Shkreli Summary

A Summary of the Gathered Information of Martin Shkreli

The goal of my project was to point out the bias in main stream media. I started my project by first assembling a basic understanding of who owns what when it comes to popular media. What I discovered is that there are nine major companies that are in complete and total control of over 90% of news media consumed by the average American. Some of these companies are controlled by one person or one family, like News Corp and 21st Century Fox both being owned by Rupert Murdoch. Another thing that was particularly scary is the fact that iHeartRadio owns over 850 radio stations, since radio has always been considered the most powerful news outlet since every car comes with an fm radio. It's scary to believe that these few people controlling the media can accept a small donation from any public figure and have their image changed across a wide variety of news sources. 

The second goal of my project was to choose a controversial issue and try to argue against the main stream media's combined view of said issue. Martin Shkreli, the candidate of choice, proved to be a very difficult person to argue for, and it seems that there are very few news sources that actually argue in his favor. In order to find information to argue for Shkreli's business choices, I had to try and learn about complicated issues that usually require four year masters degrees to understand, which means I still do not have a complete and total understanding as to how pharmaceutical companies work or how investing works. Despite my ignorance, after digging relentlessly for information, I've gained a very basic understanding of how drug pricing in the United States works and why pharmaceutical companies raise prices on certain drugs; in some instances for good and in other instances for greed. In the case of Martin Shkreli and the increased price of Daraprim, I discovered that Turing Pharmaceuticals actually gives most of their product away for free, and there has yet to be a case of someone unable to receive daraprim as a treatment for toxoplasmosis since the price increase. 

Unfortunately, when it comes to the public opinion of Martin Shkreli, I cannot ignore the fact that he is currently in two different legal predicaments. Where the project becomes difficult is that it is hard to argue for and against a person who is both under investigation and in a major law suit especially since there is very few publicly released documents available. Most of what I could find on the law suit is that Turing Pharmaceuticals spent a large amount of money on frivolous expenses such as celebrity appearances and yacht club rentals. One could argue that these expenses are unneeded, but I would suggest that the expenses were for a private investor's event designed to encourage investment in Turing, especially since Turing was able to raise $90 million after raising the price of Daraprim. When it comes to the legal battle and Shkreli's congressional hearing, all the public knows is that there are allegations against Shkreli and Evan Greebel, and both have said very little about their allegations. Other than that, the main stream appears to not really know much about their charges or the evidence that supports their charges. I would argue that the media's coverage of the two's congressional hearings has propagated a feeling of guilty-until-proven-innocent among the public.

Since I have started this project, I have begun to realize that there is more and more information about the scandal than the main stream media reports on, and I am in no real position to come up with an expert's opinion on the subject. My argument for justifying Shkreli's actions could be easily dismissed in the coming months as his legal predicaments are settled and more information comes to light, but until then I have to support my opinions of the scandal based off of the research I have done. Overall I have spent hours upon hours digging into the internet looking for knowledge to gain evidence of Shkreli's better side and to gain a better understanding of the incredibly complex world of big pharma. Other information I would like to find is what pharma companies have donated to which news corporations over the last years, or whatever kind of big donations might curve the media's agenda against Shkreli. Furthermore, I'd like to interview Martin Shkreli himself, since he is known on the internet for answering questions on Blab and livestreaming for hours on YouTube, although he hasn't been on blab for three months since this blog post. 

What I find incredible is that it takes this much digging in order to come up with a properly informed opinion (whether or not one could argue my opinion is properly informed). In today's age of main stream media, this is the required amount of effort to grasp a basic, unbiased understanding of any issue being reported on in the media. If a news source is reporting on a law suit, one should read the court papers. If a news source is reporting in favor of a political opinion, one should gather a quick, basic understanding of the arguments that might disprove that political opinion. Everyone has an agenda. Everyone is trying to make the American population believe what they want the population to believe. 

"The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses."

- Malcolm X 

 

Discussing the Four Views of Martin Shkreli

The Main Stream Media's Four Views of Martin Shkreli

To continue from my last blog post, I've analyzed the four generalized views that the main stream media holds on the Martin Shkreli Daraprim price-gouging scandal and will list them again here:

1. Raising the price of Daraprim is unjustifiable
2. Patients in need of treatment for toxoplasmosis won't be able to afford the new price of Daraprim, and many will suffer from their inability to receive medication.
3. Martin Shkreli used the money that he has gained from the price increase of Daraprim to purchase the $2 million Wu-Tang album "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin."
4. Martin Shkreli is guilty of the charges brought against him, and will also lose his lawsuit against Retrophin.

In order to prove that the main stream media adjusts its narrative to fit it's own bias, I will now attempt to argue against these four points.

Raising the Price of Daraprim is Unjustifiable

In order to understand the justification for the price increase of Daraprim, one must become acquainted with the history of the drug. To begin, Daraprim isn't actually the drug that Turing Pharmaceuticals purchased but is actually the brand name of the drug pyrimethamine. Pyrimethamine is a drug that was initially developed by an American scientist named Gertrude Elion to combat malaria and was first available in 1953. The chemical structure of pyrimethamine hasn't changed since it's original developement and is no longer used to treat malaria due to malaria's natural genetic evolution that has caused the disease to become resistant to different treatments, but in some rare cases a combination of pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine is used to treat infants with malaria (infants being those under the age of five years) and is sold under the name Fansidar. Pyrimethamine was first demonstrated to be able to combat toxoplasmosis by combining the drug with another chemical called sulfadiazine in 1953 by scientists Eyles and Coleman. 

