Media GlobalizationHistory of International Communication

International Communication• The communication that occurs across

international borders, that is over the borders of nation states (Fortner 1993).

• The cultural, economic, political, social, and technical analysis of communication patterns and effects across and between nation states (Mc Phail 2002).

• The flow of information across borders for economic, military, political and cultural purposes.

Media Globalization• Globalization is a process that goes beyond

communication across borders. It is a process that seeks to establish a global interconnected and interdependent economic, political and cultural system (Moran 2004).

• Media Globalization results in cultural homogeneity across the globe as more and more people have access to the same cultural images and products (Hamelink 1983; Mattelart 1983; Schiller1989).

• A process of cultural appropriation when people take what is relevant to their own context and orient or adapt it to their local needs (Appadurai 1996).

Historical Context:Communication and Empire•Communication has always been critical

to the establishment and maintenance of power over distances.▫Persian Empire▫Greek Empire▫Chinese Empire▫Roman Empire▫Ashokan Empire▫Mughal Empire

Historical Context:

•Mediums of Communication▫Clay Tablets▫Papyrus▫Parchment▫Paper

•The Printing revolution▫Invention of movable type printing method

by Johanne Gutenberg in Germany.

International Communication:Technological Advancements

• Telegraph▫ Samuel Morse 1837

Ensured the rapid transmission of communication as well as secrecy and code protection.

▫ Businesses first to utilize it.▫ Replaced long distant communication by sea.▫ Military implications.

• Wireless Telegraph▫ Invented by Guglielmo Marconi in 1901▫ British domination and control over information▫ Establishment of International Radiotelegraph Union to

challenge Anglo-American domination

World Cable Shares

Country Global Share Global Sharein 1892 in 1923

British Empire 66.3% 50.5%United States 15.8% 24.2%French Empire 8.9% 11.0%Denmark 5.3% 2.6%Others 3.7% 11.7%

International Communication:The Economic & Military Imperative

• Industrialization▫Capitalism/ Liberalization

• Wars▫Algerian war▫Crimean war▫Civil war

• British hegemony▫Monopoly on overland and under sea cables.▫Played an enormous role in the unification &

extension of the British empire.

International Communication:

•International Telegraph Union (ITU)▫Founded in 1865▫22 members (all European except Persia)▫Telegraphic transmissions increased from

29 million in 1868 to 329 million in 1900•International Radiotelegraph Union

▫Signed in 1906 in Berlin

International Communication:

•Telephone▫Invented in 1877 by Alexander Graham

Bell.▫The American AT&T company dominated

this system of communication for the next 80 years.

▫Coverage limited

International Communication:From technology to media institutions•News Agencies

▫An organization which collected and disseminated news nationally as well as internationally. Havas Wolff Reuters Associated Press

▫The Ring Combination The League of Allied Agencies Divided the region amongst themselves creating a

monopoly

International Communication:The advent of Popular Media•The Newspaper Industry

▫The Times of India – India ▫The Straits Times – Singapore ▫Al-Ahram – Cairo▫Asahi Shimbun – Japan▫Le Petit Parisian – France▫Chung-kuo Jih-pao – China ▫New York Journal – US

International Communication:Popular Media• Film

▫ First film screening in Paris & Berlin in 1895.▫ French dominated film industry.▫ 1909 – 1913 Development of independent film studios in the

US led to formation of Hollywood.

• Music▫ His Master’s Voice (HMV).▫ Electrical and Musical Industries (EMI)

• Advertising Industry▫ US companies dominated advertising industry▫ J. Walter Thomson

Assignment

•Non- Aligned Movement •NWICO (New World Information and

Communication Order)•NWEO (New International Economic

Order)•MacBride Commission•Capitalism vs Communism

Part II

International Communication:The Radio •First transmission in 1902•Radio equipment cheap compared to

Cable•Transmission easy•Could be used by US businesses as a tool

to break British monopoly on cable technology

The Radio & International Communication • Regulation of the Airwaves

▫ Radio frequency allocated on first come first served basis by the large colonial powers (Britain, Germany, France, USA and Russia).

