Media proprietor

A media proprietor, media mogul or media tycoon refers to a successful entrepreneur or businessperson who controls, through personal ownership or via a dominant position in any media related company or enterprise, media consumed by many individuals. Those with significant control, ownership, and influence of a large company in the mass media may also be called a tycoon, baron, or business magnate. Social media creators and founders can also be considered media moguls.

History

In the United States, newspaper proprietors first became prominent in the 19th century with the development of mass circulation newspapers. In the 20th century, proprietorship expanded to include ownership of radio and television networks, as well as film studios, publishing houses, and more recently internet and other forms of multimedia companies. Reflecting this, the term "press baron" was replaced by "media baron", and the term "media mogul" (or "Hollywood mogul" when applied to people specifically working in the motion picture industry, having actually spawned a similarly named computer game) was popularized in colloquial English.

In modern relevance, social media sites need to be taken into account such as Facebook in relation to Mark Zuckerberg who is an extremely important media proprietor.^[1] Media and technology play a significant role in mass-media production.

Notable media proprietors

References