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COMMUNICATION SCIENCE 3
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION
Media, Culture and Globalisation
Introduction & Overview
Lecture 1
Instructor: Mr.T.G. Mokgosi
WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION?
 The term international communication
means every aspect of communication
involved in the flow of cultural products
across national boundries- from direct
satellite
broadcasting
to
individual
“reading” of cultural commodities from
other countries.
 International communication is defined
as
communication
that
occurs
across
international borders.
 International
communication
is
also
defined as the transmission or transfer of
media products (or the media system
itself) across national borders.
 International communication refers to a
more socio-political and economic analysis of
communication across national boundaries.
 International communication refers to the
global dimension across the globe, between
nations
for
the
expansion
of
national
(imperial) and corporate (business) power.
GLOBAL MASS COMMUNICATION
Global mass communication is a multifaceted
phenomenon that takes a variety of forms.
According to McQuail (2000; p.220) these
include:
 Direct transmission or distribution of media
channels or complete publications from one
country to audiences in other countries.
 Certain international media, such as MTV
Europe, CNN International, BBC Word etc
 Content items such as (films, music,
TV programmes, journalism items) that
are
imported
to
make
up
part
of
domestic media output
 Formats and genres of foreign origin
that are adapted or remade to suit
domestic audience
 International news: items whether about
a foreign country or made in a foreign
country, that appear in domestic media
 Miscellaneous content such as sporting
events, advertising and pictures that have
a foreign reference or origin.
THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF
INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNICATION
Reading: Thussu, Chapter 1
POLITICS, COMMUNICATION AND POWER
 There
are
between
media,
power
both
important
in
communication
Communication
connections
communication
terms
of
means
(Information
Technology)
and
and
of
and
the
content of the information communicated.
 The nexus of economic, military and
political power has always depended on
efficient systems of communication. (D.
Kissan Thussu).
 In short, control over communication
systems allows such powers to control
key messages (for propaganda purposes)
and
to
development.
influence
socio-economic
I) COMMUNICATION AND EMPIRES
 Communication has always been critical to
the establishment and maintenance of power
over distance.
 Form the Persian; Greek and roman empires
to
the
British,
communication
sufficient
were
network
essential
for
of
the
imposition of imperial authority, as well as for
the international trade and commerce on which
they were based.
 Indeed, the extant of the efficiency of
communication.
 Communications
networks
and
technologies were key to the mechanics
of
distributed
government,
campaigns and trade.
military
GREATER NEED FOR INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNICATION
 The growth of international trade and
investment required a constant source of
reliable data about international trade and
economic affairs, while the British Empire
required a steady supply of information
essential
for
maintaining
alliances and military security.
political
II) THE TELEGRAPH AND 19TH C. IMPERIAL
COMMUNICATION
 The bottom line is that control of
telegraph
cables
was
crucial
to
maintaining an empire thus, political
and economic success
3) INTERNATIONAL NEWS AGENCIES
 The
newspaper
important
role
in
industry
the
played
development
an
of
international communication and increases
the demand of news.
 The establishment of the news agencies
was the most important development in the
newspaper industry of the nineteenth century
altering the process of news dissemination,
nationally and internationally.
 Commercial newspapers were early adopters
of the telegraph. International news agencies
were established soon thereafter
 1835 Havas—French,
 1849 Wollf—German
 1851 Reuters—English
 All were international, all were subsidized by
their
domestic
government,
privately owned newspapers
all
services
 Their effect was to control international
information markets
 What is important about the formation of
international news agencies is that it links
content
to
cables)
and
control
control
over
ICTs
over
the
(telegraph
information
circulating through that network, important
both for the formation of public opinion, but
as importantly for financial markets
1) PROPAGANDA, THE COLD WAR AND INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNICATION
 The second world war saw an explosion in
international
broadcasting
as
propaganda
tool on both sides (communist and capitalist)
 Propaganda was also a key battle ground
during the Cold War
 Radio
Moscow
vs.
America/Radio Free Europe
the
Voice
of
 In 1951 the US established a “Psychological
Strategy Board’ to advise the US president on
the
most
effective
forms
of
“international
anticommunist propaganda”.
 Radio Free Europe was set up under its
auspices as a part of a broader strategy of
psychological warfare in Europe funded by the
CIA
 The key point here is that there was a clear
connection
made
between
the
power
over
communication systems and the ability to alter
public opinion and thinking.
 From US side, the goal was simple: win the
‘war’ in favour of capitalism, the ‘free market’
and consumerism.
 The key battle grounds were the developing
world in Asia and Africa and Eastern Europe
(Third World).
2) NEW WORLD INFORMATION/COMMUNICATION
ORDER (NWICO)
 Going
into
the
final
battle
in
forming
international communication as we know it
today, there was one last stand between
competing
visions
of
how
it
might
be
structured.
 The developing word—made up largely of
former colonies—had a broad list of demands,
including:
 An end to the one-way flow of information—from North
to South
 An end to information ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’
 A shift from horizontal flows of information (from the
top down, from north to south, etc) to vertical flows
 An end to information as commodity subject to market
logic
 An
end
to
communication
the
international
system
international inequality
helping
information
to
and
reproduce
MEDIA AND DEVELOPMENT
The
Mass
important
Media
vehicle
were
for
seen
as
an
socio-economic
development not as a commercial means
to ‘entertain’ and sell products
THE MAC BRIDE COMMISSION
 The international communication for the
study of the communication problems that
was established under the chairmanship
of Sean Mac Bride by UNESCO occupies a
prominent place in the debate regarding
the establishment of a NWICO.
 The
commission
report,
commonly
known as the Mac Bride report, gave
intellectual justification for evolving a
new global.
 The commission was established to
study
for
main
communication:
aspects
of
global
1. The current state of world communication;
2. The
problems
surrounding
a
free
and
balanced flow of information;
3. How the needs of the developing countries
link with the flow;
4. How in light of the NIEO, a NWICO could be
created, and how the media could become
the vehicle for educating opinion about world
problems.