The motivation for the initial purchase of Daraprim has been stated by Shkreli, as he told CBS News reporters that "We're now a company that is dedicated to the treatment and cure of toxoplasmosis." Unfortunately, due to the natural evolution of organisms, the parasite behind the toxoplasmosis disease has been showing signs of resistance to pyrimethamine, and the efficacy of normal treatment for toxoplasmosis when using pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine has been lower than before in isolated incidents. Another problem with pyrimethamine is that extended use of the drug can cause serious side effects, and a patient being administered treatment for toxoplasmosis through use of pyrimethamine must discontinue use of the drug after an allotted period of time. Martin Shkreli and Turing Pharmaceuticals is a company that operates by finding old and rare drugs, researching better alternatives for said drug, and developing newer treatment options for its customers. When Shkreli learned of Daraprim, a 63 year old drug that treats a disease that is slowly gaining a resistance to it's only available cure, he decided to purchase the drug for $55 million from a company called Impax who wasn't doing research on a new cure for the drug at the time. 

Now that the history of Daraprim and the motivation behind Turing's purchasing of the brand has been brought to light, I can attempt to explain the reasoning behind the price increase. Since Turing purchased Daraprim for $55 million, Shkreli's investors are going to expect a profit from their investment. On top of the $55 million, Turing had to take into account the cost of developing a new drug, which the Wall Street Journal claims costs $2.6 billion and Forbes even claims costs near $5 billion. Even though researching a new drug costs an incredible amount of money, the business model used by Impax was not profiting off of Daraprim sales, and regardless the price would have to increase for Turing to survive and continue production of the drug. 

The justification of the price increase comes from the huge $55 million dollar investment made by Turing; all of that money had to be regained so that the investors behind the purchase can make a profitable return. If the price had stayed the same, Turing would have gone under, and there would be no company that continued to make Daraprim. 

Patients in Need of Treatment for Toxoplasmosis Won't be Able to Afford the New Price of Daraprim, and Many Will Suffer from Their Inability to Receive Medication

Pharmaceuticals for rare diseases like toxoplasmosis are sold in a static market. What this means is that no matter the supply or the price, the demand of the product will always be present until external forces collapse the market. It's similar to how gas stations can slowly increase the price of gas as much as they want, yet Americans will still fill their tanks since our society's system of travel revolves around planes, trains, and automobiles. This is a scary idea since it means that pharma companies can raise prices as much as they want since people suffering from debilitating diseases such as toxoplasmosis have no other alternative treatment available to them. The way our society has counteracted against the moral integrity of pricing drugs outside of the sick and dying's affordability is by creating health insurance companies that provide a certain amount of coverage for a monthly fee so that in the event that one becomes ill and cannot afford treatment, the health insurance company will help pay or even pay for all of the cost of treatment. This is a flawed system.

The first flaw is the natural capitalistic instinct of the insurance company. When they structure their coverage programs, they're thinking of two basic corporate principles that every company thinks of when designing their product: they want to know how they can provide the cheapest product yet charge the highest price that still provides a steady demand. When these ideals transfer over to the structure of insurance companies, they translate to "how can we provide as little coverage as possible yet still charge our customers as much as possible?" What this means is that the insurance companies try to provide as little coverage as possible, and when the price of a service from a medical practitioner or the price of a drug or treatment becomes too expensive to be covered by the insurance company, the patient has to pay out of pocket through copay systems. So since insurance companies have the natural instinct to provide the cheapest product, the customer of an insurance company might be inclined to not purchase monthly health insurance if he or she cannot afford it and risk paying out of pocket for future medical expenses. 

This brings upon the second flaw of the health insurance system. Since hospitals and pharmaceutical companies now expect that an insurance company will pay the cost of a patient's treatment and services, they set about to charge as much as they can so the insurance company has to shell out as much money as possible. This is why some hospitals will charge their patients close to $100 dollars for using an overhead lamp or $8 for an unneeded box of tissues placed in a patient's room. To counteract this kind of gross overcharging that plagues the health industry, insurance companies also take on the responsibility of going over medical bills and negotiating prices with hospitals and pharma companies so that they, and the patient receiving the care, don't have to pay outrageous fees like $2,229.11 for only three stitches. 

So at $750 a pill, Daraprim looks like the kind of drug that is trying to reap profits from insurance companies at the cost of those who are uninsured or those who cannot afford the copay. Turing Pharmaceuticals and Martin Shkreli have both revealed statements that the price a patient pays out of pocket for Daraprim will be discussed on a case by case basis. According to Turing Pharmaceutical's official website, if a patient has private or commercial insurance, he or she is not obligated to pay more than $10 out of pocket. Also, those that are uninsured will receive Daraprim at no cost, provided that the patient meets the certain requirements to be eligible for the discount. To continue with Turing's attempt to make Daraprim affordable to its customers, the company sells the pill for one dollar per one hundred tablets to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation pharmacy through the federal government's 340B Drug Discount Program making it easier for patients on government assisted healthcare programs to purchase the drug. Shkreli has even been quoted saying that "If you cannot afford the drug we will give it away for free." So far, I personally have yet to see a news report on someone who hasn't been able to receive Daraprim due to the price increase.

In conclusion, the overall goal of the price increase was for Turing Pharmaceuticals to try and get as much money from private insurance companies as it could, and for those that would be required to spend money out of pocket would be given the drug for no more than $10. Deciding whether or not it's right to try and gouge prices to force insurance companies to pay as much as possible requires a much more detailed economic discussion, but it's a system that Shkreli is trying to take advantage of in order to fund research for better treatment or even a cure for toxoplasmosis. 

