Showing papers in "Global media journal in 2002"

Arab Satellite Television Between Regionalization and Globalization

Abstract: Arab media burst onto the North American radar screen when Al-Jazeera, a Qatari all news pan-Arab satellite television station, scooped the world's media with its coverage of the U.S. attack on Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Until then, with the exception of counted academic experts and a few articles and opinion pieces in the leading national newspapers, the Arab mass media had not received much attention in American public discourse. Because of this lack of interest, the development of the mass media in Arab countries, their socio-cultural impact and their political implications, remain poorly understood. For this reason, this article aims at introducing Arab media from a historical perspective, focusing on satellite television broadcasting, and analyzing the relationship between that media sector and the phenomenon of globalization. This article revolves around the following questions: How did Arab television, especially satellite television, evolve historically? What political, economic, and cultural forces shaped the operation and content of Arab media and how? What challenges do these regional Arab mass media face in the era of globalization? Finally, what are the political, economic and cultural implications of transnational Arab satellite television?

From Cultural Imperialism to Transnational Commercialization: Shifting Paradigms in International Media Studies

Abstract: The idea for this paper emerged from a presentation at the International Communication Association (ICA) Conference held in Acapulco, Mexico in June of 2000. As a popular tourist destination, Acapulco represented a mix of “global” commerce familiar to world travelers. The conference hotel, owned by the Fairmont Hotel chain headquartered in New York, was one of several luxury resorts that stretched along the beach between the airport and the city. Travelling along the Costera Miguel Aleman, the main commercial thoroughfare, a parade of transnational corporate logos flashed by the windows of the cab: Hyatt, Hilton, and Radisson hotels, Wal Mart, Costco, and Woolworth’s retail stores, McDonalds, Burger King, and Dominos’ Pizza fast-food chains, Walt Disney and Warner Bros. novelty/theme stores, Nestle and Baskin-Robbins ice cream shops, a Nike shoe and apparel store, a Ralph Lauren boutique, Eastman Kodak photo shops, an American Express service center, Planet Hollywood, Hooters, and the Hard Rock Cafe.

Re-examining Civil Society in Emerging Sub Sahara African Democracies:The State, the Media, and the Public in Ghana.

Abstract: African media and civil society scholars have described Sub Saharan Africa as a weak civil society. They also questioned the role African media has played in promoting civil society on the continent (Ronning 1999; Osaghae, 1994; Sachikonye, 1995b). The media, as public service institutions, have traditionally performed a political propagandist and developmental role and served the interest of competing elites (Karikari, 1993; Ansah, 1985a). However, since the mid 1990s, democratic and liberal reforms that swept the Sub Saharan African continent have resulted in the introduction and growth of independent media, particularly private radio, and ended decades of state media monopoly. Consequently, the role of the media, particularly independently owned radio broadcast services, has been changing (Heath 1999; Blankson, 2000).

Animating Hierarchy: Disney and the Globalization of Capitalism

Abstract: Much has been written about the power and influence of the Disney corporation (Dorfman & Mattelart, 1975; Shickel, 1968; Smoodin, 1993; Wasko, 2000; Maltin, 1980; Mosley, 1985). With enterprises in film, video, theme parks, cable and network television, cruise ships, toys, clothing, and other consumer products, Disney leads in the construction and promotion of U. S. popular culture. Yet, despite its position as global media giant—second only to Time-Warner-AOL, its sordid past as cold war propagandist and union-buster, and its current exploitation of sweatshop workers (e.g., $1/day for Haitian Disney employees), Disney maintains the Mickeyesque-aura of Uncle Walt and wholesome family entertainment. Indeed, Disney now serves as America’s moral educator (Real, 1977; Ward 1996). Dominating market power in entertainment mitigated by avuncular representation adheres to Disney in large part due to its primary production art form: the animated feature.

Sharon Wins: News coverage and framing of the 2001 Israeli Prime Minister election in ten Western print media

Abstract: The two main issues of studies in international news flow are: the news selection determinants (why do stories get published?) and the news structure (how do reporters cover events in particular countries?). How news is covered has been the center of a debate between developing and developed countries, in which the former blamed the latter of bias and misrepresentation in the Western news media (McPhail, 1983). The West refuted heavily this criticism with arguments supporting the claim that reporters practice core professional values: independence and objectivity. Quite similar to science, the journalistic field aims at a valid and true description and explanation of reality (Donsbach, 1993).

Is There Still an Evil Empire? The Role of the Mass Media in Depicting Stereotypes of Russians and Eastern Europeans.

