The cross-platform media and entertainment industry is big business. Take a look at the number of news and entertainment networoks, newpapers and online services there are around the World, all battling for the airwaves.
There are numerous types of cable television in the U.S alone, such as basic cable, premium cable, a la carte cable which are most popular in suburbs and cities, but not in rural or remore locations, where satellite braodcasts are required.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_television_in_the_United_States

Many of these cable and satellite services are owned in part or full by only a few conglomorations of networks, who also own the newspapers and online services. Fox entertainment and Fox news services are very popular in the U.S , U.K and Australia and many other countries. Fox is a subsidiary of News Corporation, which also part-own the Australian Foxtel cable television service. SKY news and satellite television entertainment services in the United Kingdom are also largely owned by News Corporation, and a bid for a complete takeover of U.K's SKY network by News Corporation is being mentioned. News Corporation also merged into the Australian music industry by creation of Festival Mushroom Records.
It is widely known that News Corporations paid lower tax on their profits, and no net corporation tax for many years, utilizing tax havens to avoid paying any tax.

News Corporation have 2 main base locations in New York,USA and in Sydney,Australia ,and own various publications such as Dow Jones, which publish 'The Wall Street Journal' and scores of other newspapers, journals and even radio stations across the World, a bulk of which are in Australia, which makes tax issues easier for News Corp to avoid. The News Corporation was started in 1979 from the News Limited company, both owned by Rupert Murdoch. News Corp is the third biggest network in the World.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_Corporation

With so much money to be made from information, news, stories and politics, the news and entertainment industry is locked in a battle to dominate the World audience, with the U.S spending far more on news networks than any other country.
You can research the various networks which exist across the World to get a better idea of the scale of competition which exists today. Many Governments do not allow foreign journalists into their country without supervision or permits, and you can understand why. If Rupert Murdoch's New Corporation for example were able to freely report within any country, and set up entertainment networks, then they can pick-and-choose which stories to cover, and that in return plays into the political arena. For example if the leader of the Chinese Communist Government was filmed by News Corporation during his speeches, and Chinese Police and authorities were filmed in the streets, you would soon get a picture of oppression and violence, because that sells well in the newspapers- not that oppression or violence are only a Chinese issue, because there are countries with similar and far worse problems which News Corps already focus on.

But if News Corp were allowed to freely operate within China or Russia, then they could search for stories which would make China and Russia appear in a bad light, and sell those stories across the World to numerous publications, and which end up on politician's breakfast tables. Politicians themselves depend on information from spies, news networks and agents who deliver their findings from across the World. A good example of recent U.S news interferrence in another country which has affected politics is the recent Iranian elections, where it is widely known that the U.S Government utilized media to stir up hatred and a rebellion from within Iran against Iran's President Ahmadinejad. According to 3 U.S officials, the U.S State Department had asked Twitter to postpone a scheduled maintenance shutdown of its service to allow protest footage and reports to be uploaded and 'Tweeted' from inside Iran.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/17/mousavi-calls-for-new-ral_n_216626.html

At that time during Iran's 2009 Elections,the U.S Government was on the attack of Iran's Govenment, their nuclear power programme and practically anything to do with any possible Iranian-Hamas links. This scrutiny of the Iranian Government eventually came to a head in the middle of 2010 when the U.S called for multiple sanctions on Iran, which are the heaviest range of sanctions ever placed on the country.

So networks, independent journalism and newspapers can make billions each year for the competition of broadcasting the news first- because if you get hold of the story first you can potentially sell it on to any network for a very high price.
Is it right that networks 'sell' news stories such as tragic political uprisings, where scores of people get killed, or selling war footage, where the innocent are filmed and images sold across the World, making billions for the networks but rarely or never profitting the families of the victims ? It is a World of media wars, a semi-evil industry which banks on death, war, political unrest, (and movie stars naked on a beach) to make the bulk of their money.

Personally I do not buy newspapers, and I never will. I do not subscribe to cable or satellite, and have never paid a television license in the U.K. I do not rent movies, nor do I download movies or music from the internet, which takes away the rightful money of the actors and musicians. The movie and music industry itself is already wealthy and does not get impacted by illegal downloads as much as the actors or musicians themselves.

But the main issue is that the networks are so big that they are part of major corporation which is considered 'too big to fail' , meaning they can never go bankrupt or the knock-on effect of money losses and devaluation of their share prices would affect too many sub-conglomate companies and shareholders, many of which bank their profits in tax haven locations.
With billions in money hidden in tax havens, networks can always invest in more media ventures and keep expanding.
Chairman of the Board of U.S Broadcasters Walter Isaacson recently made a statement that Russia, China, Venezuela and Iran were media enemies, and accused them of drowning out the U.S media networks. According to Mr Isaacson, only the U.S networks broadcast 'the truth'. (see video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0G-CW8wWy4

Alternative and informative news can often reveal more about the major networks and political agenda behind media. Infowars.com offers a lot more in depth analysis, with radio talk show host,investigative journalist and filmmaker Alex Jones delving into many of the avenues which relate to media domination. Michael Moore is another big filmmaker and journalist, and much can be learned from Greg Palast and Max Keiser. If you haven't heard of any of the above then you are probably still glued to mainstream news and your satellite entertainment, and you are unaware of just how encompassing the major networks are, all fighting for newspaper and satellite/cable domination.

To conclude, I am not affiliated with any network, I have never been employed or hired privately by any news company, network or agency, I do not spy for any nation and have never earned one single penny, cent, pound or dollar from my independent research, journals or media activities.

by Russell S.Wyllie