Martin Shkreli Used the Money That He Has Gained From the Price Increase of Daraprim to Purchase the $2 Million Wu-Tang Album "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin"

Turing Pharmaceuticals is losing money fast. In September, the company posted that in its third quarter it had already lost $14.6 million for the year. Although there have been documents released proving that certain employees received healthy raises in their salaries and that Turing spent thousands on chartered yachts and fireworks and other extravagant expenses for a corporate event, there hasn't yet been any clear evidence suggesting that Shkreli has increased his own salary or that he has pulled $2 Million from the company for a private purchase. What the media isn't considering when it makes this allegation is that Shkreli was already a successful businessman before he started Turing Pharmaceuticals and had enough personal money to spend on a $2 Million album. One could also argue that the expenses listed in the corporate event were purchased for a private investors' event (which would be considered a normal action taken by a small and underfunded company like Turing) that may have encouraged unnamed benefactors to raise $90 million for the company, but so far there hasn't been evidence released to prove or disprove this assumption.

So far, we don't know whether or not Shkreli used Turing's money to purchase the album, but it would be considered unlikely since he made $8.2 million while working as CEO of Retrophin and had an E*Trade account that was worth over $45 million before his arrest. 

Martin Shkreli is Guilty of the Charges Brought Against Him, and Will Also Lose His Lawsuit Against Retrophin

So far there has been too little evidence reported on the security fraud charges and the lawsuit against Retrophin for me to make a statement in this blog post about it. All that I have seen reported is the document that shows Turing planned to have spent hundreds of thousands on a private event that included yachts, private cigar rollers, fireworks, and celebrity appearances, and that witnesses have released statements saying they feared the media backlash of raising the price of Daraprim to $750. I would like to dig a little more for available information and wait for more evidence before commenting on the situation any further, and hopefully would like to speak with Martin Shkreli during one of his live-streaming events to ask him about the situation. Until then, all I have personally seen about the events is that he has been charged, and other than the allegations, he has yet to be proven guilty of anything. 

Sources Listed in Order of Appearance

• "Gertrude B. Elion - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 27 Mar 2016. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1988/elion-bio.html>
• Zheng, W., H. Jiang, Z. Xiong, Z. Jiang, and H. Chen. "Efficacy of Pyrimethamine/Sulfadoxine versus Chloroquine for the Treatment of Uncomplicated Falciparum Malaria in Children Aged Under 5 Years."Iranian Journal of Parasitology. Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Winter 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3655235/>.
• Eyles, DE, and N. Coleman. "Synergistic Effect of Sulfadiazine and Daraprim against Experimental Toxoplasmosis in the Mouse." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 3 May 1953. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24542412>.
• "Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli Defends 5,000 Percent Price Hike on Daraprim." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/turing-pharmaceuticals-ceo-martin-shkreli-defends-5000-percent-price-hike-on-daraprim-drug/>.
• KAUFMAN HE, REMINGTON J, MELTON ML, JACOBS L. Relative Resistance of Slow-Growing Strains of Toxoplasma Gondii to Pyrimethamine (Daraprim). AMA Arch Ophthalmol. 1959;62(4):611-615. doi:10.1001/archopht.1959.04220040073010
• Huber, W., W. Bautz, M. Classen, and W. Schepp. "[Pyrimethamine-sulfadiazine Resistant Cerebral Toxoplasmosis in AIDS]." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 5 Jan. 1995. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7828463>.
• Katlama, C., S. De Wit, E. O'Doherty, M. Van Glabeke, and N. Clumeck. "Pyrimethamine-clindamycin vs. Pyrimethamine-sulfadiazine as Acute and Long-term Therapy for Toxoplasmic Encephalitis in Patients with AIDS." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1996. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8838183>.
• Pollack, Andrew. "Drug Goes From $13.50 a Tablet to $750, Overnight." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Sept. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/21/business/a-huge-overnight-increase-in-a-drugs-price-raises-protests.html>.
• Silverman, Ed. "What Does It Cost to Develop a New Drug? Latest Study Says $2.6 Billion." WSJ. Dow Jones & Company, Inc., 20 Nov. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.wsj.com/articles/what-does-it-cost-to-develop-a-new-drug-latest-study-says-2-6-billion-1416529149>.
• Herper, Matthew. "The Cost Of Creating A New Drug Now $5 Billion, Pushing Big Pharma To Change." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 11 Aug. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2013/08/11/how-the-staggering-cost-of-inventing-new-drugs-is-shaping-the-future-of-medicine/#6214a8236bfc>.
• "10 Wildly Overinflated Hospital Costs | Reader's Digest." Readers Digest. Trusted Media Brands, Inc., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.rd.com/health/wellness/wildly-overinflated-hospital-costs/>.
• Rosenthal, Elisabeth. "As Hospital Prices Soar, a Stitch Tops $500." The New York Times. The New York Times, 02 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/03/health/as-hospital-costs-soar-single-stitch-tops-500.html>.
• Turing Pharmaceutical's Official Website for Daraprim <http://www.daraprimdirect.com/patients>.
• "AHF: $750 Drug That Sells For $1 to Government Agencies Underscores Need for Drug Pricing Reform." BusinessWire. BusinessWire, 24 Sept. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150924006206/en/AHF-750-Drug-Sells-1-Government-Agencies>.
• Walters, Joanna. "Martin Shkreli: Entrepreneur Defends Decision to Raise Price of Life-saving Drug 50-fold." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/sep/21/entrepreneur-defends-raise-price-daraprim-drug>.
• Nather, David. "Documents: Officers at Shkreli's Company Received Huge Raises." STAT. Stat News, 04 Feb. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.statnews.com/2016/02/04/chaffetz-turing-shkreli-profit/>.
• Garde, Damian. "Shkreli's Turing Pharma Banks $90M in a Murky Funding round." FierceBiotech. FierceMarkets, 10 Aug. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/shkrelis-turing-pharma-banks-90m-murky-funding-round/2015-08-10>.
• "Compensation Information for Martin Shkreli , Former Chief Executive Officer of RETROPHIN INC | Salary.com." Salary.com. Salary.com, Inc., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www1.salary.com/Martin-Shkreli-Salary-Bonus-Stock-Options-for-RETROPHIN-INC.html>.
• Reuters. "Martin Shkreli's E*Trade Account Has Lost $40 Million." Fortune Martin Shkrelis ETrade Account Has Lost 40 Million Comments. Time Inc., 03 Feb. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://fortune.com/2016/02/03/martin-shkrelis-etrade-account-has-lost-40-million/>.

