Media in a Global Context

 War & Diplomacy  Ideological & Cultural Transmission  News & Information  Entertainment  Profit Prominent Uses of Communication at Global Level

 Integrally linked with history of war and commerce (technological leaps in communication).  Extent of empire as indicator of efficiency of communication. Communication and Empire

 Ancient Empires  Asia: India, China  Middle East: Persia, Egypt  Europe: Greece, Rome  Modern Empires  Britain (BBC)BBC  United States (Voice of America)Voice of America  Counter-Empire  New World Information Communication Order Communication and Empire

 Authoritarian  Western  Communist  Development  Revolutionary Types of Media Systems (Common Categorizations)

 UN General Assembly Resolution passed at its first session, December 1946: “ Freedom of information is a fundamental human right and is the touchstone of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated. ” Internationalization of Western Concept

 Libertarian Model  Lack of government interference  Market-driven  Social Responsibility Model  Media should inform citizenry  Government can intervene if media doesn ’ t fulfill its role  Public should have some access to the press Western Model: Differing Approaches Within

 Press freedom in U.S.  Minimalist tradition.  Constitution restrains government.  Right of expression almost absolute.  Freedom of press is absence of prior restraint with some accountability after publication.  No right of access, guarantees.  No official recognition of journalists Western Model: United States

 Tradition of government activism and intervention.  Press commissions, ombudsmen, oversight boards.  Controls on content – advertising, children ’ s programming, right of reply Western Model: Europe

 Serving the public good vs. public desires  Marketplace  Public oversight  Government intervention  Huxley vs. Orwell Huxley vs. Orwell Problems for Western Model

 Freedom House criteria for freedom of the press:  Legal environment  Political influences  Economic pressures  Map of Press Freedom (2014) 197 Countries/Territories Map of Press Freedom  63 (32%) rated “free”  68 (35%) rated “partly free”  66 (33%) rated “not free”  Rankings Rankings Press Freedom

 Reporters Without Borders  Reports of violations form the basis of criteria  Map of Press Freedom (2014) 180 Countries Map of Press Freedom  Rankings Rankings Press Freedom

 Globalization of the media  Rise of moguls  Anglo-American dominance  Language  News  Pop culture  Culture as basis for conflict Recent Global Trends

 Global Media Empire (News Corporation)  Vertical Integration  TV (Aided by Satellite Technology)  Newspapers  Magazines  Books  Movies  Live sports plays key role Citizen Murdoch

 From the 1999 News Corporation Annual Report:  “Virtually every minute of the day, in every time zone on the planet, people are watching, reading and interacting with our products. We’re reaching people from the moment they wake up until they fall asleep.” The Sun Never Sets on Rupert Murdoch’s Empire

 Recent Example:  Violence in France (January 2015)  12 killed at satirical magazine, “Charlie Hebdo”  Had previously been firebombed in November 2011 after running a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad  Universality vs. Pluralism Cultural Conflict