# Introduction to Mass Media/International Media

Insert international media chapter here. Introduction International media is a concept that grew from many theoretical approaches and technological advances. It is communication from varied media that shape our global context through various political, economic, social, and cultural factors. International media can be dispersed and consumed via traditional or digital media. Its broad range connects the world from the bleakest lands to the busiest of cities. Connectedness is becoming exponentially important to people all over the world. International media offers the platform for which bilateral communication can take place and more importantly at any level. “Books used to be written for the general reader; now they are written by the general reader” according to Robert Darnton, a professor and librarian at Harvard University. Mass communication has been defined and redefined over and over throughout history. Mass communication is when a source, typically an organization, employs a technology as a medium to communicate with a large audience. (Baran & Davis, 2012, p.5) However, very often the source is just one person distributing information via the Internet for anyone anywhere to comprehend. Human interactions and communication transactions are more closely examined with the help of technological tools and concepts such as surveillance cameras and behavioral targeting advertisements. Mass communication theory is “an active effort by communities of scholars to make sense of their social world.” (p.39) Mass Communication Theory There have been four eras of media theory. The first era, mass society and mass culture, is characterized by urbanization and the penny press, which made profits by selling newspapers for one penny to many of the “average” factory workers. This infuriated elites and caused them to accuse media “of pandering to lower-class tastes, fomenting political unrest, and subverting important culture norms.” (p.27) The second era of media theory, the development of a scientific perspective on mass communication eventually led to the emergence of the limited-effects perspective. This idea stemmed from propaganda techniques used in Nazi Germany. Paul Lazarsfeld, a German American, wanted to quantify social research methods in order to study political propaganda. Out of this grew limited-effects perspective, which was the view of media as reinforcing existing social trends and strengthening rather than threatening the status quo. (p.30) The third era of media theory occurred when competing cultural perspectives challenged limited-effects theory. After World War II, American influence was strong in Europe and academics were challenging the clout. Neo-Marxism emerged as a social theory asserting that media enabled dominant social elites to maintain their power. (p.34) British cultural studies trusted that media could serve all people, however, reigning elite dominated the hegemonic worldview. The current era of media theory focuses on meaning-making perspectives. Framing theory, asserting that people use expectations of the social world to make sense of that world, and the media literacy movement, calling for improvement in people’s ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate media messages, are two examples of meaning-making theory. (p.40) Mass communication theory incorporates political, economic, social, and cultural factors into the principles independent of the particular thesis. Mass communication theory is a collection of theories that attempts to explain the social world at a specific time. Many of the theories overlap because they are based on varying perspectives from different parts of the world. For these reasons, international media are not categorized by mass communication theories. However, they are important to know because they portray the zeitgeist of a particular era. International media are categorized by political theories because they are undeniably sizable and influential, which means that they are indispensable, thus desired and regulated.
