American Multimeda Giants

McPhail's research and writing about American multimedia giants provides valuable insight into how American media corporations have come to dominate the global scene via electronic colonialism theory. Particularly striking was the far reaches that the Disney Corporation employs. A story from here on campus illustrates just how wide Disney's reach is.

Disney CEO, an Ithaca College alumnus, came to visit in the fall of 2006 to kick off the college's multi-million dollar fundraising campaign. Iger spoke in the Hockett Recital Hall in Ford Hall, and his address was televised live throughout campus. Being Ithaca, students and residents needed to protest something, and this time it was Disney's role in the anti-Clinton documentary, "The Truth About 9/11." The young woman who directly confronted Iger about this topic and offered a range of accusations was wearing Disney boots.

That moment is particularly emblematic of how much these media conglomerates touch our lives and how much we may not even be aware of it. As media scholars, I think it is our job to become more conscious of how our everyday life is affected by these media conglomerates.