THE MACBRIDE REPORT
Report
Summary:
A
democratic
communication system is fundamental to
both a more democratic social order and
human rights.
THE MACBRIDE COMMISSION’S KEY
RECOMMENDATIONS
 Developing
countries
needed
greater
access to information and less dependence
on existing communication systems
 Democratic communication policies should
be a priority for all developing countries
 Educational
and
informational
use
of
communication should be given equal priority
with entertainment
 Communication
broadcasting,
and
systems
(i.e.
print,
telecommunications)
must be developed on a national level
 Funding,
for
such
development,
can
come in part from international initiative
 The focus should be less on profits and
more on maximizing the free flow of
information

Telecommunications should remain under
state control to ensure the focus is on the
free flow of information, not corporate profits

Finally,
both
the
electro-magnetic
spectrum and geostationary orbit—both finite
natural resources—should be more equitably
shared as the common property of humanity
 One specific recommendations was the need
to foster non-corporate and non-state media
(opening media access to)
i) radical opposition in politics
ii) community media
iii) trade unions
 The idea was to establish a countervailing
force to the dominant forms of corporate media
to make media systems more democratic
 Called for a number of
Communication
Rights and Freedoms
 Rights
to
communicate
and
receive
information-related political, economic, social
and cultural rights
 Freedoms of the press (from state and
corporate control) of expression
THEORIZING INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION
Reading: Thussu, Chapter 2
International
communication
has
borrowed
and/or adapted theories and paradigms from
(sub)disciplines such as international relations
and
media
studies
and
applies
these
to
discourses related to global communication
(Madikiza & Bornman: 2007 pp.11–44)
 Two broad but often interrelated approaches to
theorizing communication can be seen:
The Political-Economy Approach: concerned with
the underlying structures of economic and political
power relations (roots in the critique of capitalism
(Marx), but it evolved over the years to incorporate a
wide
range
relationship
of
critical
between
thinkers
economic,
–
question
political
of
and
cultural power – examination of the pattern of
ownership
and
production
communication industries)
in
the
media
and
 Cultural Studies: focused more on the role of
communication
and
media
in
creating
and
maintaining shared values and meanings (started in
Britain in the 1970s with the study of popular and
mass culture and their role in the reproduction of
social
hegemony
and
inequality
–
now
more
concerned with how media texts work to create
meaning, and how culturally situated individuals
work to gather meaning from texts – discovery of
polysemic texts).
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN POLITICAL ECONOMY APPROCH
& CULTURAL STUDIES APPROCH
 Both seek to identify & critique dominant
interests in the media and cultural spheres
 Both focuses on power distribution between
the working class and the bourgeoisie
1. FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION
 The free-flow principle reflected Western
(specifically
US)
opposition
to
the
state
regulation and censorship of the media by its
communist
opponents
and
its
use
for
propaganda.
 The ‘free flow’ doctrine was essentially a
part of the liberal, free-market discourse that
championed the rights of media proprietors to
sell wherever and whatever they wished.
 The
concept
economic
and
of
‘free
political
flow’
served
purposes
–
both
media
organisations of the media-rich countries hoped
to dissuade others from erecting trade barriers to
their products or from making it difficult to gather
news or make programmes on their territories
(arguments drew on premises of
democracy,
freedom of expression, the media’s role as ‘public
watchdog’ and their assumed global relevance.
 For the businessmen, ‘free flow’ assisted
them in advertising and marketing their
goods and services in foreign markets,
through media vehicles whose information
and entertainment products championed
the Western way of life and its values of
capitalism and individualism.
 For Western governments, ‘free flow’
helped
to
ensure
unreciprocated
the
continuing
influence
of
and
Western
media on global markets, strengthening
the West in its ideological battle with the
Soviet Union.
2. MODERNISATION THEORY
 complementary to the doctrine of ‘free-flow
of information in international communication
was the key to the process of modernization
and development
World’.
for the so-called ‘Third
 The theory arose from the notion that
international mass communication could
be
used
to
spread
the
message
of
modernity and transfer the economic and
political models of the West to the newly
independent countries of the South.
 Modernisation/ development theory is
based on the belief that the mass media
would help transform traditional societies.
 Lerner ()examined the degree to which
people in the Middle East were exposed to
national and international media, especially
radio. – proposed that contact with the media
helped the process of
transition
from a
‘traditional’ to a ‘modernized’ state, as the
media
is
said
to
enable
individuals
to
experience events in far-off places, forcing
them to reassess their traditional way of life.
 Schramm (key modernization theorist):
saw the mass media as a ‘bridge to a
wider
world’,
as
the
vehicle
for
transferring new ideas and models from
the North to the South, and, within the
South, from urban to rural areas.
3. DEPENDENCY THEORY
 aimed to provide an alternative framework
to analyse international communication
 central was the view that transnational
corporations (TNCs) exercise control over the
developing countries by setting the terms for
global trade – dominating markets, resources,
production and labour.
 Development
for
these
countries
was
shaped in a way to strengthen the dominance
of the developed nations and to maintain the
‘peripheral’
nations
in
a
position
of
dependence – to make conditions suitable for
‘dependent development’
 Outcome
of
such
relationships:
development of underdevelopment’
‘the
 The
show
dependency
the
links
‘modernisation’
theorists
between
and
the
aimed
to
discourse
of
policies
of
transnational media and communication
corporations and their backers among
Western governments.
4.MEDIA AND CULTURAL IMPERIALISM
 Oliver Boyd-Barret defined media Imperialismis
defined
as
“the
process
whereby
the
ownership, structure, distribution of content of
the media in any one country are singly or
together
subject
to
substantial
external
pressures from the media interests of any other
country
or
countries
without
proportionate
reciprocation of influence by the country so
affected (1977: 117)
 The absence of reciprocation of media
influence by the affected country combines
both the elements of cultural invasion by
another power and element of
power
resources
between
imbalance of
the
countries
concerned.