The Media's View of Martin Shkreli

On September 8, 2015, Tom Evegan and and Kevin Bernier were sent this letter from the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) with collaboration from the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) demanding that Turing Pharmaceuticals, a company that had recently purchased the generic drug Daraprim (pyrimethamine) for $55 million, reverse the company's price increase on the drug. The New York Times was the first news company to report on the matter claiming that a single bottle of Daraprim changed from the price of $13.50 a tablet to over $750 a tablet immediately after the purchase of the drug. The price change caused a national outrage and sparked a serious debate on big pharma and how drug companies operate and make profit. Martin Shkreli, founder and former owner of Turing Pharmaceuticals, was the decision maker behind the price increase and has been branded as face of the problems surrounding pharmaceutical companies and has even gained the nickname "Pharma Bro" by many new organizations. 

The big media organizations have been following the story of Martin Shkreli heavily since it started in 2015. After a few quick google searches, it's quite easy to see the main stream media's dominating opinion on Shkreli and his business tactics. Here I will generalize the different major media companies' views on the Shkreli scandal by using different articles as reference. It is important to note that each company has about three or four different articles being used for reference, and not every article posted by each company should represent an entire organization's view on a subject. It is possible that the companies do not hold the conclusive view that I will state, but the articles I am using are gathered from the top search results on each respective news media companie's websites.

News Corp

The New York Post has been very aggressive in terms of their attacks on Shkreli. In this article, originally published by Fox News, Shkreli is called a "jackass" while the article discusses his various interactions with different rap artists. The article, titled "Pharma Jackass Wants To Buy Kanye's New Album for $10M" goes on to attack Shkreli for purchasing the Wu-Tang Clan album "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin" for two million dollars, which is a congruent theme in most of the articles from most of the big media companies. Another article titled "Smirky Martin Shkreli Silent as Lawmakers Rip Him" discusses Shkreli's appearance in congress in February after being charged with security fraud. The article is quick to quote members of the congressional hearing that tried to grill Shkreli for his raising of the price of Daraprim. Many of the cited quotes are very dramatic, like Maryland Representative Elijah Cumming's comment, "It's not funny Mr. Shkreli. People are dying, and they are getting sicker and sicker." The main point of the article is to point out that during the hearing Shkreli chose to plead the fifth and avoided all questions except one when the representatives had asked him whether or not his name was pronounced correctly. Some articles go as far as to treat Shkreli similar to a celebrity and comment solely on his personal life. This piece titled "Everything You Wanted to Know About Martin Shkreli's $120 Cup of Tea" goes into detail about a failed date held between Shkreli and "an ex-Tinder flame of the 32-year-old money grubber" where the two visited the Brushstroke Restaurant and purchased their famed and expensive green tea. The article begins with the statement "There won't be cups of tea like this in prison, Martin Shkreli" to immediately show it's bias. One of the more interesting articles that I was able to find comments and seems to glorify an incident in which Shkreli's twitter account was hacked. The article is titled "Creep CEO Martin Shkreli's Social Media Gets Hacked," and it seems to glorify the hackers and applaud them while continuing an assault on Shkreli's practices. The first sentence of the article states "A Hacker infiltrated the Twitter and YouTube accounts of pharma price-hike creep Martin Shkreli on Sunday, ripping the hated ex-hedge-fund manager in a string of insulting postings," which shows great bias with it's ad-hominem attacks towards Shkreli. The article continues to post several of the tweets allegedly posted by the hacker, and described Shkreli's use of his own accounts as "cocky."

Marketwatch, another company under ownership by News Corp, also stepped out of it's way to attack the former CEO. Most of their articles continue the stream of insults, like this news piece titled "Martin Shkreli Really is a Bad Boy of Pharma Government Argues." The article discusses Shkreli's current legal predicament, as he's currently being sued by one of his former companies and is currently under investigation from the FBI. The article comments on the reasons for Shkreli's arrest and the motivation behind his current lawsuit, yet, as a general theme for most of the big media companies in this list, the reporter failed to mention any basis or evidence behind the convictions. I have yet to find an article that attempts to give any kind of proof behind the allegations except for the raising of the price of Daraprim. Some of Marketwatch's articles are much less newsworthy and consist entirely of insults. For example, this article consists entirely of Martin Shkreli's face edited over six different famous villains from Hollywood movies.

