Advertising, broadcasting and networking, news, print and publication, digital, recording, and motion pictures are all part of the media industry, and each has its infrastructure.
Within these areas, media businesses operate and provide products and services to end-users ranging from people to huge corporations. This list of the biggest news companies offers insight into their operations and enterprises.
List of the biggest news companies
1. The New York Times Company
Founded: September 18, 1851; 170 years ago (as New York Daily Times)
Publisher: A. G. Sulzberger
Headquarters: The New York Times Building, 620 Eighth Avenue; New York City, U.S
The New York Times Corporation is a global media company founded in journalism that owns and maintains its digital platforms, including The New York Times (NYT), The New York Times International Edition, and the web domain NYTimes.com.
2. News Corp
Founded: June 28, 2013, New York, New York, United States
Publisher: Rupert Murdoch
Headquarters: United States
News Corp is a media and information services company that generates and distributes entertaining content as well as other goods and services. When Rupert Murdoch broke News Corporation into two companies, News Corp and 21st Century Fox, it was founded. News Corp., which is primarily focused on news and information services, has four additional segments: Programming on cable networks; digital real estate services; book publishing; and “other,” which includes paid television services, book publishing, and other online businesses.
3. Comcast
Founded: June 28, 1963, Tupelo, Mississippi, United States
Publisher: Ralph J. Roberts, Daniel Aaron, and Julian A. Brodsky
Headquarters: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Comcast began as a single-system cable provider in Mississippi in 1963 and has since evolved to become one of the world’s largest corporations. Although its ‘cable communications’ section – which provides internet, video, voice, and internet services to US households under the Xfinity brand – accounts for more than half of its revenue, news and media are becoming an increasingly important element of its company.
4. AT&T
Founded: October 5, 1983, Delaware, United States
Publisher: Alexander Graham Bell, Gardiner Greene Hubbard
Headquarters: Dallas, Texas, United States
AT&T’s communications division, which provides customers with internet, video, and phone services, generated more than $140 billion in revenue last year, making it another telecoms-first company. In 2018, the company completed its acquisition of Time Warner and took control of CNN (pictured above), one of the most well-known news organizations in the world.
5. BBC
Founded: October 18, 1922, London, United Kingdom
Publisher: John Reith, 1st Baron Reith
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
The BBC is the top publicly-owned entrant on this list, as it is owned by the British government. The majority of its revenue comes from the license fee paid by British citizens, though it also makes commercial profits from its international operations.
6. Daily Mail and General Trust plc
Founded: September 27, 1922
Publisher: Harmsworth family, Viscounts Rothermere through Rothermere Continuation Limited
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
The Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT.L) is a London Stock Exchange-listed company founded in 1922 in the United Kingdom. It is the owner of newspapers, television stations, and radio stations. Through its subsidiaries DMG World Events and DMG Information, it has a significant global presence. It’s also in the data analytics, information, and entertainment industries.
7. Gannett Co. Inc
Founded: 1906, Rochester, New York, United States
Publisher: Frank Gannett
Headquarters: McLean, Virginia, United States
Gannett (GCI) is a multi-platform news and media information company with operations in broadcasting, publishing, and digital. The company’s most well-known brand is USA Today. Its broadcasting segment operates 43 television stations; its publishing segment provides daily content through more than 80 daily publications and over 400 non-daily local publications; and its digital segment provides content through digital platforms, digital marketing services, and an online HR software solution.
8. Axel Springer
Founded: 1946, Hamburg, Germany
Publisher: Axel Springer
Headquarters: Berlin, Germany
Axel Springer, the German owner of the Bild Group, has expanded its presence in the English-language media world in recent years with investments in Insider Inc, which recently merged with eMarketer, and Politico Europe, a joint venture with Politico in the United States.
9. Twitter
Founded: March 21, 2006, San Francisco, California, United States
Publisher: Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, Evan Williams, Noah Glass
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
Twitter, a popular source and outlet for breaking news for journalists, lags behind big rivals such as Facebook in terms of revenue.
10. A. H. Belo Corporation
Founded: October 1, 2007, Dallas, Texas, United States
Publisher: James Moroney
Headquarters: Dallas, Texas, United States
The Dallas Morning News, The Providence Journal, and The Denton Record-Chronicle are among the local newspapers covered by A. H. Belo (AHC). Audience-specific publications are also available from the company.