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Lesson#41
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GLOBALIZATION OF MEDIA
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GLOBALIZATION OF MEDIA
Globalization is a buzz word these days. It is more heard in the
arena of economics where
transnational corporations are widening their scope of
activities and earning massively. So strong is the
thrust for expansionism by the world corporate sectors that
governments and other international
organizations like the UNO etc also at times seem to be only
working for the cause of this sector. The wave
of globalization is not without criticism such as it is designed
to make a few rich and the rest poor not only
in the financial sense but also culturally. The debate is raging
high.
Media as an international entity – both as a corporate sector
and as a tool to represent culture of the region
it belongs to – is also caught in the globalization campaign as
many fear the new trend may prove to be
much horrific for the developing countries and regional
cultures.
Here below we will examine various aspects of the globalization
of media.
Media and consumerism
The media and communication industries are a leading sector in
facilitating overall globalization. In
the first place, the role of telecommunication is critical to
globalize production strategies. It is inconceivable
that the pace and depth of globalization could have been
sustained over the past decades in the absence of
sophisticated telecommunications networking. Furthermore,
content (or “copyright”) industries, such as
television, music, video, film and the Internet, directly
through advertising and indirectly through the
promotion of consumerist and individualistic lifestyles, are at
the forefront of cultural preparation for
consumerism, an essential precondition and accompaniment to the
opening up of new markets for a huge
variety of products, and to the breaking down of cultural and
other barriers.
Another factor in the globalization of the media and
communication sector is as a
powerful agent in the
transformation of social, cultural and political structures.
This is, of course, partly the flip side of media and
communications as a means of opening new markets and softening
up cultures for consumerism, although
there is more to it than that. It is this set of (often
unintended) side effects of the globalization of media that
have the most impact of all, namely the evolving cumulative
impact of the gradual commercialization of
media and communications on critical social functions, such as
the formation of individual and community
identity, cultural and language diversity, the capacity to
participate in the political process and the integrity
of the public sphere, the availability of information and
knowledge in the public domain, and the use of
media for development, educational and human rights purposes.
Dominance of TNCs backed by governments
Analyzing the effects of many historic, economic and political
factors to have influenced the most
important characteristics of globalization of media systems in
the last 15 years, and that what can be
observed is a domination of large countries and powerful
transnational companies (TNC) which, according
to the effects of market laws, also affect the sphere of media
industry and media systems.
Media centralization
Global Media experts maintain that these processes directly
influence general commercialization of
media in the world and thereby most certainly democracy, both as
an idea and system of governance.
Although, in their opinion, global media systems do not develop
linearly in this direction, their trend is,
gradually and more or less, to become a part of the process of
media centralization
spearheaded by some
30 TNCs with the aim of taking control over the media. In this
regard, economic interests unreservedly help
the political structures in large countries, which thus watch
over the information and ideological orientation
inside nations, and in regions and on continents as well.
After providing a short historic overview of the appearance and
development of the first massive medium –
press – and its historic predecessors, from early times
gazettes, pamphlets, annals, to the first newspaper
editions in today’s meaning, all the way to the appearance of
the first electronic medium and development
of television and internet experts analyze the dynamics of the
global media market and explain the strategy
140
and funding of major media corporations, such as Time Warner,
Disney, Bertelsmann, Viacom, and News
Corporation, which primarily have big film and television
productions.
These TNCs are top players on the global media market, as one
can see have imposing data indicating these
companies’ clear profile, first of all their financial wealth
measured in billions of dollars in annual income.
(For example, Time Warner, the biggest media corporation, had an
income of close to $25 billion, Disney
had $24 billion, and News Corporation had $10 billion).
Their economic power is primarily thanks to a broad range of
production and publishing activities, i.e.
internal growth, but also thanks to acquisitions and mergers.
(The biggest media corporation, Time Warner, was created in 1989
as a result of a merger between Time
Incorporated and Warner Communications Incorporated).
Media freedom and objectivity declining
The slogans under which the first media appeared, freedom of
expression, freedom of writing,
principles of truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity or, even
better, fair reporting, are today thrown into question
by the fact that commercial values in the media have taken root
with primacy.
It is precisely
economic market relations – which
guide transnational companies, after integrating with one
another in the above two ways, to ruthlessly enter national and
international arenas –that have a fatal affect
on the character and structure of media programs. As a result,
the general trend of media insistence on
entertainment and light contents is a consequence of the almost
completed commercialization of the media.
The famous saying that the media create the culture of
entertainment is now at work. This has a negative
effect on program quality and the demands of public opinion
which is under its influence, and it promotes
an elitist consumer culture within the broader society.
Poor and less developed regions in terms of information and
communications experience a particularly big
effect on this character of the modern media. The local cultural
and political media landscape of these
countries is strongly affected by the operation of political and
media systems of wealthy countries.
IMF blamed
Edward S. Herman and Robert W. McChesney, the two American
university professors, say all
these processes in media systems, along with countries which TNC
and their influences originate from, are
also supported by economic giants such as the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) which, through some of
its programs, facilitates media penetration of the great powers
into underdeveloped countries.
The marketing – media – TNC – IMF scheme operates throughout the
global system, stimulating
application of neo-liberal rules based on penetration of private
investments and reduced social
appropriations that can be a very dangerous combination in a
system of extreme inequality.
Hapless media standardization
Standardization of media, first of all through the structure and
content of programs in all types of
media, may influence the particularity and sustainability of
authentic characteristics of national cultures
which succumb to the consumer spirit of the media industry
conglomerate. But these processes may result,
and are already resulting in a loss of public journalism and
criticism of journalists, who often face the
dilemma of whether to write truthfully and accurately (?) or not
to allow themselves to be neutral in writing
for the sake of – higher interests of the media giants they work
for. Instead of civil journalism, what is
present is new journalism with products which constitute
commodities, with journalists who balance among
neutrality, hushing up truth and a media system insensitive to
the local and the regional needs.
How to combat the alternate media?141
A solution to preserving national and media authenticity and
pluralism is in alternative
non-profit
media which would form a non-profit public sphere. Consequently,
decentralization of global media and
economic giants is possible through concentration of alternative
media markets.
Alternate media could be developed at local level, and after
that at a higher level. |
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