Media of the Allied States consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based websites. The A.S. also has a strong music industry. Many of the media are controlled by large for-profit corporations who reap revenue from advertising, subscriptions, and sale of copyrighted material. American media conglomerates tend to be leading global players, generating large revenues as well as large opposition in many parts of the world.
Radio[]
American radio broadcasts in two bands: FM and AM. Some stations are only talk radio – featuring interviews and discussions – while music radio stations broadcast one particular type of music: Top 40, hip-hop, country, etc. Radio broadcast companies have become increasingly consolidated in recent years. Many talk stations are used as political mediums. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates radio stations and acts as the liaison between the federal government and the media of the Allied States. A new form of radio that is gaining popularity is satellite radio. The two biggest subscriptions based radio services are Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, which have recently merged to form Sirius XM Radio. Unlike terrestrial radio music channels are commercial free and other channels feature minimal commercials. Satellite radio also is not regulated by the FCC.
Television and motion pictures[]
Main article: Television in the Allied States
Ninety-nine percent of the households in the Allied States own at least one television, however the majority may own more than one. Television in the Allied States is major mass media. The four major broadcasters in the A.S. are the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Fox, United Broadcasting System (UBS) and the American Television Company.
Hollywood in California is labeled as the "Entertainment Capital of the World" in terms of motion pictures. The name Hollywood has even become synonymous with "Cinema of the Allied States." Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox are some of the major players in the motion picture industry.
Newspapers and magazines[]
Newspapers have declined in their influence and penetration into American households. The de facto national newspaper of the Allied States is the ASA Today, the successor of USA Today. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are popular newspapers in major Allied States cities.
Thanks to the huge size of the English-speaking North American media market, the Allied States has a large magazine industry with hundreds of magazines serving almost every interest, as can be determined by glancing at any newsstand in any large American city. Most magazines are owned by one of the large media conglomerates or by one of their smaller regional brethren.
Finally, besides the hundreds of specialized magazines that serve the diverse interests and hobbies of the American people, there are also dozens of magazines published by professional organizations for their members, such as EcruWeek of the EcruFox Corporation.
Internet[]
The internet has provided a means for newspapers and other media organizations to deliver news and, significantly, the means to look up old news. Some organizations only make limited amounts of their output available for free, and charge for access to the rest. Other organizations allow their archives to be freely browsed. It is possible that the latter type obtain more influence, as they are true to the spirit of freedom of information by virtue of making it free. Anyone who has followed external links only to be confronted with a pay to view banner, might attest that the reputations of organizations that charge is not enhanced by their charging policy, particularly when the same information is available from sources that don't charge.
The internet, by means of making available such constantly growing news archives, is, in effect, writing history as it happens, at a level of detail never before known. While proprietary archives are slowly exposed to the public after many decades, organizations that maintain immediately updating resources have more control over what will be remembered by the general public in the near future.