The Globalization Myth?Localization and

regionalization of ’Globalnews’

Tine Ustad FigenschouMedia and Globalization March 1 2011

tineuf@media.uio.no

Point of departure... CNN is no uniform programme, but consists of

numerous continental ’windows’. There aremany ’CNNs’, but no complete globalprogramme

(Hafez 2007:13, The Myth of Media Globalization)

- Why is there no complete global programmeon the most global news channel in aglobalized world?

- What does it mean?

Lecture outline

• How international is ’internationalreporting’?

• How global are the ‘global news’channels?

• First and second generation satellitenews channels

• Case: Al Jazeera English

The cosmopolitan potential ofinternational reporting

By presenting the perspectives of the’Other’ alongside one’s ’own’, as well asthe interpretations by third parties,international reporting has the potential,especially given the public’s geoculturaldistance from the international event, toshift culture-specific values towards aglobal order of values (Hafez 2007:24)

The world-view of internationalreporting

• Regionalism (and metropolitan leanings)• Conflict perspective• Political focus• Elite focus• Decontextualization

Why these structuralmisrepresentations?

• Regionalism <-- Home audience >international audience

• Conflict perspective, political focus andelite focus <-- Economic crisis (shrinkingforeign presence, more wire news)

• Decontextualization <--Technologicalchanges (user-generated content)

Global satellite news: The ideal

• 1990s: The cosmopolitan ideal (The globalpublic sphere perspective)– Deterritorialized (time and place irrelevant)– 24/7 (cyclic, repetitive, 30min-programming)– Multinational audience, global production, global

public sphere– Glamorous, urban, ’worldy’, dynamic, broadminded

First generation satellite newschannels

• CNN’s success (”breaking news”, fact journalism, ”live”coverage of international

- The Gulf War (1990-1)- CNNization: Global infotainment- Inspired BBC World and Sky News- The CNN-effect- Small, elite audience

Localization of global news:Two parallel processes:

I) First generation satellite news channels have ’localized’(’corporate localization’):- Regional versions (CNN, CNN Türk, CNN en Espanol,CNN Chile, CNN-IBM)- Regional programming (BBC World: current affairs,lifestyle, documentaries)- Dubbing and/or translations

II) Explosion of new satellite news channels: Regionalized /Localized news channels

Second generation satellite newschannels

• France24 (2006) (Worldwide news with French eyes)• Russia Today (2005)(The Russian point of view)• Deutsche Welle TV (German and other positions on

important issues)• Chinese CCTV 9 (2009) (Your window on China and the

world)• Iranian Press TV (2007) (Unbiased reporting of

controversial global news)• Al Jazeera English (2006) (News from the South to the

North)

The complex, current satellitenews ecology

• More voices, diversity of perspectives in internationalnews --> Increased awareness of other perspectives

• More semi-official news --> National governments moredirectly involved in global news, news as part of publicdiplomacy/soft power campaigns (primarily targetingforeign audiences)

• News from a distinct, ’localized’ perspective• Corporate localization - the bigger Anglo-American

players strengthen their dominance?

• The Al Jazeera Network: From obscure niche channelto global network....

- Al Jazeera Arabic (1996)- Al Jazeera English (2006)- Growing number of niche channels: Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, Al Jazeera Sports channels, Al Jazeera Mubashier (Live), Al JazeeraChildren Channel

• The most ambitious of the second generation newschannels:

• Four headquarters: Doha (Qatar)(12h), London (4h),Washington D.C.(4h) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)(4h)– One feed, ‘localization’ by rolling headquarters– > 1000 employees, > 50 nationalities, 69 bureaus– Available in over 220 million homes in over 100 countries(not distribution in North America)

“Independent, impartial news for an international audienceand to provide a voice of diversity of perspectives fromunder-reported regions”

“The channel aims to balance the information flowbetween the South and the North. The channel ofreference for the Middle East and Africa, AJE hasunique access to some of the world’s most troubledand controversial locations. AJE’s determination andability to accurately reflect the truth on the ground inregions torn by conflict and poverty has set our contentapart”

Mission statements (I):

“Balancing the current typical information flow by reporting from thedeveloping world back to the West and from the Southern to theNorthern hemisphere”

“Give voice to untold stories, promote debate, and challengeestablished perceptions”

“Set the news agenda, bridging cultures and providing a uniquegrassroots perspective from under-reported regions around theworld to a potential global audience of over one billion Englishspeakers”

Mission statements (II):

Core values:

Journalism of DepthEvery Angle, Every SideVoice of the VoicelessBeing Where Others Aren’tThe Southern PerspectiveLetting the World Report on Itself

• Southern Presence• Local Correspondents• The Al Jazeera Family

Editorial Strategies:

Voice of the Voiceless

• Aim: Give an overview of AJE’s editorial lineand and examine whether the channel typifiesa contra-flow in satellite news?

• Methodology: Content analysis of two monthsof NewsHour (18.00 GMT) (Oct.-Dec. 2007and May-July 2008).

• Figenschou (2010)

Voice of the Voiceless

• RQ 1: Does Al Jazeera English cover the South more significantly– more frequently, in more in-depth formats and with a largerpresence on the ground – than the North?

• Findings: Al Jazeera English airs more news items fromand about the global South than the global North, 61%of the total 1324 news items report from Asia, Africa,Latin America and the Middle East. And further, on AlJazeera English the South is covered in longer, moreanalytical news formats, with more correspondentspresent on the ground.

Voice of the Voiceless

• RQ 2: Does Al Jazeera English interview grass-root sources andindependent elite sources more extensively - more frequently and in morein-depth formats – than sources representing the establishment?

Findings: Independent, male elites are the most frequently used sources.These sources are most often invited into the AJE studio as they areasked to reflect on and analyze news events in in-depth news formats.AJE emphasizes the situation and problems of the ‘voiceless’, but the‘voiceless’ is spoken for and represented by male, independent elitessuch as oppositional politicians, representatives from internationalorganizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), media orcultural personalities, analysts and academics.

Voice of the Voiceless

• Compromise between news productionvalues in international news andalternative editorial agenda

• First potential global news contra-flow

Challenges

• Editorial freedom (ownership)• Distribution• Institutionalization