Isaac S.

Independent news is news free of a majority influence, is not owned by any of our other classifications and does not have the influence to be the majority of news someone may see in a geographic area.

Individuals with a net worth in the tens of millions or greater who have a significant stake in a media outlet. Everyone in this category built their wealth outside of the media landscape and used it to buy news assets.

Private Equity owned sources are media outlets that have been purchased by private equity funds, either through a leveraged buyout of the news property or the buyout of its owner. Private equity funds in the media space typically roll up several news properties in order to cut costs while increasing profit margins. They are often accused of pushing profits over news quality.

Media Conglomerates are a collection of radio, television, print and other various news sources all owned by the same entity, typically formed through a series of mergers and acquisitions. Our definition includes any entity that owns a large majority of news outlets and can control the news someone may see. Although typically large and national, we have included smaller companies that own a significant majority and numbers of outlets in a geographical area.

Media sources owned by corporations that aren’t media conglomerates or private equity firms. While it can be assumed that the interests of the corporate owner influence coverage, the degree of influence varies per outlet. Example: The South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba

Government or primarily government funded news sources may be independently managed or explicitly used for issuing government approved media.