 The two element of invasion and imbalance
of power resources justify the use of the term
‘imperialism’.
 McQuail notes that the term implies a
deliberate attempt to dominate, invade or
subvert the ‘cultural space’ of others and
suggest a degree
of
coercion in the
relationship.
 The ‘invading’ nation’s cultural and other
values are imposed on the audiences of
the ‘invaded’ nation.
MEDIA AND CULTURAL IMPERIALISM THESIS
 Global
media
promote
relations
of
dependency rather than economic growth
 The imbalance in the flow of mass media
content undermines cultural autonomy or
holds back its development
 The unequal relationship in the flow of news
increases the relative global power of large and
wealthy news producing countries and hinder
the growth of an appropriate national identity
and self-image
 Global media flow give rise to a state of
cultural homogenisation leading to a dominant
form of culture that no specific connection with
real experience to most of the people.
CRITICISMS
 clear definitions of fundamental terms
are absent (e.g. imperialism)
 lack of empirical evidence to support
the arguments
ignores the question of
media form and content as well as the
role of the audience
 media texts can be polysemic and are
amendable
to
audiences
who
different
are
interpretations
not
merely
by
passive
consumers, but active participants in the
process of negotiating meaning (Fiske)
 does not take on board issues such as how
global media texts work in national contexts,
ignoring local patterns of media consumption.
 Limitation
of
cultural
and
media
imperialism approach: it does not fully
take into account the role of the national
elites, especially in the developing world.
4. HEGEMONY (GRAMSCI 1891-1937)
The dominant social group/nation has the
capacity to excercise intellectual and moral
directionover society at large and to build a
news system of social alliances to support
its aims–not instrumented by military force,
but
rather
by
building
consent
by
ideological control of cultural production
and distribution – ‘common sense’
This
happens
excersise
control
when
over
this
group
mass
media,
schools, religion etc
The dominant class then coersively
imposses its will on subodinate classes
 In
international
notion of
communication,
the
hegemony is widely used to
conceptualize political function of the mass
media, as a key player in propagating and
maintaining the dominant ideology and also
to
explain
the
process
of
media
and
communication production, with dominant
ideology shaping production of news and
entertainment.
 It is thus argued that although the media
in the West are notionally free from direct
governmental control, they nevertheless
act as agents to legitimise the dominant
ideology.
5. CRITICAL THEORY
The industrial production of cultural
goods – films, radio programmes, music
and magazines, etc. – as a global
movement,
they
(critical
theorist)
argued that in capitalist societies the
trend was toward producing culture as
a commodity.
 Adorno and Horkheimer believed
that
cultural
the
same
products
kind
of
manifested
management
practices, technological rationality
and organizational schemes as the
mass
production
such as cars.
industrial
goods
 This industrially produced and co modified
culture,
led
to
the
deterioration
of
the
philosophical role of culture.
 Instead, this mediated culture contribute to
the incorporation of the working classes into
the structures of advanced capitalism and it
limiting
their
horizons
to
political
and
economic goals that could be realized within
the capitalist system without challenging it.
The critical theorist argued that
the development of
industry’
and
its
the ‘culture
ability
to
ideologically inoculate the masses
against socialist ideas benefited
the ruling classes.
 The concentration of the ownership
of a cultural production in a few
producers resulted in a standardized
commercial commodity, contributing
to what they called a ‘mass culture’
influenced by the mass media and one
which thrived on the market rules of
supply and demand.
In
their
view,
such
a
process
undermined the critical engagement
of
masses
political
with
issues
important
and
socio–
insured
a
politically passive social behavior and
the
subordination
of
the
classes to the ruling elite.
working
 In an international context the idea of
‘mass culture’ and media and cultural
industries has influenced debates about
the flow of information between countries.
etc. – as a global movement, they argued
that in capitalist societies the trend was
toward producing culture as a commodity.
6. THE THEORY OF PUBLIC SPHERE
 The public sphere is define as an arena,
independent of government and also enjoying
autonomy from partisan economics
forces,
which is dedicated to rational debate (i.e. to
debate and discussion which not ‘interest’,
‘disguised’ or ‘manipulated’) and which is both
accessible to entry and open to inspection by
the citizenry (Holub, 1991).
 The
public
concepts
in
sphere
provides
understanding
a
useful
democratic
potential of communication processes.
 The
globalisation
of
media
and
communication led to the evolution of a
‘global
public
international
sphere’
where
significance
issues
of
–environment,
human rights, gender and ethnic equality can
be articulated through the global mass media.
7.THEORIES OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
 According
international
to
its
information
supporters,
society
is
an
being
created via the Internet, which will digitally
link every home, office and business in a
networked society based on what has been
termed the ‘knowledge economy’ – these
networks provide the infrastructure for a
global information society (Negroponte)
 Criticism:
these
changes
are
technologically determined and ignore the
social economic and political dimensions
of technological innovation.
 ‘The medium is the message’: media
technology has more social effect on
different
societies
and
media content (McLuhan)
cultures
than
 ’Global village’: new communication and
information technologies would help bring
people closer together (McLuhan)
 It is argued that US society has moved
from an industrial to a post-industrial
society, characterised by the dominant of
information
and
information-related
industries (Bell) – the ‘information age’
8. DISCOURSES OF GLOBALISATION
 New information and communication have
made global interconnectivity a reality
 Globalisation
is
seen
as
fostering
international economic integration and as a
mechanism
for
promoting
global
liberal
capitalism – it is to be welcomed for the
effect that it has in promoting global markets
and liberal democracy (liberal interpretation)
Idea of cosmopolitan: emphasises
social and cultural life – the expansion
of
information
and
communication
technologies coupled with market-led
liberal democracies are contributing
to the creation of what has been
called a global civil society.
‘Glocalisation’: expresses the global
production
of
the
local
and
the
localisation of the global.
