Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2008 The wo nership of online news: a political economy analysis of www.FOXNews.com and www.news.yahoo.com Shenid Bhayroo Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Mass Communication Commons Recommended Citation Bhayroo, Shenid, "The wo nership of online news: a political economy analysis of www.FOXNews.com and www.news.yahoo.com" (2008). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 1673. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1673 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. THE OWNERSHIP OF ONLINE NEWS: A POLITICAL ECONOMY ANALYSIS OF WWW.FOXNEWS.COM AND WWW.NEWS.YAHOO.COM A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Manship School of Mass Communication by Shenid Bhayroo B.A., Lehigh University, 1993 M.M.C., Louisiana State University, 1996 December 2008 DEDICATION To my mother Sheila Thulsie Bhayroo, my sister Desheen Naidoo, and my brother Dhenier Bhayroo. And, in memory of Cawalram Bhayroo and Peter Moonsammy. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have been possible without the boundless patience and wise counsel of my mentors, Dr. Anne Osborne and Dr. Eileen Meehan. Despite hurricanes, interstate moves, and an assortment of other dramas, they remained steadfast in their support of my research project. I would like to acknowledge their contributions. Dr. Meehan’s seminars exposed me to fresh and exciting perspectives on the world of critical political economy and challenged me to justify my longstanding beliefs and my research. Dr. Osborne made sense of my works-in-progress, providing me with insightful and prescient feedback, thus keeping me focused on the research phenomenon. I am a grateful beneficiary of her fine research skills and mentorship. I would like to recognize and thank committee members for their unique contributions. Dr. Dave Kurpius for creating opportunities for teaching and for encouraging me to “disappear” so I could write; Dr. Emily Erickson for the coffee chats and the pep talks that allowed me to maintain my research “mojo;” And Dr. Trish Suchy for the amazing documentary theory seminar that I wish I could have taken before I began making documentaries, and for according me the rare privilege of being part of Louisiana Story Revisited. Thanks also to the Dean’s representative, Dr. Carl Freedman, for reminding me to clarify the concepts and to go beyond the obvious. My thanks to Manship School of Mass Communication Dean, Jack Hamilton and to Dr. Ralph Izard, who were instrumental in my return to LSU. I am grateful to both of them for their support and encouragement. My appreciation goes to Associate Dean, Dr. Peggy DeFleur, for always being available to listen and to help solve problems, and for making sure that the crucial paperwork was done according to specifications. iii I greatly appreciate the support and words of encouragement of faculty and friends at the Manship School: Craig Freeman, Jinx Broussard, Jay Perkins, Tad Odell, Andrea Miller, and my fellow doctoral students Jane Dailey, Svetlana Kulikova, Emily Metzger, Raluca Cozma, and especially my comrade Gennadi Gervorgian. Thanks also to the wonderful folks at the Manship School, whose sterling work makes the system efficient: Mike Bosworth, Elizabeth Cadarette, Angie Fleming, John Friscia, Lyn LeJuene, Adrienne Moore, Renee Pierce, Linda Rewerts, Mary Ann Sternberg, and Helen Taylor. I appreciate your collegiality, friendship, and support. And thanks to Ruth Brown for the fabulous copy-editing skills. In many ways, I view this research as the culmination of a journey that began many years ago in dusty townships of Apartheid South Africa. During the course of this journey, I have met and learned from many wise people: my schoolteachers Susheela Moonsammy, Lorna Naidoo, Alan Moonsammy, Ebrahim Isaacs, Rashid Seedat, and Ramesh Ramdin; the many human rights activists, trade unionists, academics, colleagues. Thank you to my other family: Uncle Peter, Aunt Doreen, Kali, Rosh, and most of all Soobs for the privilege of sharing your home, your lives and your hearts with me. I want to acknowledge, in particular, my friend, my mentor, and my comrade, Hassan Lorgat. For more than two decades Hassan has challenged, frustrated, and astonished me with his intellectual prowess, his compassion, his humility, and his selfless dedication to the cause for social and economic justice. I am honored to know such a fine human being. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the incredible women in my life, who have contributed in significant ways to my development as a person. I paraphrase the Zulu maxim umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu – because of all of you I have become the person I am. I want to iv acknowledge the first in that long line of exemplary women, my mother, Sheila Bhayroo. From her I learned the value of education and hard work, I learned to have compassion for others and I learned what it took to raise a family in the face of enormous challenges. All I can say is “thank you Ma.” I also want to thank the exemplary woman with whom I make my life, my partner Lori Waselchuk, without whose unconditional love, support, and encouragement I would not have been able to complete this project. Thank you to my exquisite children for gladdening my heart and putting things into perspective. Thank you to Mira for asking profound questions that make me rethink answers I thought I had. Thank you to Zahli for the never-ending standup comedy and for reminding me how to have fun. You all make this worthwhile and meaningful. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION .............................................................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................iii LIST OF TABLES .....................................................................................................................viii LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM....................... 1 MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS AND DEMOCRACY................................................................................ 3 INNOVATIONS IN ELECTRONIC NEWS ........................................................................................... 4 ONLINE NEWS.............................................................................................................................. 6 CHAPTER 2. THEORY............................................................................................................... 9 POLITICAL ECONOMY OF COMMUNICATION............................................................................... 10 POLITICAL ECONOMY ................................................................................................................ 13 CORPORATIONS, MEDIA, AND HEGEMONY................................................................................. 15 NEWS AS COMMODITY............................................................................................................... 20 THE MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS AND THE PUBLIC SPHERE............................................................ 23 CHAPTER 3. THE INTERNET AND NEWS ......................................................................... 25 ENVISIONING THE INTERNET ...................................................................................................... 25 TELECOMMUNICATION POLICY .................................................................................................. 26 THE INTERNET, POLICY, AND REGULATION ............................................................................... 38 DIGITAL MARKETS .................................................................................................................... 44 DIGITAL COMMONS ................................................................................................................... 45 CHAPTER 4. LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................. 48 ONLINE NEWS............................................................................................................................ 48 TYPOLOGIES OF ONLINE NEWS .................................................................................................. 51 CONVERGENCE, USES, AND EFFECTS ......................................................................................... 53 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT .................................................................................................................. 56 JOURNALISTS, JOURNALISM, AND BLOGS................................................................................... 58 CONSOLIDATION AND CONVERGENCE OF ONLINE NEWS ..........................................................