21st Century Fox

Fox News is slightly more elegant in it's description of Martin Shkreli, yet their reports have been just as aggressive. With headlines like "Disgraced Drug Exec Martin Shkreli: I'm not a 'Pharma Bro,'" Fox News reports seem to follow a similar formula to the New York Post. For example, the previously mentioned article starts off with an insulting headline, states that he is currently in a lawsuit and is being investigated for criminal charges, and briefly reminds the reader of the article that Shkreli was responsible for the drug price increase. Also, just like most of The New York Post's articles, Fox News reporters are quick to state that Shkreli purchased the Wu-Tang Album. Some of Fox's reporters have been vocal on Shkreli's choice to plead the fifth amendment during his congressional hearing in February and have been going so far as to criticize him for refusing to answer questions about his company and his business practices. In this article, Shkreli is said to have been "silenced" and "muzzled" by his new lawyer Benjamin Brafman. It then continues on to comment on the Wu-Tang album, the price increase, and the lawsuit and the congressional indictment, following the Shkreli news report formula. As another example, this article titled "Ex-CEO Shkreli Smirks, Pleads Fifth at Hearing on Drug Price Hikes" follows the exact same formula as the previously mentioned article. All of the exact same issues are stated in a similar fashion, but in this article the reporter has chosen to include the same dramatic quotes that The New York Post has used in their reports, including Representative Elijah Cummings' "People are dying" statement. 

Disney

ABC News has shown a much more professional and relaxed approach to the Martin Shkreli scandal compared to the rest of the big media companies. The reporters from ABC News use more polite language to talk about Shkreli, and instead of targeting him for his Wu-Tang album purchase or his actions on social media, they instead discuss how different members of Turing Pharmaceuticals have spoken out against their CEO. In this article, the reporter has taken what appears to be a much more unbiased approach on the congressional hearing that Shkreli was subpoenaed for by cherry picking short quotes from different attendees of the hearing and from Turing's current and former employees. For example, the article states that Senator Bob Casey called Shkreli "pure evil," but does not state any kind of context for the quote. Another quote from this article comes from Howard Dorfman, a former member of Turing's general counsel, who stated that the increased price of Daraprim "was certainly unjustifiable," and that when he brought up issue with Shkreli, he responded by saying "no one cares about price increases." The article then goes on to say that the current interim CEO of Turing Ronald Tilles stated that the company spent over sixty percent of it's revenue on research and development for a replacement for Daraprim. Shortly afterwards, Senator Claire McCaskill informed Tilles of a contradictory statement made by Turing's chief commercial officer Nancy Retzlaff about how much the company had spent on research, yet the article does not cite Retzlaff's statement nor does it say why it was contradictory. A separate article can be used to exemplify ABC News' hidden bias as it discusses Shkreli's promise to decrease the price of Daraprim, yet later went back on his promise. The article begins by saying that "Notorious former pharma CEO Martin Shkreli" emailed his board of directors, and by continuing to cherry pick different quotes and statements made during the event the article states that in the email Shkreli wrote "$1bn here we come" during negotiations to purchase Daraprim. The article then goes on by stating "Shkreli drew fire for boosting the price of the drug, which is used to treat infections that are typically found in those with compromised immune systems, by 4,000 percent." This statement isn't entirely false, but the article's bias shows by quoting Shkreli's email where he said "Nice work as usual." By picking out short sentences and using them out of context, ABC News tries to show a strong case to demoralize Shkreli's business actions. The article then goes on to give a brief description of the congressional hearing that Shkreli attended, and uses similarly attacking quotations from Elijah Cummings. In contrast to the past two articles, some of ABC News' reporters have chosen to portray an almost completely unbiased approach like this article that consists mostly of statements made by Shkreli and other employees from Turing. the article gives a quotation from a statement made by the company, which as quoted says "There have been no significant advances or research into this disease area in decades, ... For toxoplasmosis and other critical, under-treated diseases, the status quo is not an option. Turing hopes to change that by targeting investments that both improve on the current formulation and seek to develop new therapeutics with better clinical profiles that we hope will help eradicate the disease." The reporter for this article has a sharp contrast in her bias on the Shkreli scandal, yet the article was written before Shkreli refused to lower the price of Daraprim and charged with security frauds which suggests that the article attempted to paint Shkreli in a better light before his current legal predicament gave news media more to report on.

Surprisingly, Vice Media, where Disney owns ten percent of the company share, released a short documentary on Shkreli that defends his actions at Turing. The video consists mainly of a reporter having wine and playing chess with Shkreli as he explains why he had raised the price of Daraprim and why he chose to "play the villain" during the scandal. It shows Shkreli giving what appears to be an honest and passionate explanation as to why the price raising was justified.

Viacom

As the offshoot company of CBS, Viacom's media tends to not focus around news and hasn't stated much about the Shkreli scandal, yet one of the few instances where a program owned by Viacom has chosen to give commentary about the subject, we can find one of the most egregious statements made by any of the current media. Larry Wilmore from The Nightly Show, a program from Comedy Central which is owned by Viacom, gave a brief comment on the scandal in a segment called the Carriage of Justice. After saying "Do you guys remember this idiot?" Wilmore showed two short clips from CBS news sources that reported on the price increase of Daraprim, and then stated "I know the guillotine isn't popular anymore, I get that. But, right, hey-hey, the public showing of a head being chopped off is the only way to solve something like this sometimes, you know? Some people just need to die." Then, after a joke about Shkreli purchasing the Wu-Tang album, the article then shows another short clip from another CBS News source that gives a statement of Shkreli's arrest for security fraud which garnishes an uproarious applause.

