Massive corporations dominate the U.S. media landscape. Through a history of mergers and acquisitions, these companies have concentrated their control over what we see, hear and read. In many cases, these companies are vertically integrated, controlling everything from initial production to final distribution. In the interactive charts below we reveal who owns what.

• TV and Radio

  • Overview
  • Bain Capital/Thomas H. Lee Partners (Clear Channel)
  • CBS Corporation
  • Comcast Corporation
  • Gannett Co.
  • News Corp.
  • Time Warner, Inc.
  • Tribune Company
  • Viacom
  • Walt Disney Company
  • Washington Post Co.

  Broadcasters make billions in profits while using the public airwaves for free. In return, they are supposed to provide programming that fulfills community needs. Instead, lobbyists have successfully fought to make it easier for broadcast companies to gobble up even more free airspace while doing less to serve the public.

  Take Action to end the big broadcast swindle.

  2011 Revenue: $6.2 billion

  Company Overview: These private equity firms own Clear Channel, the largest radio station owner in the country. Approximately half of the company's revenue is generated from radio broadcasting. The remaining half comes from advertising companies and other investments.

  Radio: 866 radio stations and Premiere Radio Networks (a national radio network that produces, distributes or represents approximately 90 syndicated radio programs, serves nearly 5,800 radio station affiliates and has over 213 million weekly listeners. Programs include the Rush Limbaugh Show, Glenn Beck and the Sean Hannity Show); Fox Sports Radio; Fox News Radio; Australian Radio Network

  Other: Katz Media (radio advertising broker); American Outdoor Advertising

  2011 Revenue: $14.2 billion

  Company Overview: CBS Corporation "has operations in virtually every field of media and entertainment, including broadcast television (CBS and the CW — a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), cable television (Showtime Networks, Smithsonian Networks and CBS Sports Network), local television (CBS television stations), television production and syndication (CBS Television Studios, CBS Studios International and CBS Television Distribution), radio (CBS Radio), advertising on out-of-home media (CBS Outdoor), publishing (Simon & Schuster), interactive media (CBS Interactive), music (CBS Records), licensing and merchandising (CBS Consumer Products), video/DVD (CBS Home Entertainment), motion pictures (CBS Films) and socially responsible media (EcoMedia)."

  TV: Twenty-nine television stations and CBS Television Studios; CBS Entertainment; CBS News; CBS Sports; CBS television stations; CBS Television Studios; CBS Studios International; CBS Television Distribution; the CW; Showtime; CBS College Sports Network; CBS Television Network; Smithsonian Networks

  Radio: CBS Radio and 130 radio stations

  Online Holdings: CBS Interactive; CNET

  Print: Simon & Schuster; Watch! Magazine; Pocket Books; Scribner; Free Press (publishing house)

  Entertainment: CBS Films

  Other: CBS Outdoor; CBS Connections; EcoMedia

  2011 Revenue: $55.8 billion

  Company Overview: In 2011, the Federal Communications Commission approved Comcast’s takeover of a majority share of NBCUniversal from General Electric. This merger combines the nation's largest cable company and residential Internet service provider and one of the world's biggest producers of TV shows and motion pictures. Comcast’s media holdings now reach almost every home in America. It serves customers in 39 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to its vast NBCUniversal holdings, Comcast has 23.6 million cable subscribers, 18 million digital cable subscribers, 15.9 million high-speed Internet customers and 7.6 million voice customers. Comcast recently entered into a partnership with Verizon in which each company will market and sell the other's services.

  TV: NBCUniversal; twenty-four television stations and the NBC television network; Telemundo; USA Network; SyFy; CNBC; MSNBC; Bravo; Oxygen; Chiller; CNBC World; E!; the Golf Channel; Sleuth; mun2; Universal HD; VERSUS; Style; G4; Comcast SportsNet (Philadelphia), Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (Baltimore/Washington, D.C.), Cable Sports Southeast, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, MountainWest Sports Network, Comcast SportsNet California (Sacramento), Comcast SportsNet New England (Boston), Comcast SportsNet Northwest (Portland, Ore.), Comcast Sports Southwest (Houston), Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (San Francisco), New England Cable News (Boston), Comcast Network Philadelphia, Comcast Network Mid-Atlantic (Baltimore/Washington, D.C.); the Weather Channel (25 percent stake); A&E (16 percent stake); the History Channel (16 percent stake); the Biography Channel (16 percent stake); Lifetime (16 percent stake); the Crime and Investigation Channel (16 percent stake); Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (30 percent stake); FEARnet (31 percent stake); PBS KIDS Sprout (40 percent stake); TV One (34 percent stake); Houston Regional Sports Network (23 percent stake); SportsNet New York (8 percent stake)

