Mainstream media

Mainstream media (MSM) are those media disseminated via the largest distribution channels, which therefore represent what the majority of media consumers are likely to encounter. The term also denotes those media generally reflective of the prevailing currents of thought, influence, or activity.^[1]

Large news conglomerates, including newspapers and broadcast media, which underwent successive mergers in the U.S. and elsewhere at an increasing rate beginning in the 1990s, are often referenced by the term. This concentration of media ownership has raised concerns of a progressive homogenization of viewpoints presented to news consumers. Consequently, the term mainstream media has been widely used in conversation and the blogosphere, often in oppositional, pejorative, or dismissive senses, in discussion of the mass media and media bias.

Alternative terms

Markos Moulitsas, founder of the Democratic blog Daily Kos, argues that by calling old media mainstream, new media is inherently marginalized, and thus prefers to use the term "traditional media" instead^[2].

Sarah Palin has been widely reported making use of the explicitly pejorative term lamestream media, a pun based on combining the words "lame" and "mainstream," notably during her participation in the Tea Party Express, in the context of what she perceives as misrepresentation of the Tea Party movement by the media.^[3][4][5]

See also

• Agenda-setting theory
• Mainstream
• Old media

Notes

1. ^ Noam Chomsky, "What makes mainstream media mainstream", October 1997, Z Magazine, [1]
2. ^ dailykos.com, "MSM" vs "Traditional Media", August 8, 2007, [2]
3. ^ CBS News (cbsnews.com), "Sarah Palin: Obama's Policies Are 'Un-American'", April 14, 2010, [3]
4. ^ Politico (politico.com), "Sarah Palin trashes 'lamestream media'", 11/18/09, [4]
5. ^ Los Angeles Times,"'Tea party' protesters in Nevada target health law, Reid", March 28, 2010, [5]