Political Theories and the Media Soviet Media Theory is a system of ideas based on Marxist-Leninist principles, which believe that the government should have total control of media for the benefit of the people and to incorporate messages that maintain a strong socialized society. Many Eastern European countries such as Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic operated under the Soviet Theory ideology as it pertains to media. (Biagi, 2005, p.349) Authoritarian Theory is a system of ideas based on censorship, which gives total power of media to the government or ruler and is used to protect the public and enhance government control. Britain once operated under Authoritarian Theory in the mid 1800's however it is a dying ideology except in places where monarchs still rule. (p.349) Libertarian Theory is a system of ideas based on freethinking, which believes that people are knowledgeable and therefore can decipher between rational and irrational news consequentially, there is little to no censorship. The United States operates under this political ideology for the most part however; ideals have been challenged with the changes in media industries. (p.349) Social Responsibility Theory is a system of ideas based on the combination of Authoritarian and Libertarian views this includes accuracy, truth, and information subject to content discussion and interpretation from the public or government. The United States is in constant limbo between Libertarian Theory and Social Responsibility Theory. The nature of our system mirrors the market place model, which believes supply and demand will give the public what they want, and the public sphere model, which believes that government regulation is needed to protect the interest of the people because business techniques will meet their needs. Developmental Theory is a system of ideas used to describe media systems that are developing in a third world nation and characteristically the media are incorporating social and economic goals to the people. Media Imperialism Theory is a system of ideas based on media domination of less prominent countries, which characteristically pushes attitudes, values, and beliefs on to the people through media transactions. Many countries operating under Developmental Theory are avidly seeking to keep out countries operating under Media Imperialism Theory. For example, France has set up laws to preserve their culture by not allowing all media from the United States to enter. Likewise, many countries enjoy the media technology that the west brings but not the culture. International Media Systems by Regions In 1956 the book, Four Theories of the Press, by Fred S. Siebert, Theodore Peterson, and Wilbur Schramm set out to categorize media systems according to four political theories. The fifth theory, Developmental Theory, brings the categorization current and adds to the original four theories, Soviet Media Theory, Authoritarian Theory, Libertarian Theory, and Social Responsibility Theory. These five theories have been used to define media systems all over the world. Not all media systems fit the principles for any one theory perfectly but the five theories do cover most media systems worldwide. Regions are divided by similar media systems. Types and distribution of media are discussed in detail because of the unique ways each region adapts to particular political, economic, social, and culture elements. Controversies and issues arise when any one element is outweighing another creating assistance and/or barriers. Each region is situational and dependent on a perceived equal balance and each region will interpret their balance of elements differently. Therefore, impact of media on any one region is exclusive. Asia Asia ranges from a mix of public and private media ownership to a government controlled media monopoly. “Asia represents 49% of the regions mobile subscribers and broadband markets. This massive presence is due to the fact that Asia has 56% of the world population as well as 45% of the Internet Users, making Asia clearly a top leader in the world telecommunications scenario.” (Asia Stats, 2013)
People’s Republic of China. China favors more traditional media. Printed newspapers and magazines make up the bulk of Chinese media however; radio, television, and Internet are also an important communication medium. “Working in China has its challenges. One is the nature of the press, which is state-owned or highly controlled. Although the media are getting more sophisticated, Chinese journalists are still poorly trained and underpaid.” (Wilcox & Cameron, 2012, p.523) All media outlets are government controlled and censored. Throughout history the Chinese have experienced a waver between relaxed and strict government controls. On June 4th 1989, the Tiananmen Square massacre took place in Beijing; demonstrators were “seeking greater democracy and call for the resignations of Chinese Communist Party leaders deemed too repressive.” (A&E, 2013) Chinese troops opened fire on the crowd, mainly composed of students, killing hundreds. The aftermath caused another wave of strict media controls. India. India has a similar media system to that of Great Britain for colonization reasons. Many of the television and radio stations still air British news and shows. India has however, ventured off into a prosperous filmmaking industry. An