  Online Holdings: MSNBC.com (50 percent stake); Hulu (32 percent stake); DailyCandy; iVillage; Fandango

  Telecom: Clearwire Communications (9 percent stake)

  Other: Comcast Interactive Media; Plaxo; Universal Studios Hollywood; Wet 'n Wild theme park; Universal Studios Florida; Universal Islands of Adventure; Philadelphia 76ers; Philadelphia Flyers; Wells Fargo Center; iN DEMAND; Music Choice (12 percent stake); SpectrumCo (64 percent stake)

  2011 Revenue: $5.2 billion

  Company Overview: International media company focusing on broadcast TV, print and Web content

  TV: Twenty-three television stations

  Online Holdings: CareerBuilder.com; MomsLikeMe.com; ShopLocal.com; Cars.com; Apartments.com; CareerSite.biz; Livestream.com; Metromix.com; Ongo, Inc.; Reviewed.com; SavvyShopperDeals.com; Homefinder.com; BNOT.com; Nurse.com

  Print: USA Today; over 600 magazines and other non-daily print publications; Clipper Magazine; Mint Magazine; Gannett Government Media; Gannett Education; Newsquest (U.K.)

  Other: Gannett Healthcare Group; PointRoll; Planet Discover; Schedule Star; Classified Ventures; QuadrantONE; Fantasy Sports Ventures; Captivate; Pearls Review; Gannett Offset

  2011 Revenue: $29 billion

  Company Overview: Time Warner is the world's second-largest entertainment conglomerate with ownership interests in film, television and print.

  TV: One television station and the Warner Brothers Television Group; Warner Brothers Television; Warner Horizon Television; CW Network (50 percent stake); TBS; TNT; Cartoon Network; truTV; Turner Classic Movies; Boomerang; CNN; HLN; CNN International; HBO; Cinemax; Space; Infinito; I-Sat; Fashion TV; HTV; Much Music; Pogo; Mondo TV; Tabi; CNN Español

  Online Holdings: Warner Brothers Digital Distribution; TMZ.com; KidsWB.com

  Print: Time, Inc.; 22 magazines including People, Sports Illustrated, Time, Life, InStyle, Real Simple, Southern Living, Entertainment Weekly and Fortune

  Entertainment: Warner Brothers; Warner Brothers Pictures; New Line Cinema; Castle Rock; WB Studio Enterprises, Inc.; Telepictures Productions, Inc.; Warner Brothers Animation, Inc.; Warner Home Video; Warner Premiere; Warner Specialty Films, Inc.; Warner Brothers International Cinemas

  Other: Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment; DC Entertainment; DC Comics

  2010 Revenue: $3.2 billion

  Company Overview: Tribune owns 23 TV stations, one radio station, 12 daily newspapers, numerous magazines and other media properties.

  TV: Twenty-three television stations and the Food Network (30 percent stake); WGN America; CLTV Chicagoland; Tribune Entertainment

  Radio: One radio station

  Online Holdings: Zap2it.com; TribuneDirect.com; MetroMix.com (minority stake); CareerBuilder.com (minority stake); Apartments.com (minority stake); Cars.com (minority stake); ForSaleByOwner.com; HomeFinder.com (minority stake); Healthkey.com; Topix.net (minority stake)

  Print: Twelve daily newspapers (including the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun and the Hartford Courant); Chicago Magazine

  Other: Tribune Media Services; Classified Ventures (minority stake)

  2011 Revenue: $14.9 billion

  Company Overview: Viacom is the world's fourth-largest media conglomerate, with interests primarily in cable television networks, programming production and distribution. Viacom controls over 160 networks that reach more than 600 million people around the globe.

