Global News Meeting 7

CNN: Godfather of global TV news 1980 Vernon Jordan shot in Indiana Tiananman Square - Bernard Shaw, live coverage on own satellite dish Persian Gulf War - Peter Arnett in Baghdad 1987 World Report for international distribution and foreign broadcasters Merger with AOL-Time Warner

BBC: Quality Programming Radio in 1922, TV ITV competition 1964 BBC Two with in-depth programming 1991 launched World Service TV 1999 BBC Prime for global entertainment Government funding cuts may cause consolidation of news and WSTV reporters

Other Global News Deutsche Welle, German short-wave system for worldwide radio and TV all 24 hours EuroNews is expanding to Russia and Middle East; funding from various countries and advertising revenue Channel News Asia since 1990 Voice of America simulcasts in 6 languages; viewed as propaganda arm of US Radio Marta broadcasts to Cuba from Florida; declining audiences

Global News Agencies Wire service problem areas: 1.News services are based in London 2.Coverage of peripheral nations focuses on negative news

Reuters: First Wire Service Known for speed, accuracy, integrity and impartiality Constantly developing comm network and product line of breadth and quality Comprehensive financial databases Proven reputation for reliability and technological innovation

Other Large Wire Services AP distributes news and photos to 8500 international subscribers; audio and video feeds, Internet online UPI sold broadcast to AP in 1999, losing clients and power Agence France Presse has bureaus in 165 countries, third largest

Wire Services Bloomberg and Dow Jones have financial focus Xinuha China tightly controlled by govt. officials InterPress Services linked to nongovernmental organizations; development journalism (Rome) ITA, former TASS, central information agency; competition from Interfax with more credibility in Russia Supplementary services at LA Times-Washington Post & NY Times

Global Print Media NY Times, London Times & Guardian, International Herald Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times (London) all have global distribution Time, Newsweek, Economist largest news magazines

West to East News Flow Developing nations get Western views Western information dominance and stereotypes prevail Flow of news imbalanced West has soft power of strong appeal of cultural products in developing countries to detriment of local cultural traditions

Questions for Discussion How will the Internet affect wire services and traditional news agencies? Will Internet foster a more equitable flow of international news? What direction will that flow take?

Internet News Distribution Best hope for developing nations Access to uncensored news No telecommunications infrastructure for many nations World Bank has $520 million fund to help set up companies for Internet in 140 developing countries

Personalized Media Individuals went from passive recipients to information seekers Hotels provide copies of home country papers for guests Fax fosters interaction Cassette recording enable free choice for developing countries

Cybernews More compelling than traditional news media People share ideas on a global network Personal commentary serves as news Will public pay for news that has been free? Will advertising be able to make money on the web?

Relevance of foreign news Before 9/11 Americans were disinterested Public craves engagement in worlds crises and issues that affect their daily lives Sensational model preference After 9/11 foreign news assumed equal weight CNN back in news leadership Boom in 24/7 coverage News from BBC and other sources important

Censorship and information control 2002 public getting fewer facts and more opinion from news media American information from global TV and government agencies Incorporation of propaganda into messages Cell phones, Internet/ news dissemination

Trends for International Journalism 1.Unit cost of global comm will drop 2.Technology ensures 2-way comm 3.More consumer choice of what they receive 4.Unlimited sources of news content 5.Personalized comm presents challenge for authoritarian governments and control 6.Uncertainty about effects of comm flow on global audiences