and significant inequality between rich and poor.
He also suggests that;
“the distinctive organisational form of the cultural industries has considerable implications for the conditions under which symbolic creativity is carried out”
Murdoch Empire Media
Murdoch’s media empire includes Fox News, Fox Sports, the Fox Network, The Wall Street Journal, and Harper Collins. In March 2019, Murdoch sold the majority of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets to the Walt Disney Company for $71.3 billion.