Introduction The media, may be defined as the different channels, through which entertainment, news, data, education, and other information, like promotional messages, are broadcasted to the target audience. The media is an umbrella concept, including broadcasting and narrowcasting models within it, these including magazines, newspapers, radio, television, direct mail, billboards, fax, telephone, and the internet, which is arguably the widest. The enabling modes of data storage for media communication, which are distinguished on the basis of the storage material, may be divided into three wide-ranging categories, namely; optical storage media, like microfiche; magnetic, like diskettes, tapes and disks; and lastly, Magneto-Optical, such as DVSs and CDs. Having a broad understanding of the areas covered under the concept of the media, it is conclusive that, these models of information broadcasting and storage, cover just about every information medium in the world. Therefore, the media is conclusively one of the most significant institutions in the world. The major critical roles of the media include informing and entertaining, which have an immense influence across the world. In many ways, these different channels of the media, dictate who the people within the society are nurtured into becoming; how the members of the society live; and the interactions that take place, as influenced by the information which is broadcasted. The influence of the media is not questionable, and in the 21st century society, the media is predominantly, the most influential social implement, as well as a crucial determinant of ownership and social frameworks (Coase 76). Introduction to the control of the media As a result of the immense influence of the media, there are measures from governments and other authorities, to control the pattern of ownership and the frameworks of operation within the society. However, the existence of a free and fair media, which is not manipulated by the government, is used as an indicator in determining democracy levels. At the worldwide scene, the pattern of ownership for media institutions has come with an immense level of cultural and political implications. The top five media institutions in the world include the following: BBC, HBO, CNN, National Geographic, and MTV, as evaluated on the basis of their global command and not the media revenues they yield. These giant institutions can be traced at almost all nations and have also formed linkages with locally based media houses within almost every county. This paper will identify the top five media institutions, and then seek to map out their patterns of ownership and corporate networking. The paper will also discuss the cultural and the political implications of the international trend explicated (Levy 641). The ownership patterns and the corporate linkages of the top five global media companies The BBC is technically owned by the tax paper – as it is fully owned by the U.K state. The U.K government funds the BBC establishment, from charging all U.K television viewers a license charge. Further, it operates under a royal charter and a license based on the agreement from the home secretary. The BBC, which is the world’s l