California

===Media and entertainment===
{{further|Media in Los Angeles|Media in the San Francisco Bay Area|Music in California}}
{{see also|List of amusement parks in the Americas#California|List of newspapers in California|List of radio stations in California}}
[[File:Walt_Disney_Studios_Alameda_Entrance.jpg|thumb|left|[[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]], headquartered in [[Burbank, California|Burbank]], is one of the world's largest media and entertainment companies.]]
[[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] and the rest of the Los Angeles area is a major global center for entertainment, with the [[cinema in the United States|U.S. film industry]]'s [[Major film studio|"Big Five" major film studios]] ([[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]], [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]], [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]], [[Universal Pictures|Universal]], and [[Warner Bros.]]) as well as many minor film studios being based in or around the area. Many [[animation]] studios are also headquartered in the state.

The four major American television commercial broadcast networks ([[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[CBS]], [[NBC]], and [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]) as well as other networks all have production facilities and offices in the state. All the four major commercial broadcast networks, plus the two major Spanish-language networks ([[Telemundo]] and [[Univision]]) each have at least three [[Owned-and-operated television stations in the United States|owned-and-operated TV stations]] in California, including at least one in Los Angeles and at least one in San Francisco.{{refn|group="note"|[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] has the least amount of owned-and-operated TV stations with three: [[KABC-TV]] in Los Angeles, [[KGO-TV]] in San Francisco, and [[KFSN-TV]] in Fresno.}}
[[File:Twitter headquarters in San Francisco (TK2).JPG|thumb|[[Twitter]], headquartered in San Francisco, is one of the largest [[Social networking service|social media networks]] in the world.]]
[[File:State Fair 2014.jpg|thumb|The [[California State Fair]] is held annually during the summer at [[Cal Expo]] in northeastern [[Sacramento]].]]
One of the oldest radio stations in the United States still in existence, [[KCBS (AM)]] in the [[Media in the San Francisco Bay Area|San Francisco Bay Area]], was founded in 1909. [[Universal Music Group]], one of the "[[Music market|Big Four]]" record labels, is based in [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]], while [[Warner Records]] is based in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]]. Many independent record labels, such as [[Mind of a Genius Records]], are also headquartered in the state. California is also the birthplace of several international music genres, including the [[Bakersfield sound]], [[Bay Area thrash metal]], [[alternative rock]], [[g-funk]], [[nu metal]], [[glam metal]], [[thrash metal]], [[psychedelic rock]], [[stoner rock]], [[punk rock]], [[hardcore punk]], [[metalcore]], [[pop punk]], [[surf music]], [[third wave ska]], [[west coast hip hop]], [[west coast jazz]], [[jazz rap]], and many other genres. Other genres such as [[pop rock]], [[indie rock]], [[hard rock]], [[hip hop]], [[pop music|pop]], [[rock music|rock]], [[rockabilly]], [[country music|country]], [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]], [[grunge]], [[New wave music|new wave]] and [[disco]] were popularized in the state. In addition, many British bands, such as [[Led Zeppelin]], [[Deep Purple]], [[Black Sabbath]], and [[the Rolling Stones]] settled in the state after becoming internationally famous.

As the home of [[Silicon Valley]], the Bay Area is the headquarters of several prominent [[internet media]], [[social media]], and other technology companies. Three of the [[Big Tech|"Big Five" technology companies]] ([[Apple Inc.|Apple]], [[Meta Platforms|Meta]], and [[Google]]) are based in the area as well as other services such as [[Netflix]], [[Pandora Radio]], [[Twitter]], [[Yahoo!]], and [[YouTube]]. Other prominent companies that are headquartered here include [[HP inc.]] and [[Intel]]. [[Microsoft]] and [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] also have offices in the area.

California, particularly [[Southern California]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.speedhunters.com/2022/03/car-culture-southern-california/ |title=Car Culture: Does Anywhere Do It Better Than Southern California? |last=Ryan|first=Sara|date=March 18, 2022|website= speedhunters.com|publisher=[[Electronic Arts Inc.]] |access-date= August 17, 2023|quote=Ask anyone who's involved in the automotive hobby where they'd suggest heading for some really thick car culture, and Southern California would surely be mentioned.}}</ref> is considered the birthplace of modern [[car culture]].<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.2307/25591577 | jstor=25591577 | last1=Lutz | first1=R. C. | title=On the Road to Nowhere? California's Car Culture | journal=California History | date=August 28, 2023 | volume=79 | issue=1 | pages=50–55 }}</ref>

Several [[fast food]], [[fast casual restaurant|fast casual]], and [[List of casual dining restaurant chains|casual dining]] chains were also founded California, including some that have since expanded internationally like [[California Pizza Kitchen]], [[Denny's]], [[IHOP]], [[McDonald's]], [[Panda Express]], and [[Taco Bell]].