
Hey, I just remembered something I learned in college! Wild, right? My 20th Century Media course taught me all about "synergy." When corporations try to consolidate their power in a given industry by merging or acquiring other corporations, they hope to benefit financially by controlling the 13 power roles that make up a given form of mass media. For example, when Sumner Redstone and Viacom owned Blockbuster Inc., Viacom controlled the producer and distributor/exhibitor roles, and the consolidation of power benefited the company financially because stores could stock more Viacom-related films (Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, MTV Films, et al.). [...]