  TV: Viacom Media Networks (160 cable channels including MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, TV Land, Spike TV, Tr3s, BET and CENTRIC)

  Online Holdings: ParentsConnect.com

  Entertainment: Viacom Filmed Entertainment (produces motion pictures under numerous studio brands including Paramount Pictures, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies)

  Other: Nickelodeon Games Group

  2011 Revenue: $40.1 billion

  Company Overview: The Walt Disney Company owns the ABC television network; cable networks including ESPN, the Disney Channel, SOAPnet, A&E and Lifetime; 277 radio stations, music- and book-publishing companies; film-production companies Touchstone, Miramax and Walt Disney Pictures; Pixar Animation Studios; the cellular service Disney Mobile; and theme parks around the world.

  TV: Eight television stations and the ABC television network; ESPN; Disney Channels Worldwide; ABC Family; SOAPnet Networks; A&E (42 percent stake); Lifetime Television (42 percent stake); the History Channel (42 percent stake); Lifetime Movie Network (42 percent stake); the Biography Channel (42 percent stake); History International (42 percent stake); Lifetime Real Women (42 percent stake); Live Well Network (42 percent stake)

  Radio: ESPN Radio Network; Radio Disney

  Print: ESPN The Magazine; Disney Publishing Worldwide; Juvenile Publishing; Digital Publishing; Disney Music Publishing; Marvel Publishing

  Entertainment: Marvel Entertainment; ABC Studios; ABC Media Production; Pixar; Walt Disney Pictures; Walt Disney Records; Hollywood Records; Mammoth Records; Buena Vista Records; Lyric Street Records

  Other: Buena Vista Concerts; Disney Mobile; Disney Theatrical Productions; the Disney Store; Disney theme parks and water parks; Disney English; Disney Interactive Media Group; Disney Games; Playdom, Inc.

  2011 Revenue: $4.2 billion

  Company Overview: The Washington Post Company is engaged in print and online publishing of newspapers and magazines, television broadcasting and cable television systems. The company also owns Kaplan, Inc., which provides higher education services, test preparation, language instruction and professional training.

  TV: Six television stations

  Print: The Washington Post; the Herald; the Washington Post News Service; Post-Newsweek Media; Greater Washington Publishing; the Slate Group (Slate, the Root, Foreign Policy); El Tiempo Latino; Express Publications (Express, ExpressNightOut.com); Social Code; Classified Ventures (17 percent stake)

  Telecommunications: Cable ONE, Inc.

  Other: Kaplan (Kaplan Higher Education, Kaplan University, Kaplan Test Preparation, Kaplan International, Kaplan Ventures, Kaplan EduNeering, Kaplan Learning Technologies, the Kidum Group, Kaplan Continuing Education, Kaplan Global Solutions, Colloquy, Kaplan Virtual Education and Kaplan VC LLC); Avenue 100 Media Solutions, Inc.; Bowater Mersey Paper Company (49 percent stake)

  2011 Revenue: $33.4 billion

  Company Overview: News Corporation’s media holdings include the FOX Broadcasting Company; television and cable networks such as Fox, Fox Business Channel, National Geographic and FX; print publications including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and TV Guide; the magazines Barron’s and SmartMoney; book publisher HarperCollins; film production companies 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Blue Sky Studios; numerous websites including MarketWatch.com; and non-media holdings including the National Rugby League.

  TV: Twenty-seven television stations and FOX Broadcasting Company (FOX Network, MyNetworkTV); FOX News; FOX Business; FOX News Radio Network; FOX News Talk Channel; FSN (12 regional sports networks); FX; SPEED; FUEL TV; Fox College Sports; Fox Movie Channel; Fox Soccer Channel; Fox Soccer Plus; Fox Pan American Sports; Fox Deportes; Big Ten Network; National Geographic U.S.; Nat Geo Adventure; Nat Geo Music; Nat Geo Wild; Fox International Channels; Utilisima; Fox Crime; NEXT; FOX History & Entertainment; the Voyage Channel; STAR World; STAR Movies; NGC Network International; NGC Network Latin America; LAPTV; Movie City; City Mix; City Family; City Stars; City Vibe; the Film Zone; Cinecanal; Elite Sports Limited; BabyTV; STAR India; STAR Taiwan; ESPN STAR Sports; Shine Limited