▫ Berlin, 1906 at the International Radiotelegraph Conference Radio standards debated.

▫ No mechanism for assigning or withholding frequency slots. Interests of developing world not looked after.

▫ Companies with technology and capital gained a monopoly over the limited spectrum of airwaves.

• National Broadcasting Trends▫ USA; The Radio Act of 1927. Radio used as a commercial enterprise

funded by advertising.▫ Britain; The BBC 1927. Radio used as a non-profit, public broadcasting

monopoly.▫ Soviet Union; TASS 1925. First nation to exploit this medium for

international broadcasting.

International Communication:The Battle of the Airwaves

▫ Strategic significance of international communication grew with the expansion of the radio.

▫ During Wars it was realized that was mobilization of opinion was as important as the mobilization of men and means.

▫ Soviet Union first to realize the potential of the radio and take advantage of it for Communist propaganda.

▫ In Nazi Germany, Hitler also used radio to disseminate his propaganda to the world.

▫ These events prompted the British to create a monitoring unit in order to listen to such transmissions and later create their own Arabic language service.

▫ The Second World War saw an explosion in international broadcast propaganda with the British Empire Service taking a leading role in it.

▫ British propaganda much more effective than American propaganda.

International Communication:The Battle of the Airwaves•First World War & Propaganda

▫Soviet Union: All Union Radio - 1925▫Germany: Nazi Reichsender – 1935▫Italy: Radio Bari - 1935▫Britain: BBC

•Second World War▫Japan: Nippon Hoso Kyokai▫The Empire Service by the BBC▫United States: Voice of America - 1942

International Communication:The Cold War• Second World War: Two victorious allies

▫ Soviet Union▫ United States

• Communist Propaganda or Capitalist Persuasion▫ Clash between two contrasting ideologies.

• Soviet Broadcast Propaganda▫ TASS (Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union) & Radio Moscow.▫ Aimed at Eastern Bloc and Third World.▫ Marxist in content against imperialism and Capitalist world.▫ Broadcast centered on party-ideology not professional

journalism content.▫ No match for western broadcasters.▫ Communist propaganda ineffective.

International Communication:The Cold War• US Broadcast Propaganda

▫ VOA, ▫ Radio Liberty, ▫ Radio Free Europe & ▫ American Forces Network.▫ Radio Free Russia

Used to justify Wars by US. Psychological warfare - ‘facilitative communication’. Religious propaganda – against Godless communism. Anti- US narrative.

▫ Capitalist propaganda more effective against Communism.▫ The events of 9-11 replaced the demise of Communism.▫ Arab & Muslim world replaced the Soviet Union.

International Communication:Cold War Propaganda in the Third World• Anti-colonial movements

▫ Potential for Communist indoctrination.▫ West striving for control over raw material.▫ Literacy levels low therefore radio considered a critical

medium for dissemination capitalist or communist ideologies.▫ Indigenous resources weak & state controlled.▫ The Middle East of special geostrategic significance as held

major oil resources.• Pan-Arabism

▫ Pan-Arab sentiment also broadcast from Palestinian liberation radio by the PLO to keep the Palestinian struggle alive.

▫ Gamaal Nasser of Egypt’s ‘Voice of Arabs’▫ Helped create nationalism in the Arab/Muslim world

International Communication:Cold War Propaganda by VOA• VOA operated from Japan, Thailand, Philippines,

Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia, Latin America and Africa.▫US broadcast propaganda reached new heights.▫ In Latin America it was used to fight the communist

revolution led by Fidel Castro in Cuba.▫Africa remained a low target given its weak

geostrategic position in international relations.▫ Initially receptive to the Soviet message of freedom

and from colonialism but growing influence of modernizing elites and dependency on Western economies meant effect of communism waning.

International Communication:Development • Non- Aligned Movement 1961

▫ Rejecting the Cold War bipolarity, developing countries opted for a neutral Non-Aligned status.

▫ Egypt, India and Indonesia.▫ Demanded that international communication issues be seen in

terms of the North-South rather than the East-West categories.▫ The Non-Aligned countries, a group of 77 newly independent

colonial states demanded greater economic justice from the world.

