15 Global Media Communication Around The World

Media Ideals Around The World Four Theories of the Press (1956): written by Fred S. Siebert, Theodore Peterson, and Wilbur Schramm four major forms of international press:  authoritarian  libertarian  Soviet/communist  social responsibility

Last Rights: Revisiting Four Theories of the Press:  1995 book written by John Nerone  update of earlier four theories  argued four theories were not a timeless set of categories  saw them as a critique set within a particular time period A fifth theory?  development theory

Authoritarian theory  oldest theory of the press  role of the press is to be a servant of the government  control of the press is carried out by: giving permits to only certain printers prosecuting anyone who violates standards totalitarian governments (example in the1990s: Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic)

Communist Theory  press is run by the government to serve the government’s own needs  only one valid political and social philosophy  proposes the following principles: The media are an instrument of the government and the Communist Party. The media should be closely tied to other sources of government power. The media’s main purpose is to act as a tool for government propaganda.

Libertarian Theory  Press belongs to the people and serves as an independent observer of the government.  It follows the basic ideals of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  It is based on the following principles: People want to know the truth and be guided by it. The only way to arrive at the truth is for ideas to be freely and openly discussed. Different people will have different opinions, and everyone must be allowed to develop their own. The most rational ideas will be the most accepted  The functions of the press are to inform, entertain, and advertise.

Social Responsibility Theory  while the press may be free from interference by the government, it can still be controlled by corporate interests  press obliged to serve several social functions: provide the news and information needed to make the political system work give the public the information needed for self- governance serve as an overseer of the government serve the economic function of bringing together buyers and sellers through advertising provide entertainment be profitable enough to avoid outside pressures.

Norms for the press in the twenty-first century  development theory: addresses the special needs of emerging nations governments may feel that they need to restrict freedom of the press in order to promote industry, national identity, and partnerships with neighboring nations

Going Global—Media Standards Around The World Alan Ward’s five dimensions of media rating:  control  finance  programming goals  target audience  feedback mechanism

Canada, Western Europe, and Britain  Canada free press patterned in part on the United States U.S. media tends to overshadow Canadian “Canadian content” regulations: Canadian radio must be at least 35 percent domestic programming

Western Europe and Britain  broadcasting was dominated by state-run monopolies up until the 1980s.  public service and cultural preservation priorities  Britain and BBC: operates under a public service model audience members pay the cost of the programming (equipment licensing fees)

 Internet not as pervasive  increase in privately owned television stations  newspapers tend to take an obvious political view point  newspaper readership worldwide highest in Europe facing declines

Central and Latin America  broadcasting dominated by North American, Mexican, and Brazilian programming  fewer language barriers than other regions  newspaper circulation has been growing 1,000 papers, 100 million readership

Islamic Countries and the Middle East  straddle the fence between social responsibility and authoritarian media control  controls on journalists and content  Al Hayat and Al-Jazeera  satellite and Internet and “small media” allowing bypass of control  Professor Kai Hafez’s three types of press in the Arab world: mobilized loyalist diverse

The importance of “small” media  fax machines, photocopy machines, video cameras, computers, and the Internet  provide for a range of voices  Internet allows for wider expression  size and availability make control difficult

Television in the Islamic World  heavy government control  varied availability  Saudi Arabian network (1960s)  little known about Saudi viewer habits 1995 survey—63 percent had access to satellite programming

Al-Jazeera  broadcast via satellite from Qatar since 1997  only 10 percent of all Arabs with satellite TV never watch it  committed to presenting an Arab view of the world  founded by Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani  started after failed Arabic-language BBC project

Dangers to Journalists:  In 2006 worldwide 55 journalists were killed 32 of them were in Iraq (4 combat-related, 28 murdered)  ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff injured  hostage-taking increasing  fear of reprisals discouraging journalistic coverage in danger spots

Africa  prime example of development media theory  early media covered white settlers only  newspapers found in large cities circulation limited by poverty and illiteracy  radio is the most important medium  Television and Internet limited  no major newspapers are published in African languages  more languages spoken than any other continent

South Africa  most radio handled by South African Broadcasting Corporation  committee of lawyers and media professionals regulate the broadcast industry  television broadcasts in seven different languages  source of inspiration for Western pop music: township jive artists have recorded with Western artists

Russia and the former Soviet republics  under communism, no ideal of an independent press  control continues even after 1991 fall of Soviet Union most media owned by private, pro-government business people  Moscow—twenty daily and weekly newspapers  zakazukha—selling articles to highest bidder  some papers supports the boss’s political agenda  television is the most important medium few can afford newspapers

Asia  mix of old and new media philosophies India  40 percent of India’s households have television sets  40 percent read newspapers  120 million of 220 million households have a radio  newspapers are big industry  All India Radio (AIR) dominant radio source

China  role of the media is to promote public policies  all media are controlled by the government  Kenneth Petress on Chinese media: “Propaganda is not a dirty word in China; it is a respected public service profession.”

Japan  American policy helped shape Japanese media after World War II  NHK is Japan’s public broadcasting corporation  Balance between commercial and public broadcasting  manga, or comic books, are the most popular magazines: oaccount for 40 percent of all books and magazines ogrowing in popularity in the United States

Marshall McLuhan’s Global Village:  electronic media help people live and interact globally  Ken Auletta: perhaps not just one single wired global village perhaps hundreds or thousands of global villages  W. Russell Neuman: just because we have access, people may choose to ignore it