Global
culture
includes
the
proliferation of media technologies,
especially
cable
television
satellite (creates ‘global village’)
and
 Models
such
international
as
globalisation
communism
forget
and
the
complexity of the interaction of class
with
nationalism,
religion,
race,
ethnicity and feminism to produce local
political struggles.
GLOBAL COMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE
Reading: Thussu, Chapter 3
 The
process
of
deregulation
and
privatisation in the communications and
media
industries
digital
information
combined
and
with
new
communication
Technologies to enable a quantum leap in
international
communication,
illustrated
most vividly in the satellite industry.
FREE TRADE IN GLOBAL COMMUNICATION
 The new information and communication
technologies have helped to create a
global
communication
infrastructure
based on regional and global satellite
networks, used for telecommunications,
broadcasting and electronic commerce
PRIVATIZING SPACE
(THE GLOBAL SATELLITE INDUSTRY)
 For most of the 20th century, the state was the
main provider of national telecommunications
infrastructure and equipment and regulator of
international traffic (e.g. PTT)
 People began to oppose national monopolies,
arguing that a competitive environment would
improve services and reduce costs
 In 1984 US President Ronald Reagan announced
as ‘open skies’ policy, breaking the public monopoly
and allowing private telecommunications networks
to operate in the national telecommunication arena.
 The general shift from the public–service role of
telecommunication
to
private
competition
and
deregulation had a major impact on international
telecommunication
policy,
shaped
by
the
USA,
Britain and Europe, all of whom have companies
with global ambitions.
 Uruguay Round of the General Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade (GATT): established in
1947 to provide a framework for international
trade after WWII – included trade in services
for the first time on a par with the traditional
commercial
(reflected
and
the
manufacturing
neo-liberal
opening up protected markets)
push
sectors
towards
 However, there was tension between the
free-marketers and those who argued for a
more regulated system to protect domestic
markets and interests
 The WTO argued that dismantling barriers
to the free flow of information was essential
for economic growth – it is not possible to
have significant trade in goods and services
without a free trade of information
 General Agreement on Trade Services: first
multilateral, legally enforceable agreement
covering trade and investment in the services
sector and the one with the most potential
impact on international communication (most
significant
component:
GATS
Annex
on
Telecommunications – equal accessibility for
both foreign and national suppliers)
PRIVATIZING NEWS AVENUES
(THE WORLD OF NEWS CORPORATION)
 Global news and information networks/News
agencies:
 AP (USA; world’s largest news gathering
organisation)
 Reuters (UK; largest financial information
provider)
 Agence
France
Presse
financial provider of news)
(AFP)
(France;
 Other
major
agencies:
United
Press
International (UPI, USA), Xinhua (China),
ITAR-TASS (Russia), (WTO, IMF)
 These
players
dominate
the
global
financial news services and international
television
Reuters)
news
(especially
AP
and
 CNN
is
the
world
leader
in
international news channels (in front
of BBC and Sky News) – symbolises
globalisation of American television
journalism, influencing news agendas
across
the
world
and
international communication
shaping
THE GLOBAL MEDIA MARKETPLACE
Reading: Thussu, Chapter 4
 The
deregulation
and
liberalization
of
the
international communication sector in the 1990s
were paralleled in the media industries and, in
conjunction
with
the
new
communication
technologies of satellite and cable, have resulted
in the concentration of media power in the
hands
of
a
few
large
transnational
corporations, undermining media plurality and
democratic discourse .
 The largest growing application of international
communication infrastructure is for the delivery of
media
products
information,
news
and
entertainment.
 The convergence of both media and technologies,
and the process of vertical integration of the media
industries to achieve this aim, have resulted in the
concentration of media power in the hand of a few
large transnational companies, with implications for
global democracy.
 With deregulation and the relaxation of
cross-media ownership restrictions, media
companies look to broaden and deepen
their existing interests which has lead to
convergence and acquisitions
MEDIA CONGLOMERATES
 Time Warner (USA; entertainment & infotainment
company – CNN/Warner Bros)
 Disney (USA; film & entertainment company –
Disney Channel, ESPN)
 Sony
(Japan;
electronics
&
multimedia
entertainment – Columbia Pictures)
 Bertelsmann
(Germany;
largest
publisher
of
books and magazines)
 Viacom/CBS (USA; large entertainment company –
Paramount Pictures/MTV)
 Media power being concentrated in hands few
corporations (mainly American) conglomerates may
act like an alliance in production and distribution of
global information and entertainment (McChesney,
Bagdikian).
 In other words, the media may become the
mouthpiece
for
these
corporations
and
their
supporters in governments (existent relationship
between the media and the government).
 A significant proportion of the revenue of leading
media companies comes from television (partly due
to
establishment
of
satellite
TV)
–
mainly
documentaries and adult entertainment TV (easily
exported to all nations/cultures), but also sport and
popular music
 Global
dominated
cinema
by
and
television
Hollywood,
and
screens
are
English-language
publishing is predominant (led by the USA/ UK:
‘duopoly’)
TELEVISING SPORT GLOBALLY
COMMERCIALISATION
 Historically sports have been used as forms of
entertainment
 However,
they
have
never
been
more
commercialised than today
 Commercial sports are organised and played to
make money as entertainment events
 They depend on gate receipts, sponsorships and
sale of media rights.
 Therefore commercial sports are more suited to
certain conditions i.e.
1.
most prevalent in market economies where
material rewards are high
2.
Most prevalent in market economies where
material rewards are high
3.
Usually exist in densely populated cities
for large spectator base
4.
Require people in a society to have time,
money transportation and availability to media
outlets (print and electronic)
5. Commercial sports require large amounts of
capital to build and maintain stadiums and arenas
(therefore naming rights are important for $)
6. Commercial sports are most likely to flourish in
cultures where lifestyles involve high rates of
consumption
symbols
and
(therefore
emphasise
everything
material
associated
status
with
sports can be marketed and sold - i.e. autographs,
merchandise, even team names)
CLASS RELATIONS AND COMMERCIAL SPORTS
 Which sports have become commercialised in
society?