CBS

CBS News articles show some bias on the Shkreli scandal in a political manner. In this article, the reporters comment on the price increase and quote Shkreli when he states that in his opinion the price increase shouldn't be considered excessive. Then, after the commentary of the price increase is finished, the article discusses how "the topic entered political debate" and reports statements and actions made by democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Hillary is quoted saying "Price gouging this in the specialty drug market is outrageous," and Bernie Sanders offers his comment on the price change by calling it "... the latest in a long list of skyrocketing price increases for certain critical medications." The article ends by commenting on Hillary Clinton's promise to lay out a plan for regulating pharma increases like this in the future. A different article that was posted on the same day as the previous article follows an almost cookie-cutter like pattern listing the same information in a slightly different order while leaving out the political statements from the democratic candidates. The similarity between the two suggests that CBS had developed a formula on how it chose to report the scandal. When it came to Shrkeli's congressional appearance, CBS News reporters condemned Shkreli's choice to plead the Fifth Amendment and stated that his lawyer had "muzzled" him, while also using the same aggressive quotes from Representative Cummings as shown in this article. The article also comments on an exchange held on Twitter between Shkreli and member of the California State Assembly Ted Lieu, where Lieu responded to a tweet made by Shkreli that called the members of the congressional panel "imbeciles." The article also states that after the hearing, Shkreli began live-streaming on the social media site Blab where he answered questions from those interested in the hearing, yet the article does not cite any of the answers he had given. Instead, the article condemned Shkreli for refusing to answer questions from CBS News reporter Vladimir Duthiers and stated that Shkreli told Duthiers that "he would not take questions from the media."

Time Warner

Most of the reporting done by CNN on the Shkreli scandal is done through CNN Money. The potential profit margin of the price increase is the typical focus from CNN's reports, like for example this article which has a headline of "As Turing Pharmaceuticals took steps to Acquire a Life-Saving Drug, Former CEO Martin Shkreli Saw Dollar Signs." It begins with the quote from Shkreli's seized personal email where he wrote "$1bn here we come." The article also quote's a letter written to a contact who's information isn't stated by the reporter where Shkreli wrote "We raised the price from $1,700 per bottle to $75,000 ... So 5,000 paying bottles at the new price is $375,000,000 - almost all of it is profit and I think we will get 3 years of that or more." Although Shkreli has stated many times before, this quotation is interesting since Shkreli is suggesting that only 5,000 bottles will be sold at the new price. According to the World Health Organization, over 60 million people in the United States are currently infected with toxoplasmosis, the parasitic disease that Daraprim treats, and although few people actually develop symptoms of toxoplasmosis, there are well over 5,000 patients in need of treatment for the disease. Some of CNN Money's reports on Shkreli are not as interested in the profits of the price increase as its other articles, like for example this video titled "Best Moments from Martin Shkreli Hearing" where short clips of Shkreli smirking and stating that he is pleading the Fifth Amendment are edited in with the aggressive accusations made by the members of the congressional hearing.

Comcast

NBC News outlets have chosen the same formulaic system of reporting the Shkreli scandal. As and example, this article comments on the same quotes made in Shkreli's email, the decision to plead the Fifth Amendment in Shkreli's congressional hearing, the same statements on the Daraprim price increase, the same quotes from members of the hearing like Representative Cummings' statements, the purchasing of the Wu-Tang album, and the Twitter tit-for-tats held between Shkreli and members of congress. What's different about this article is that the language the reporters have used is much more professional when it comes to discussing Shkreli's actions; not once is he called a "bad boy" or a "pharma bro" in the article, with the exception that in the headline the word "Pharma Bro" is placed in quotations suggesting that the article doesn't want to affiliate itself with that kind of branding but has instead decided to only acknowledge the nickname. A different article offers all of the same information, yet it leaves out the many quotes from the different congressional members and instead offers a relatively detailed account on the arrest and the charges being brought up against him. It also mentions that Evan Greebel was arrested along with Martin Shkreli and has been charged similarly with security fraud and wire fraud, a detail that seems to be left out from most of the articles discussed in this blog post. Overall, NBC News has taken a much more professional approach to reporting the Shkreli scandal, yet by using the same information that has been repeated in most of the articles posted here, one can still assume bias in their reports.

General Overview of the Stance of Main Stream Media

I would be stating the obvious if I said that the main stream media doesn't like Martin Shkreli. Whether it be the obscenity-laden remarks from the New York Post and Comedy Central's Larry Wilmore, or the professional and eloquent remarks from NBC News, the main stream media wants to see Shkreli thrown in jail. To summarize, there are four major issues that are discussed between all of the companies:

1. Raising the price of Daraprim is unjustifiable
2. Patients in need of treatment for toxoplasmosis won't be able to afford the new price of Daraprim, and many will suffer from their inability to receive medication.
3. Martin Shkreli used the money that he has gained from the price increase of Daraprim to purchase the $2 million Wu-Tang album "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin."
4. Martin Shkreli is guilty of the charges brought against him, and will also lose his lawsuit against Retrophin.

As I stated at the beginning of this blog post, not every reporter that works for these news media outlets will necessarily agree with these statements, but my opinion of the main stream media's views has been gathered from some of the more popular and better marketed articles posted online from the major media companies.