Abstract: Enemy images have always been considered instrumental tools in the conduct of political propaganda and psychological warfare. Ordinarily, when two nations are at war, each considers the other its enemy. And traditionally, the wartime propaganda of each nation attempts to inculcate in its people and military personnel a similar image of the enemy as inherently hostile, filled with hatred and a rage to conquer and dominate others, treacherous, cruel, and—in a word—evil (White, 1949).

The Evolution of Public Service Radio Broadcasting in Greece: From Authoritarianism to Anarchy and Irrelevance

Abstract: The development of radio in Greece was influenced by the public service model established earlier in other European nations. However, as a social institution radio could not escape the socio-cultural environment in which it operates. The Greek political and economic environment in the twentieth century was greatly shaped by wars, occupation, earthquakes, dictatorships and the resulting poor economic conditions. As such, Greek public service radio had a terrific challenge in trying to reach its goals. For some observers it came close to providing a public service to the Greek people, but for others its fate was predetermined by the socio-cultural conditions of the nation, and thus could never succeed. In either case, the development of public service radio in Greece parallels the development of Greece in the 20th Century.

American Beauty, Gladiator, and the New Imperial Humanitarianism.

Abstract: In his essay “Cowboys and Free Markets,” Stanley Corkin historically situates U.S. imperial discourses in the Western film genre. Popular during a time of post-war U.S. global expansionism, the Western re-elaborates the cultural “need for settlement and nationalism” (68). According to Corkin, this thematic appears in all Westerns. But the post-World War II era in America makes particular use of the genre: “the repressed dimension of westerns is their relationship to imperialism—and it is their indirect means of considering such activity that makes them the genre of the period” (71). During the post-war shift toward an aggressive U.S. expansionism (militarily, economically, and politically), a suitable cultural metaphor for explaining national policy to the larger population was found in the frontier trope of the Western. The geography of the old-west is physically outside socialization and civilization, and it provides a place “in which individuals of magnitude can assert their sense of order” (72).

Corruption & Calamity: Limiting Ethical Journalism in Mexico and Central America

Abstract: But in the changing ethical tableau of Mexico and Central America, other results are often possible. Journalists who strive to attain an ethical code may find themselves more than simply shunned by corrupt colleagues: they could be the focus of threats, victims of physical assaults, or become statistics of another lethal attack against journalists in one of the most dangerous regions of world to test the limits of free expression.

Impact of Media on Conflict Resolution and Education in the New Europe.

Abstract: For the New Europe, the year 1989 constitutes a pivotal time when social, political, cultural, national and international arenas converged in opening the “Iron Curtain” to the world. The fall of communism and its consequences created undeniable changes impacting not only citizens of the countries in the region, but also scholarship from all walks of academia, in the West and East alike. Over a decade later, countries from this area http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/Fall2002/MarinLen gel.htm _ftn3 had changed borders, political systems, and sociocultural dimensions to address democratization and civic participation for all ethnic groups in a more open cultural context of a New Europe. Adding to such dramatic changes, mass media and information and communication technology, primarily the Internet and technological advances of the last decade of the 20 th century, present a complex arena for civic participation in the region.

Global Media Mayhem

Abstract: Representations of violence are not necessarily undesirable. There is blood in fairy tales, gore in mythology, murder in Shakespeare. Not all violence is alike. In some contexts, violence can be a legitimate and even necessary cultural expression. Individually crafted, historically inspired, sparingly and selectively used expressions of symbolic violence can indicate the tragic costs of deadly compulsions. However, such tragic sense of violence has been swamped by "happy violence" produced on the dramatic assembly-line. This "happy violence" is cool, swift, painless, and often spectacular, even thrilling, but usually sanitized. It always leads to a happy ending; it must deliver the audience to the next commercial in a receptive mood.

Technological and Economic Challenges to State Control of Information in Southeast Asia.

Abstract: Southeast Asian media underwent unexpected changes during the 1980s and 1990s as a result of complex interactions among economic, political, and technological forces. These three factors pushed first in one direction, then in another as conditions shifted rapidly, faster than policymakers could comfortably react. The resulting confusion surprised and baffled political leaders who struggled to cope with changing realities. An important by-product was a seemingly greater openness in the media, which occurred even though it generally was resisted by power elites—openness threatened the status quo and therefore their hold on power. Among their problems was an erosion of public confidence as a result of the economic decline and political challenges that could not be quashed as had been done previously because new information technologies allowed opponents to communicate freely and to mobilize their own supporters.