• New International Economic Order (NIEO)▫ The UN General Assembly approved of their demand by

introducing the NIEO.▫ A redefinition of international relations based on equality and a

democratic economic order.

International Communication:Development • New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO)

▫ It was also realized that the new economic order had to be linked to a new information & communication order.

▫ Helsinki Conference 1975: Freer and wider dissemination of information of all kind.

▫ Technical and financial support from the developed world to bridge the gap that existed between them.

▫ The use of new communication technologies for development.• Satellite Television for Development

▫ Used through television to disseminate information on literacy, healthcare as well as spreading consumerism amongst Third World publics.

International Communication:Demand for NWICO •The North/South divide

▫Unequal and unjust economic & political relations.

▫Dependency on West for software and hardware.

▫Control of North over major communication channels created an exploitative and distorted view of the South to world.

▫Created a model dependency with a negative effect on the polity, economy and society of the developing countries.

International Communication:Demand for NWICO • Justifications for Demanding NWICO

▫ Center and peripheral demarcations.▫ Economic and technological dependence on “information rich” of the

“information poor”.▫ Monopoly of Western-based transnational corporations perpetuating

“vertical” rather than the desirable “horizontal” flow of communication.▫ Commodification of information by West subjected to the rules of the

market.▫ A new form of neo-colonialism.▫ Imbalanced flow of communication.▫ Manufacturing news by distorting facts in order to alter world opinion and

create their own hegemony.▫ A landmark was reached in 1978 by the Mass Media Declaration in

UNESCO which acknowledged the role of the mass media in development and adopted a resolution on NWICO.

▫ The commission set up to investigate the imbalance in communication flows and the justification for establishing a new one was called the MacBride Commission.

International Communication:Opposition to NWICO • Western opposition – Communist inspired idea- Third World design to

control mass media through state regulations. • Suppression of ‘free flow of information’ by Third World dictators.• Stifle media freedom & impose censorship by keeping away foreign

journalists.• ‘Cultural self determination’, ‘media imperialism’ and ‘national

sovereignty’ just excuses to maintain control over channels of communication.

• MacBride commission criticized.• Western new organizations stoutly battled against any change the old

communication order by terming Third world demands as a pretext for ‘state intervention’.

• Cited ‘social responsibility of the press’, ‘protection of journalists’, ‘right to communicate’ etc as reasons for disagreement.

• The US under Jimmy Carter was receptive to NWICO. However, the fall of the Shah of Iran and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the new entrant Ronald Reagan was not as understanding.

International Communication:NWICO and the new Cold War • Reagan-Thatcher consortium: Trade not Aid.

▫ Opposition to MacBride Commission Report.▫ US & Britain withdrew from UN body 1985-86.▫ Reagan’s tough line responsible for cuts in in various

communication development programs.▫ US demanded greater freedom for US-based media &

telecommunication corporations to explore Southern markets and build privately owned rather than government controlled media enterprise.

▫ Ideological shift from public service oriented media to a privatized and deregulated industry.

▫ Mission to control communication channels for promoting pro-Americanism & anti-Communism.

▫ Strengthened VOA & Radio Liberty in order to propagate message abroad more effectively.

International Communication:The End of the Cold War • End of Communism

▫ Fall of Berlin Wall – 1989▫ Disintegration of Soviet Union – 1991▫ The end of a bipolar world and beginning of a unipolar one.

• Shift of Focus▫ From news & information – global telecommunication & transnational data flows.▫ Higher priority awarded to investment in the telecommunication sector.▫ The emergence of new information and communication technologies.

• New Information Technologies & Convergences▫ Direct Broadcasting Satellites (DBS), fiber optics and microcomputers.▫ The convergence of information and informatics – combination of computers and

telecommunication systems raised new questions about international communication.

▫ The globalization of communication emerged, made possible through privatization and the discovery of newer faster technologies encouraging the compression of time and space.

▫ Created media and communication organizations operating on a global scale with their physical presence distributed in the global market.

Case Study Assignments

•Reuters•BBC•Havas & Wolff•Radio Free Europe•Voice of America•Satellite Instructional Television

Experiment (SITE)