Sources Listed in Order of Appearance:

• Calderwood, Stephen B. "Letter Regarding the Price Increase for Daraprim." Letter to Tom Evegan & Kevin Bernier. 8 Sept. 2015. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.hivma.org/uploadedFiles/HIVMA/HomePageContent/PyrimethamineLetterFINAL.pdf>.
• Infamous letter sent to members of Turing Pharmaceuticals regarding the price increase that started the Shkreli scandal
• Pollack, Andrew. "Drug Goes From $13.50 a Tablet to $750, Overnight." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Sept. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/21/business/a-huge-overnight-increase-in-a-drugs-price-raises-protests.html?_r=0>.
• A general news article used to cite the price increase of Daraprim.
• "Martin Shkreli." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Shkreli>.
• Martin Shkreli's general Wikipedia page. It is used to invite readers to read more about the man behind the scandal.
• "Pharma Jackass Wants to Buy Kanye’s New Album for $10M." New York Post. Fox News, 12 Feb. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://nypost.com/2016/02/12/pharma-jackass-wants-to-buy-kanyes-new-album-for-10m/>.
• Article by the New York Post used as an example for News Corp's bias.
• Perez, Chris. "Smirky Martin Shkreli Silent as Lawmakers Rip Him." New York Post. N.p., 04 Feb. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://nypost.com/2016/02/04/smirky-martin-shkreli-silent-as-lawmakers-rip-him/>.
• Article by the New York Post used as an example for News Corp's bias.
• Goldberg, Haley. "Everything You Wanted to Know about Martin Shkreli’s $120 Cup of Tea." New York Post. N.p., 07 Jan. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://nypost.com/2016/01/07/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-pharma-jackasss-120-cup-of-tea/>.
• Article by the New York Post used as an example for News Corp's bias.
• Strum, Beckie. "Creep CEO Martin Shkreli’s Social Media Gets Hacked." New York Post. N.p., 20 Dec. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://nypost.com/2015/12/20/creep-ceo-martin-shkrelis-social-media-gets-hacked/>.
• Article by the New York Post used as an example for News Corp's bias.
• Court, Emma. "Martin Shkreli Really Is a Bad Boy of Pharma, Government Argues." MarketWatch. N.p., 19 Feb. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.marketwatch.com/story/martin-shkreli-really-is-a-bad-boy-of-pharma-government-argues-2016-02-19>.
• Article by MarketWatch used as an example for News Corp's bias.
• Langlois, Shawn. "6 Perfect Roles for Martin Shkreli, Hollywood's next Leading Man." MarketWatch. N.p., 11 Feb. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.marketwatch.com/story/7-perfect-roles-for-martin-shkreli-hollywoods-next-leading-man-2016-02-11>.
• Article by MarketWatch used as an example for News Corp's bias.
• "Disgraced Drug Exec Martin Shkreli: I'm Not a 'pharma Bro' | Fox News." Fox News. FOX News Network, 18 Jan. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/01/18/disgraced-drug-exec-martin-shkreli-im-not-pharma-bro.html>.
• Article by Fox News used as an example to show 21st Century Fox's bias. 
• "New Lawyer Silences Bad-boy Ex-pharma CEO Martin Shkreli | Fox News."Fox News. FOX News Network, 03 Feb. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/02/03/new-lawyer-silences-bad-boy-ex-pharma-ceo-martin-shkreli.html>.
• Article by Fox News used as an example to show 21st Century Fox's bias. 
• Perrone, Matthew. "Lawmakers Challenge Turing Executives on Drug Price Hikes." ABC News. ABC News Network, 17 Mar. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/lawyer-turing-execs-warned-shkreli-price-hike-37716608>.
• Article by ABC News used to show Disney's bias.
• Siegel, Benjamin, and Mary Bruce. "Former Pharma Big Martin Shkreli Boasted '$1 Bn Here We Come,' Documents Say." ABC News. ABC News Network, 2 Feb. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pharma-big-martin-shkreli-boasted-bn-documents/story?id=36671216>.
• Article by ABC News used to show Disney's bias.
• Mohney, Gillian. "Company Will Lower Drug Price After Critics Called 4,000% Hike 'Unjustifiable'" ABC News. ABC News Network, 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://abcnews.go.com/Health/company-lower-drug-price-critics-called-4000-hike/story?id=33955820>.
• Article by ABC News used to show Disney's bias.
• Conti, Allie. "Watch: Martin Shkreli on Drug Price Hikes and Playing the World's Villain | VICE | United States." VICE. VICE Media LLC, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <https://www.vice.com/video/drinking-wine-and-playing-chess-at-martin-shkrelis-midtown-apartment>.
• Article by VICE News used to counter Disney's bias. 
• Wilmore, Larry. "Carriage of Justice - Martin Shkreli's Arrest- - Video Clip | Comedy Central." Comedy Central. Viacom, 17 Dec. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cc.com/video-clips/rmbz03/the-nightly-show-with-larry-wilmore-carriage-of-justice---martin-shkreli-s-arrest>.
• Video segment from an episode of The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore used to show Viacom's bias.
• "Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli Defends 5,000 Percent Price Hike on Daraprim." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/turing-pharmaceuticals-ceo-martin-shkreli-defends-5000-percent-price-hike-on-daraprim-drug/>.
• Article by CBS News used to show CBS's bias.
• "Meet the Moneyman behind a Controversial Prescription Price Hike."CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/martin-shkreli-meet-the-moneyman-behind-a-controversial-prescription-price-hike/>.
• Article by CBS News used to show CBS's bias.
• Gibson, Katie. "Even Muzzled, Martin Shkreli Still Annoys Lawmakers."CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 4 Feb. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-muzzled-martin-shkreli-taken-to-task-by-lawmakers/>.
• Article by CBS News used to show CBS's bias.
• McClean, Robert. "Martin Shkreli on Drug Price Hike: '$1 Billion Here We Come'" CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 3 Feb. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/03/news/shkreli-turing-daraprim-price-house-hearing/>.
• Article by CNNMoney used to show Time Warner's bias. 
• Torgerson, Paul R., and Pierpaolo Mastroiacovo. "Diagnosing Congenital Toxoplasmosis: Where Are We? A Systematic Review." Int Arch Med International Archives of Medicine (2015): 501-08. World Health Organization, 2013 July 1. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/91/7/12-111732.pdf>.
• A couple of pages from a World Health Organization research paper that gives statistics about toxoplasmosis.
• "Martin Shkreli's Many Faces Say More than Words." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2016/02/04/shkreli-hearing.cnnmoney>.
• Article by CNNMoney used to show Time Warner's bias. 
• Abdullah, Halimah. "'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli Invokes the Fifth Before Congress." NBC News. Comcast, 4 Feb. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pharma-bro-martin-shkreli-faces-congress-n511106>.
• Article by NBC News used to show Comcast's bias.
• Ortiz, Erik, Johnathan Dientz, Joe Valiquette, and Alicia Hastey. "FBI Arrests Pharma CEO Martin Shkreli on Securities Fraud Charges." NBC News. Comcast, 17 Dec. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/fbi-arrests-controversial-turing-pharmaceuticals-ceo-martin-shkreli-report-n481671>.
• Article by NBC News used to show Comcast's bias.