 Often those sports followed and watched by
people who possess or control economic forces in
society
 E.g. Golf - the sport does not lend itself to a
sporting “spectacle” in terms of high spectator
numbers yet TV coverage is immense - a lot of
money involved
 Those who play golf are wealthy powerful people
and are important in terms of sponsorships and
advertising
 However, why does women’s golf attain less TV
and media?
 And then, which women attract the majority of
attention?
 Despite these being gender issues they ultimately
come down to money and market economies
 Arguably any sport can be marketed and
promoted as an important sport to watch.
 When wealthy and powerful people are
interested in a sport, it will be covered,
promoted and presented as if it has a
cultural significance in society
SPORT AS BIG BUSINESS
 Corporations understand the importance
of sport as a marketing and branding tool
for their product
 Athletes and sporting teams have a global
marketing capacity
 Even sports stadiums have been branded
BIG SPORT IS BIG MONEY
 Hosting the Olympics is not about prestige,
it is about money
 Politicians know what hosting the Olympics
will
mean
to
the
economy
(and
votes)-
increased tourism, global exposure, more
jobs-building
venues-roads,
infrastructure
money for public amenities, jubilant voters
etc
 A successful national or global sporting
team can mean important revenue for the city
e.g.
Manchester
United,
Chicago
Bulls,
Adelaide Crows, Port Power (notice these are
all male sports)
 Big sport also creates huge revenue for
media outlets - Locally, Nationally, Globally
DO SPORTS DEPEND ON THE MEDIA?
 No,
when
they
exist
for
the
players
themselves
 Yes, when they are forms of commercial
entertainment
– Media
coverage
attracts
attention
and
provides news of results
– Television has been a key factor in the growth
and expansion of commercial sport (Television
expands commercial value of sports)
HAVE THE MEDIA CORRUPTED SPORTS?
This is not likely because:
•Sports are not shaped primarily by the
media
(Sports
in general
are
social
or
TV in
constructions
that
particular
emerge
in
connection with many different social relationships)
•The media, including TV, do not operate in
a
political
and
economic
vacuum
(Government regulates the media, and economic factors
set limits to control)
DO THE MEDIA DEPEND ON SPORTS?
• Most media do not depend on sports for content
or sales
• Daily
newspapers have depended on “sports
sections”
to
boost
circulation
and
advertising
revenues
• Many television companies have depended on
sports to fill program schedules, attract male
viewers and the sponsors that want to reach them
(Many sport events have audiences with clearly identifiable
“demographics”-ie
cricket, footy pie)
watch
the
ads-KFC
cricketers
box
during
TRENDS IN TELEVISED SPORTS
• Rights fees have escalated rapidly since the 1960s
• Sports programming has increased dramatically
• As more events are covered, ratings for particular
events
have
decreased
(Audience
fragmentation
has
occurred- basketball from Winter to Summer, Uncle Toby Super Series surf
lifesaving pulled completely)
• Television companies use sports events to promote
other programming
• Television companies increasingly own teams and
events
(particularly in the US-although 7 Network and Telstra Dome have
close links)
CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP
• Many male executives of large media corporations love
sports and the notion of being linked to sports
• Masculine
culture
is
deeply
embedded
in
these
corporations (i.e. masculinised hierarchy)
• When sport emphasizes competition, domination, and
achievement, executives feel that these are crucial
factors in their companies (They will pay big money to
hire
coaches
to
motivate
employees
around
these
themes ….also pay large sums to sponsor teams and
events)
SETTING THE GLOBAL NEWS AGENDA
 News, more than any cultural form,
carries the burden of defining the world in
which citizens operate” [Lewis]
 Unlike news, maps are objective to the
most part.
 News affects our mental maps (how we
see the world, and from which angle).
– News stories are selected (agenda setting)
 Certain news however is not reported on.
– Africa is the least reported continent in the
Western World
 News Agencies (AFP, Reuters, AP) set news
agendas
– The ‘institutional gatekeeper’ are the news
agencies.
 News Agencies are relatively monopolistic.
 Decolonization
Nation
States
after

WWII
News

News
flows
keep
mirroring the centre periphery.
 UNESCO tried to form a contra-flow of
news
– Idea was that 3rd world countries would
receive truthful representations.
 Yet, news in developing countries is
often channelled through London or Paris.
 There
is
limited
agency
is
African
countries and for foreign news, they rely
on world agencies as they have no foreign
correspondents .
NEWS AGENCIES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD
– Rely on the state for economic survival
– Depend on the agencies of ex-imperial
powers for world news
– Are told that national news agencies in
the national scope are not to be trusted.
THE NEW WORLD INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
ORDER (NWICO) CONTROVERSY
– Developed during and after the cold war
– Developing countries are the victims of
domination in information
– Subject to imperialism
– The motive (is almost) always to control
– Trends in mass media led to concentration
and monopolization
 Greater risk of on-sidedness and conformity
– Greater gap between rich and poor
– Imbalance in news flows
– News is framed (generally negative for
third world)
 This has NOT changed over the years,
as news is reported on in ethnocentric
ways (where one society feels it is
better than all others).
IDEOLOGICAL SHIFTS WITHIN UNESCO
– 1950s: Free flow was key for the Western
world. Info available for those with the
necessary resources
– 1960s/70s: Free flow actually seen as
“one-way” flow. National news agencies in
the
developing
world
seen
ideological
support for politics
– 1984: USA and UK leave UNESCO due to
one way flow.
NEWS AGENCIES TODAY
– Three
Leading
News
Agencies:
AP,
Reuters and AFP
– Fewer
corporations
are
providing
information using fewer resources
– Age
of
hyper-commercialism
and
infotainment
– Western Societies decline in the amount
of quality of foreign news reporting.