  Online Holdings: Hulu.com (32 percent minority share)

  Print: HarperCollins Publishers; the New York Post; the Daily News; News International (the Times; the Sunday Times; the Sun); News Limited (146 newspapers in Australia); Dow Jones (Wall Street Journal, Barron's, SmartMoney, Factiva, Dow Jones Newswires, Dow Jones Local Media, Dow Jones VentureSource)

  Telecom: Satellite: BSkyB (39 percent minority share); SKY Italia

  Entertainment: Fox Filmed Entertainment; Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment; Twentieth Century Fox Television; Twentieth Television; Fox Television Studios

  Other: Marketing/advertising: News America Marketing Group; News Outdoor; Fox Library; IGN Entertainment, Inc.; Making Fun, Inc.; Wireless Generation

• Cable and Telecommunications

  • Overview
  • AT&T
  • Cablevision Systems Corporation
  • CenturyLink
  • Charter Communications, Inc.
  • Comcast Corporation
  • Sprint Nextel Corporation
  • T-Mobile USA, Inc.
  • Time Warner Cable, Inc.
  • Verizon

  Access to high-speed Internet service — also known as broadband — has become a basic public necessity, just like water or electricity.

  Yet despite its importance, broadband access in the United States is far from universal. Millions of Americans still stand on the wrong side of the "digital divide," unable to tap into the political, economic and social resources of the Web. Meanwhile, cable and phone companies — which hold virtual monopolies over the infrastructure of the Internet — often refuse to build out high-speed broadband to regions that need it most, and actively seek to block communities from seeking their own broadband solutions.

  Take Action to stop their shenanigans.

  2011 Revenue: $126.7 billion

  Company Overview: AT&T is the second-largest U.S. wireless provider and the largest company providing local phone service in the U.S. AT&T offers its wireless services to over 97 percent of the U.S. population and serves wired customers in 22 states. AT&T offers cable television services in portions of its service teritory under the brand name "U-Verse."

  Online Holdings: Yellowpages.com; YP.com

  Other: Ingenio, Inc.; Wayport, Inc.; Superclick, Inc.; Xanaboo, Inc.; Plusmo, Inc.; Daniel IT Services, Inc.; Comergent Technologies, Inc.

  2011 Revenue: $6.7 billion

  Company Overview: Cablevision has 3.3 million cable TV subscribers and 3 million Internet customers. Cablevision’s local media properties include News 12 Networks, MSG Varsity and the Newsday Media Group. Cablevision also owns and operates Clearview Cinemas.

  TV: AMC; WE tv; IFC; Sundance Channel; News 12 Networks; MSG Varsity; Rainbow Media Holdings; IFC Entertainment; Rush HD; Bresnan Cable

  Print: Newsday Media Group; am New York; Star Community Publishing Group

  Entertainment: Clearview Cinemas

  Other: RASCO; PVI Virtual Media Services

  2011 Revenue: $18.7 billion

  Company Overview: CenturyLink is the third-largest telephone company in the U.S. and offers voice, video and data services to customers in 42 states.

  Other: Savvis, Inc.

  2011 Revenue: $7.2 billion

  Company Overview: Charter is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, with systems serving customers in 26 states.

  2011 Revenue: $55.8 billion

  Company Overview: In 2011, the Federal Communications Commission approved Comcast’s takeover of a majority share of NBCUniversal from General Electric. This merger combines the nation's largest cable company and residential Internet service provider and one of the world's biggest producers of TV shows and motion pictures. Comcast’s media holdings now reach almost every home in America. It serves customers in 39 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to its vast NBCUniversal holdings, Comcast has 23.6 million cable subscribers, 18 million digital cable subscribers, 15.9 million high-speed Internet customers and 7.6 million voice customers. Comcast recently entered into a partnership with Verizon in which each company will market and sell the other's services.