unofficial city known as Bollywood, Mumbai proper, puts out roughly 800 films a year making it second only to Hollywood. (Biagi, 2005, p.361) According to an International Business Times article the economic impact fairs well “it might be easier to turn a profit in Mumbai than in Los Angeles – the average Bollywood film costs only about $1.5 million to make, versus $47.7 million for Hollywood. Marketing costs are also significantly lower in India.” (Ghosh, 2013) The filmmaking industry is accredited for creating jobs in a developing country. Japan. Japan has more newspapers readers than any other country in the world. (Biagi, 2005, p.359) Three of their most read newspapers are more than 100 years old, Asahi Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun, and Mainichi Shimbun and most of the newspapers and broadcast companies are privately owned. Japan’s media system was updated after World War II and influenced by the United States and Great Britain. Still some U.S. digital media companies are finding their way into Japan’s Internet industry. For example, Yahoo! Japan handles more than half of the populations search queries; Google is trying to cater to the Japanese audience with little progress. “One problem was that Yahoo! Japan was the first Web- based search engine in the country. A second problem was that Yahoo! had 35 percent local ownership, so users perceived it as a Japanese company that had mostly Japanese employees.” (Wilcox & Cameron, 2012, p.529)
Europe Western Europe Britain Scandinavia Eastern Europe Germany Poland Russian Federation North America Canada United States of America Latin America/Caribbean Brazil Cuba Africa Egypt Nigeria South Africa Middle East Palestine Oceania/Australia
Australia Singapore
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA I. POLITICAL THEORIES AND THE MEDIA A. Soviet Theory B. Authoritarian Theory C. Libertarian Theory D. Social Responsibility Theory E. Developmental Theory F. Media Imperialism Theory II. INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SYSTEMS A. Asia 1. Types of Media 2. Distribution of Media B. Europe 1. Types of Media 2. Distribution of Media C. North America 1. Types of Media 2. Distribution of Media D. Latin America/Caribbean 1. Types of Media 2. Distribution of Media E. Africa 1. Types of Media 2. Distribution of Media F. Middle East 1. Types of Media 2. Distribution of Media G. Oceania/Australia 1. Types of Media 2. Distribution of Media III. CONTROVERSY AND ISSUES IN REGIONAL MEDIA IV. IMPACT OF MEDIA V. INTERNATIONAL MEDIA MARKETS A. Commercialization B. Concentration 1. Comcast Corporation a. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania b. 1963 2. The Walt Disney Company a. Burbank, California b. 1923 3. Time Warner INC. a. New York City, New York b. 1990 4. Viacom a. New York City, New York b. 2006 5. News Corporation a. New York City, New York b. 1979 C. Integration
VI. INTERNATIONAL MEDIA IN THE FUTURE
1. Soviet Media Theory- is a theory based on Marxist-Leninist principles, which believe that the government should have total control of media for the benefit of the people and to incorporate messages that maintain a strong socialized society. 2. Authoritarian Theory- is a theory based on censorship, which gives total power of media to the government or ruler and is used to protect the public and enhance government control. 3. Libertarian Theory- is a theory based on freethinking, which believes that people are knowledgeable and therefore can decipher between rational and irrational news consequentially, there is little to no censorship. 4. Social Responsibility Theory- is a theory based on the combination of Authoritarian and Libertarian views this includes accuracy, truth, and information subject to content discussion and interpretation from the public or government.
5. Developmental Theory- 6. Media Imperialism Theory- is a theory based on media domination of less prominent countries, which characteristically pushes attitudes, values, and beliefs on to the people through media transactions. 7. Al Jazeera- is a broadcast media company founded in 1996 in Doha, Qatar and specializes in Arabic news and current affairs with a regular audience of 40 million people. 8. British Broadcast Company- 9. Free Flow- 10. New World Information Order- 11. Privatization- 12. Radionovelas- 13. Shortwaves- 14. Commercialization- 15. Oligopoly- 16. Integration- 17. Censorship- 18. Media Conglomerate- 19. Media Ethic-
http://chronicle.com/article/5-Myths-About-the-Information/127105/ http://ideas.time.com/2013/04/22/the-boston-bombing-should-cameras-now-be-everywhere/ http://www.wired.com/business/2009/03/googles-new-ad/ http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tiananmen-square-massacre-takes-place http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats3.htm asia stats http://www.ibtimes.com/bollywood-100-how-big-indias-mammoth-film-industry-1236299 Ghosh 2013 http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm -International Media Systems http://elitedaily.com/money/the-worlds-10-largest-media-conglomerates/ -Concentration http://www.imediaethics.org/index.php?page=3&option=com_news&task=viewall&catId=47 -
Mass Communication - Baran & Davis, 2012 Media Impact: An Introduction to Mass Media (Wadsworth Series in Mass Communication and Journalism: General Mass Communication) Biagi