News agencies are forming CNN, BBC, Al
Jazeera
Still too western
Agenda Setting and Imperialism
Increased homogenization
TRADITIONAL MODEL
– News
national
coverage:
and
reliable
news
on
international
level
for
customers
– Distribution:
distribute
networks telex or satellite
it
via
global
TODAY’S MODEL
– Everybody can publish
– Everybody can distribute
– No longer single agency of news
“Perceived economic value of content is
approaching zero”
INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM AFTER 911
(WEST VS. MIDDLE EAST)
 Current research has demonstrated that
the majority of the news that is found on
the Internet come from only a handful of
preeminent media outlets.
 The rise of news networks such as AlJazeera pushed for a reassessment of
those claims.
 Al-Jazeera English offers an alternative
mode of news journalism that fosters a
stereotypical attitude towards the “other”
 The advent of Al-Jazeera redefine the
traditional
wartime
news
angle
of
reporting in the U.S. media, reconfiguring
the counter-hegemonic debate in U.S. war
reporting.
 images tend to be modified through rebroadcasting by other news network.
 Counter-hegemonic
contra-flows
have
pushed U.S. local news stations to be
defensive
and
offensive
towards
their
reports concerning different world views,
perceived
as
threatening
national security.
to
the
U.S.
 U.S. news networks consistently “selfcensored
all
counter-hegemonic
news
material from Al-Jazeera, without regard
to
the
principles
of
objectivity
impartiality” (Samuel-Azran, 2010: 42).
and
HOW DO THEY DO SO?
 News on the War in Afghanistan was
“framed as a targeted attack on the
Taliban’s terrorists regime”.
 Most of the images were consistent with
U.S. Administration demands.
NEWS MEDIA AND THE FOREIGN POLICY
 There is a great debate about the
relationship between the news media
and the foreign policy decision-making
process, and the impact the former may
have on the latter.
 Two theories have risen to explain this
matter, the so-called "CNN effect" and
the "manufacturing consent" thesis.
 The
formats
globalisation
may
of
give
homogenisation,
certain
the
but
television
impression
television
simultaneously global and national,
of
is
shaped by
the globalisation of media economics and the
pull of local and national cultures
 Many global media corporations also produce
regional
editions
of
their
newspapers
and
magazines to provide a regional perspective on
issues relevant to their respective readers
THE "CNN EFFECT"
 The
so-called
"CNN
effect",
is
understood in a variety of ways.
1. The
capability
of
the
news
media
(television in particular) to "shape the
policy agenda”.
2. The "power" of news journalism "to
move governments.
3. The idea that real-time communications
technology could provoke major responses
from domestic audiences and political elites
to global events.
4.
The
Western
argument
conflict
that
the
media
management
by
drives
forcing
Western governments to intervene militarily
in humanitarian crises against their will.
THE MANUFACTURING CONSENT THEORY
 The
manufacturing
consent
theory
"argues that the media does not create
policy, but rather that news media is
mobilized
(manipulated
even)
into
supporting government policy”.
 There
are
two
ways
in
which
manufacturing consent may take place:
The executive version, in which there
is framing that, conforms to the official
agenda; and
The
elite
version,
in
which
news
coverage is critical of executive policy
as a consequence of elite dissensus.
MEDIA, FOREIGN POLICY AND EVENTS
 The relevance of the relationship between
the news media and foreign policy makers
goes beyond the fact that the former cover
foreign events and the latter make policies
regarding foreign events.
 The importance of this relationship, thus,
relies on two claims about it:
 Firstly, the claims that the coverage of certain
events has the potential to drive the policies that
foreign policy makers conduct regarding the events
covered (the CNN effect),
 Secondly, the claim that foreign policy makers are
the ones who drive media attention towards certain
foreign events, and even determine the way those
events are being framed (Manufacturing consent).
COMMUNICATION AND CULTURAL GLOBALIZATION
Reading: Thussu, Chapter 5
 The general pattern of the media ownership
indicates
that
the
west,
led
by
the USA,
dominates the international flow of information
and entertainment in all major media sectors.
 Some argue that such globally transmitted
programming will promote a shared media
culture, a global village based on the English
language and Western lifestyles and values
 But what is the impact of such one way
flows of global information and entertainment
on national and regional media cultures?
 It
has
been
argued
that
international
communication and media are leading to the
homogenization of culture, but the patterns of
global/national/local interaction may be more
complex.
 Hybridity:
how
global
genres
are
adapted to suit national cultural codes
 Television has a much wider reach than
the print media, as millions of people still
cannot read or write
 Television is thus central to a ‘global
mass culture’ – dominated ‘by the image,
imagery and styles of mass advertising’
(Hall)
 One reason for the global appeal of US
popular
culture
mingling of
is
its
openness
a multiplicity of
and
cultures,
many of which are themselves imports
from outside the USA.
THREE REASONS FOR THE WORLDWIDE SUCCESS OF US
TELEVISION
 The universality of some of its themes and
formulae (makes programmes psychologically
accessible)
 The polyvalent/open potential of many of
the
stories
(their
value
as
projective
mechanisms and as material for negotiation
and play in the families of man)
 The sheer availability of American programmes in
a marketplace where national producers cannot fill
more than a fraction of the hours they feel they
must provide
NB: The fact that particular television programmes
have
had
such
worldwide
success,
is
not
necessarily due to their entertainment quality or
interest, but rather because they are promoted by
the huge media conglomerates (global branding and
the internationalisation of the advertising industry)
 With the proliferation of television globally
(more
channels/networks)
dedicated
children’s channels have become an integral
part of the international television market
(also linked to global toy market)
 Advantage
for
children’s
TV
channels:
animation translates well in overseas market
(minimal need for cultural interpretation)
 UNESCO studies have proven that there
is generally a one-way traffic, mainly in
entertainment-oriented
programming,
from the major Western-exporting nations
to the rest of the world
 One key result of the privatisation and
proliferation of television outlets, and the
growing
glocalisation
products,
is
that
television
exports
of
US
American
have
media
film
and
witnessed
a
massive increase between 1922 and 2004
(Europe
continues
to
be
the
largest
market for American film and TV content).