  TV: NBCUniversal; twenty-four television stations and the NBC television network; Telemundo; USA Network; SyFy; CNBC; MSNBC; Bravo; Oxygen; Chiller; CNBC World; E!; the Golf Channel; Sleuth; mun2; Universal HD; VERSUS; Style; G4; Comcast SportsNet (Philadelphia), Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (Baltimore/Washington, D.C.), Cable Sports Southeast, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, MountainWest Sports Network, Comcast SportsNet California (Sacramento), Comcast SportsNet New England (Boston), Comcast SportsNet Northwest (Portland, Ore.), Comcast Sports Southwest (Houston), Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (San Francisco), New England Cable News (Boston), Comcast Network Philadelphia, Comcast Network Mid-Atlantic (Baltimore/Washington, D.C.); the Weather Channel (25 percent stake); A&E (16 percent stake); the History Channel (16 percent stake); the Biography Channel (16 percent stake); Lifetime (16 percent stake); the Crime and Investigation Channel (16 percent stake); Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (30 percent stake); FEARnet (31 percent stake); PBS KIDS Sprout (40 percent stake); TV One (34 percent stake); Houston Regional Sports Network (23 percent stake); SportsNet New York (8 percent stake)

  Online Holdings: MSNBC.com (50 percent stake); Hulu (32 percent stake); DailyCandy; iVillage; Fandango

  Telecom: Clearwire Communications (9 percent stake)

  Other: Comcast Interactive Media; Plaxo; Universal Studios Hollywood; Wet 'n Wild theme park; Universal Studios Florida; Universal Islands of Adventure; Philadelphia 76ers; Philadelphia Flyers; Wells Fargo Center; iN DEMAND; Music Choice (12 percent stake); SpectrumCo (64 percent stake)

  2011 Revenue: $33.7 billion

  Company Overview: Sprint is the third-largest U.S. wireless provider and serves more than 53 million customers.

  2011 Revenue: $20.6 billion

  Company Overview: T-Mobile is the U.S. subsidiary of German-owned Deutsche Telekom and serves more than 33 million U.S. wireless customers.

  2011 Revenue: $19.7 billion

  Company Overview: Time Warner Cable is the second-largest cable provider in the United States. The company formally split from its parent, Time Warner, Inc., in 2008. Time Warner now has 12.1 million cable customers and 10.2 million wireless Internet customers.

  Telecom: Time Warner Cable Media, Inc.; Clearwire (4.7 percent stake); SpectrumCo (minority stake)

  Other: NaviSite, Inc.; Canoe Ventures LLC

  2011 Revenue: $110.9 billion

  Company Overview: Verizon is the largest U.S. wireless provider and the second-largest company providing local phone service in the U.S. Verizon offers its wireless services to over 98 percent of the U.S. population and serves wired customers in 13 states and the District of Columbia. Verizon offers cable television services in portions of its service teritory under the brand name "FiOS." Verizon recently entered into a partnership with Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Bright House Networks in which each company will market and sell the other's services.

  Other: Terremark Worldwide, Inc.

• Print

  • Overview
  • Bertelsmann
  • Gannett Co.
  • The Hearst Corporation
  • News Corp.
  • Tribune Company
  • Washington Post Co.

  Consolidation has contributed to tough times for the newspaper industry. When the industry was swimming in profits in the 1990s, big media companies used 14–27 percent profit margins to buy up other properties rather than invest in the quality of their existing products or innovate for the future. Now they want to make it possible for a given company to own a newspaper and a broadcast station in the same market.

  Take Action to save the print industry from itself.

  2011 Revenue: $20.7 billion

  Company Overview: Bertelsmann AG is one of the world’s largest media companies, with substantial holdings in Europe and North America, including book publisher Random House, international radio and television station owner RTL Group and media firm Gruner + Jahr.

  TV: RTL Group (Europe's largest broadcasting and production company, which controls TV and radio stations in 10 different countries, along with content production)

  Print: Random House (with over 200 imprints in 15 countries, including the Ballantine Publishing Group, the Bantam Dell Publishing Group, Broadway, the Crown Publishing Group, the Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group, Pantheon, Random House U.K., Transworld, Sudamericana, C. Bertelsmann, Karl Blessing Verlag, Goldmann, Siedler Verlag, Wolf Jobst Siedler Verlag, Plaza & Janes (50 percent), Grijalbo Mondadori (50 percent), the Knopf Publishing Group, the RH Adult Trade Publishing Group, RH Audio, RH Children’s Books, RH Direct, Inc., the RH Information Group, RH International, RH Large Print, RH Value Publishing, and Waterbrook