ABSTRACT

Media are national obsessions and circulate additional billions within North American economies. In the mid-1990s, U.S. consumers spent nearly $56 billion on media products: $5.4 billion for movies; $23 billion on cable television; and $12 billion to buy music products. Over $15.3 billion was spent to produce music videos (Federman, 1996, p. 23). One in every four U.S. consumers owns a computer in their home, a ratio that is leaping exponentially, and purchase billions more in software (Escobar & Swardson, 1995, p. 17). U.S. telephone service is nearly universal, as is television ownership. An additional $160 billion in advertising media is pitched to potential consumers, 20% of which is for broadcast television (Federman, p. 23).