 The global flow of consumerist messages
through
international
television
has
been
seen by some as evidence of a new form of
cultural imperialism, especially in the nonWestern world (Schiller) – mainly due to the
extensive
reach
of
the
US-based
media,
helping the USA to use its ‘soft’ power to
promote its national interests
 US presence on European television has
increased substantially, but are often dubbed
into
local
based
languages/contexts
on
entertainment
(content
American-style
forms,
but
have
is
popular
nationally
specific themes and setting)
 The British lead the European television
scene
 In
non-Western
Saharan
makes
Africa),
it
difficult
nations
the
for
(e.g.
poverty
local
sub-
existent
television
channels to make their own programmes,
forcing them to depend technically and
financially on international organisations
or Western media corporations
GLOBAL CINEMA: HOLLYWOOD HEGEMONY
 One key reason for US dominations of the
global entertainment market is its film industry
(Hollywood)
 One of the most contested issues in global
film
exports
has
been
the
trade
of
films
between the USA and Europe (EU is dominant
by American productions, while European films
only cover 2% of the American film market)
 In developing countries, many of whom
have
no
film
industry
of
their
own,
Hollywood films account for a majority of
their film imports
 Concerns have been raised about the
imbalance
in
global
flows
of
media
products – “asymmetries in flows of ideas
and good”
 The standardisation of programmes on
the world’s cinema and television screens
risks the disappearance of cultural and
linguistic identities which many societies
consider to be a basic component of their
national
sovereignty
diversity (UNESCO)
–
risks
cultural
 Concerns about the impact of
the US
domination of international communication
and media on culture and linked with the
question of language and cultural identity and
the rise of English as the global language.
 English has become the main language due
to the British domination of the global in the
19th
and
first
half
of
the
20th
century,
including the domination over the telegraph.
 Only those authors who can write in
English, or whose works are translated into
English, are considered ‘international’, and
have success in the international market
LOCAL CULTURE IN GLOBAL MEDIA
 International media organisations are
increasingly becoming conscious of the
varying
tastes
of
their
consumers
in
different parts of the world – increase in
trend
towards the regionalisation and
localisation of media content
 Wherever one looks one can find similar
types
of
programmes
being
broadcasted,
although the language and the context may
be localised
 The
formats
globalisation
may
homogenisation,
of
give
certain
the
but
television
impression
television
of
is
simultaneously global and national, shaped by
the globalisation of media economics and the
pull of local and national cultures
 Many
produce
global
media
regional
corporations
editions
of
also
their
newspapers and magazines to provide a
regional perspective on issues relevant to
their respective readers
 Routine viewing in one particular cultural
and political context may vary considerably
between and within nations, also in terms
of rural/ urban, male/ female and class
distinctions
 Western programming is still watched by
a
relatively
small
percentage
of
the
population in much of the non-Western
world – yet the people who do watch it
have significant power and influence –
thus
it
is
promoting
a
globalised,
‘Westernised’ elite which believes in the
supremacy
of
the
market
and
democracy, as defined by the West
liberal
 Rather
than
creating
a
homogenised
culture, globalisation of Western culture may
be producing ‘heterogeneous disjunctures’:
the global-local cultural interaction is leading
to
a
hybrid
culture,
which
blurs
the
boundaries between the modern and the
traditional, the high and low culture, and their
national and global culture – glocalisation.
 Glocalisation:
cultural
fusion
as
a
result of adaptation of Western media
genres to suit local languages, styles
and
cultural
conventions,
using
new
communication technologies (e.g. Zee
TV – mixes English and Hindi content).
GLOBAL ADVERTISING
 Advertising is also being regionalised to
cater national and regional priorities
 The flow of music culture is an example of
cultural movement
CONTRAFLOW IN GLOBAL MEDIA
Reading: Thussu, Chapter 6
 The globalisation of Western media has been a
major
influence
in
shaping
media
cultures
internationally
 While there are forces for convergence and
homogenisation, the spread of the US model of
professional/commercial television has also brought
beneficial changes to some national and regional
media industries (e.g. revival of culture and creative
industries)
 Westernisation
has
parallels
with
‘Easternisation’ and ‘South-South flows’ (e.g.
Japanese animation, Indian films, etc.)
 FACTORS:
 The availability of digital technology and
satellite
networks
has
enabled
development of regional broadcasting
the
 A privatised and deregulated broadcasting and
telecommunication environment has enabled an
increasing flow of content from the global South to
the North
 The availability of myriad television channels has
complicated the national media discourse (viewers
can have simultaneous access to a variety of local,
regional, national and international channels, thus
being able to engage in different levels of mediated
discourse)
 In countries where the medias systems
were tightly regulated by the state apparatus,
globalisation has brought a fresh and more
international
perspective
(e.g.
enhanced
media professionalism and more freedom of
the press)
 Global
television
has
also
created
the
phenomenon of global ‘media events’ (e.g.
Olympic Game, natural or human disasters)
 The
use
of
television
for
political
purposes is on the increase, as visual media
can have tremendous power to influence
political and social attitudes (e.g. ‘spin’)
 The
Western
television
style
journalism
of
has
professional
influenced
programme-making in many countries (e.g.
current-affairs structure)
ADVANTAGES OF THE GLOBALISATION OF
WESTERN TELEVISION:
 created jobs in the media industry
 it
has
contribute
a
liberatory
to
potential
strengthening
that
can
liberal
democratic culture, through its ‘modernity’
 its promotes gender equality and freedom.
ALTERNATIVE GLOBALIZATION
 The growing Western cultural presence has
also produced discontent in some countries
(e.g.
Islamic
World;
due
to
9/11
–
anti-
American and anti-Islamic sentiments) – clash
of civilisations/fundamentalisms
 ‘Westoxication’: the adoption and flaunting
of superficial consumerist attributes of fads
and commodities, originating in the USA.