Media Corporation Cheat Sheet

Who Owns the Media?

Currently, over 90% of all media is owned by six different companies. These companies are known as the "Big Six," and have merged to create an oligarchy on the United States' information flow. In order for this blog to function, one must be able to recognize who the big corporations are and what media sources lie under their domain. For the sake of this blog, this post will highlight companies that operate mostly in the United States. 

It's important to note that News Corporation was split up in 2013 to create two separate companies, News Corp and 21st Century Fox. The two companies are now considered parent organizations of each other.
Also, although Viacom took control of CBS in 1971, as of 2005 the two companies have split from each other. Both Viacom and CBS are controlled by Sumner Redstone through her company called National Amusements. 

It's also important to note that this is not a complete list of what these companies are in control of; this blog post should be used as a general reference to determine what major company controls different news outlets. 

News Corp

• The New York Post
• Dow Jones and Company Consumer Media Group
• The Wall Street Journal 
• Wall Street Journal Europe
• Wall Street Journal Asia
• Barron's
• Marketwatch
• Far Eastern Economic Review
• Financial News
• Dow Jones and Company Enterprise Media Group
• Dow Jones Newswires
• Factiva
• Dow Jones Indexes
• Dow Jones Financial Information Services
• Betten Financial News
• Community Newspaper Group
• The Brooklyn Paper
• Courier-Life Publications
• TimesLedger Newspapers
• Bronx Times Reporter Inc. 
• The Corning Leader

21st Century Fox

• 20th Century Fox
• Fox News Group
• Fox News Channel
• Fox Business Network
• Fox Television Stations
• Fox Broadcasting Company 

The Walt Disney Company

• ABC Television Group
• American Broadcasting Company
• ABC News
• ABC News Radio
• ABC News One
• Fusion Media Network
• ABC Enterprises
• A&E Networks (Joint Ownership with Hearst Corporation)
• A&E Network
• History Network
• History Channel
• Viceland
• Lifetime Entertainment Systems
• Lifetime
• Lifetime Real Women
• Lifetime Radio for Women
• Lifetime Press
• Lifetime Digital
• Vice Media Inc. (10% share ownership)
• ABC Entertainment Group
• ABC Digital
• ABC Entertainment
• ESPN Inc. (80% share ownership)

Viacom

• Viacom Media Networks
• Music and Entertainment
• MTV
• VH1
• Logo
• Palladia
• Comedy Central
• Spike
• Family Entertainment
• Nickelodeon
• TeenNick
• CMT
• BET
• Smartplanet.com
• ratemyprofessor.com
• Atom Entertainment

CBS

• Radio
• CBS Radio
• Eventful
• Radio.com
• CBS Altitude Group
• Internet
• CBS Interactive
• CBSN
• CBS Local
• CNET
• Television
• CBS
• CBS Television Stations
• Showtime
• Pop
• Westinghouse Licensing Corporation 

Time Warner

• HBO
• Turner Entertainment Networks
• truTV
• TBS
• TNT
• TCM
• WPCH
• Cartoon Network
• Adult Swim
• CNN News Group
• CNN U.S.
• HLN
• KBEH (co-owned by Viacom)
• CNN Radio
• CNN Digital Network
• CNN.com
• CNNMoney.com
• iReport
• CNN Mobile
• CNN Newsource 
• CNN Wire
• Turner Private Networks
• Airport Network
• AccentHealth Waiting Room Television Network
• Turner Inflight Services
• Amtrak Acela Network
• The Checking Network
• Website Services
• Crime Library
• CNN Pipeline
• Time Inc.
• Time Magazine

Comcast

• NBCUniversal
• NBC Advertising Sales
• NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations
• Telemundo Station Group
• NBC Television Distribution
• NBCUniversal Digital Entertainment Special Events
• NBC Entertainment
• NBC
• NBC Studios
• Universal Television
• NBCUniversal News Group
• NBC News
• CNBC
• MSNBC
• Peacock Productions
• The Weather Company
• The Weather Channel
• NBCUniversal Cable
• Bravo
• E!
• USA Network
• CNBC World

These Are the Companies That Control Our Media

These seven companies control over 90% of all American media. What's even more shocking is that Viacom and CBS are both controlled by one person, Sumner Redstone, and 21st Century Fox and News Corp are both controlled by Rupert Murdoch. Comcast, as opposed to being controlled by only one person, is primarily dominated by the Robert's Family.

Since radio is one of the most powerful news media sources, the company iHeartMedia deserves an honorable mention, since it has dominated the radio by owning over 850 radio stations in the fifty states reaching over 110 million listeners daily.
Another honorable mention should go to Arthur Ochs Sulzeberger Jr. who owns The New York Times Company, which reaches millions of readers daily as well. 

Over 90% of the media is owned by three families and a handful of shareholders.