 Non-Western
countries
have
tried
to
restrict the reception of Western satellite
TV by introducing licensing regimes (often
banned on the grounds that the content is
inappropriate to that particular culture)
 Partly
as
a
reaction
to
perceived
Westernisation of their culture and partly as a
reaction
to
the
alleged
distortion
in
representations of non-Western cultures in the
global media, many countries have experienced a
cultural revival, often influenced by religious
groups
and
encouraged
by
political
establishments, acting as a barrier to the flow of
Western media products
GLOBAL COUNTERFLOW OF MEDIA PRODUCTS
 Evidence shows that new transborder
television
networks
are
appearing from the periphery to the
centres
of
global
media
communication industries.
and
 The deregulation of broadcasting, which
has been a catalyst for the extension of
private television networks, has also made
it possible for private satellite broadcasters
to aim beyond the borders of the country
where the network is based (in contrast to
state/public broadcasters).
 Reason for the proliferation of transnational
channels: the physical movement of people
from one geographical location to another,
carrying with them aspects of their culture –
‘ethnoscape’
 The Southern presence in the metropolitan
centres of the world has been brought about
by
‘deterritorialisation’:
the
loss
of
the
‘natural’ relation of culture to geographical
and social territories.
The nature of ‘culture mixing’ can lead
to a hybridisation of cultures
Diasporic communities use different
types of media to keep in touch with
their culture, nowadays through satellite
television channels
 The demand for such channels also reflects
the lack of provision for minority communities
by
mainstream
media
and
national
broadcasters
 Examples international players of contraflow
from ‘Global South’:
1. Latin American telenovelas,
2. Al Jazeera, Phoenix (China) and
3. the Indian Film Industry (Bollywood)
 These examples do not show that the
Western media domination has diminished
–
the
emergence
contributing
to
imperialism
is
significant
a
of
regional
players
‘decentred’
cultural
not
impact
likely
on
the
to
have
Western
hegemony of global media cultures
 Nevertheless, there does exist a blurring of
boundaries, mixing of genres, languages and
a contraflow of cultural products from the
peripheries to the centres – transculturation,
hybridity and indigenisation.
 The
desire
balanced
sovereignty
by
to
experience
that
to
the
protect
new
is
cultural
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION IN THE
INTERNET AGE Reading: Thussu, Chapter 7
 International communication has been
shaped by technological innovation –
fibre optics, satellites and the Internet
have enabled the trade of information
instantly across the globe
 The origins of the Internet lie in the US
Department
of
Defence’s
APRANET,
created in 1969 during the Cold War
threats.
 The explosion
in the use of Internet
took off with the establishment of the
World Wide Web in 1989
 The
Internet
has
been
the
growing tool of communication
fastest
 The unprecedented growth in the volume of
international communication and the conduct
of business through the Internet has made it
imperative for transnational corporations to
demand the harmonisation of standards of
equipment
and
frequencies
telecommunication
equipment
borders.
can
be
and
used
so
that
broadcasting
across
national
 It is in the interests of the countries and
corporations that dominate global trade to
ensure
that
electronic
commerce
operates in a free-market environment.
FROM A 'FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION' TO
'FREE FLOW OF COMMERCE
 Technological
with
the
developments,
liberalisation
in
combined
trade
and
telecommunications, have acted as catalysts
for e-commerce – made possible because of
the
opening
up
of
global
markets
in
telecommunications services and information
technology
agreements)
products
(due
to
the
WTO
 One of the biggest potential growth areas for
e-commerce is Asia, due to its rapid growth in
Internet users and its booming economy
 Googlisation of global communication: the
rapid rise of search media which arranges the
world’s information and makes it universally
accessible and useful – focuses on the issue of
access
and
to
the
relations
commercial interests and media.
between
MEDIA ON-LINE
 Major newspapers have started a web edition and
all major broadcasters have a presence on the
Internet (first seen as a supplement to the main
media source)
 In
this
between
media
environment,
advertising
and
the
boundaries
programming
are
constantly blurring
 The international media survive/depend more and
more on advertising
 By being able to monitor and record patterns of
Internet use, governments can control citizens’
political
access
activities,
to
private
while
businesses
information
(back
can
have
accounts,
insurance details, etc.) which can be traded for
marketing purposes – this type of information has
security and privacy implications, since it can also
be misused by governments and corporations.
THE INTERNET AS A POLITICAL TOOL
 The commercialisation of the Internet is
perceived by some as betraying the initial
promise of its potential to create a ‘global
public sphere’ and an alternative forum.
 The Internet was once seen as a mass medium
whose fundamental principles were based in access
to free information and a decentralised information
network
–
opened
up
possibilities
of
digital
dialogues across the world
 Unlike traditional communication (top-down, oneto-many model), online communication was seen as
a many-to-many dialogue and thus more democratic.
 However, the Internet has also provided a
platform
for
extremist
organisations
(hate
propaganda).
 Internationally, the most significant political
role that the Internet has played is in promoting
links
between
governmental
community
organisations
groups,
and
non-
political
activists from different parts of the world.
 The Internet has influenced the mass
media in a substantial way: not only
has it provided a new platform for
media
organisations
to
reach
consumers, but it has also changed the
timeframe
distribution
of
and
news
speed
production,
(24-hour
broadcasting and accessibility).
 The Internet has also become a great source
for journalists, which allows them to include
different
perspectives
and
background
information in their news reporting.
 Power is moving away from journalists as
gatekeepers over what the public knows –
citizens are assuming a more active role as
assemblers, editors and even creators of their
own news (e.g. blogs)
 In many countries the growing use of the
Internet and its potential power to provide
alternative
viewpoints
and
exchange
of
information beyond national borders have
generated anxiety
 In the digital era, filtering software and
protocols may in fact make censorship easier
(they can simple route all Internet traffic
through electronic gateways).