Globalisation and the Media

The above title refers to a documentary I recently viewed and critically analysed as part of my study of globalisation and the media. The documentary is a short investigation into the ever expanding globalisation of trade and the mainstream media coverage of this expansion.

'Globalization of trade is expanding rapidly but many are wondering is the media offering a clear analysis of the critical voices.'
The above will provide the main argument for this specific blog post.

On examining the documentary 'Globalisation and the Media' I chose to incorporate arguments presented in Understanding Global Media by Terry Flew, in particular, the chapter entitled 'Theories of Global Media'. In this chapter, Flew identifies three prime arguments that can be directly related to the documentary:
1. Critical Political Economy
2. Cultural Studies
3. Strong Globalization Theories: a Critique

Critical Political Economy

Critical political economy argues that there exists economic structures of dominance in the media and communications industries that set limits to the diversity of ideas and opinions in circulation through the media, and that this in turn promotes the circulation of a hegemonic set of ideas, or a 'dominant ideology', among the wider population. (Flew, T.: 2007, p. 31)
This 'dominant ideology' can create a significant level of bias within the mainstream media content.

In relation to the documentary, there is a certain amount of reference made to the notion that the media often conform to the government line. Danny Schechter, director of mediachannel.org and former producer of CNN International News, outlines the main reasons for his departure from CNN in the documentary:

'CNN footage is often very flawed in part because it narrows the range of discourse... Bin Laden versus Bush. But what about other people in the world who hold points of view that are critical of both Bin Laden and Bush?'
Danny Schechter, speaking on 'Globalisation and the Media'

I believe what Schechter was trying to convey was that the mainstream media often portray the news in a black and white fashion, or rather a good versus evil. The same issues been identified within the BCC. Workers within the Media sector held demonstrations on the grounds that the broadcaster had taken a bias towards the government line. The media had become what one journalist coined a 'government propaganda machine'.

Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman proposed that the United States media largely functioned through a class-based monopoly of ideas, whereby 'money and power are able to filter out the news fit to print, marginalize dissent, and allow the government and dominant interests to get their messages across to the public. (Flew, T.: 2007, p. 33)
According to Chomsky and Herman the 'ruling class = ruling ideology'. This was also known as the Propaganda Model.

In the documentary, the model is clearly seen in the instance of ITN and CTN. ITN is Britain's largest commercial broadcaster and CTN, or Corporate Television Networks, is a company within ITN which was fifty per cent owned by the broadcaster. Investigative journalist George Monbiot led an in depth investigation into CTN's exploits within ITN. It emerged that CTN was using ITN staff to make highly misleading corporate propaganda videos. The documentary uses the example of Shell to illustrate one of these propaganda videos. The CTN footage portrayed Shell as a generous corporation who had the Third World's best interests at hand. However the reality was far from this false image. New technology, such as the camcorder, enabled independent bodies to record their own version of events, such as an oil spill in Nigeria. Once this story was revealed to the public, public trust in the media was significantly bruised.

Cultural Studies

Cultural studies has been particularly concerned with questions of cultural power, or the ways in which a multitude of cultural forms are produced, distributed, interpreted and contested through technical means of communication in an era where access to the technologies through which the media are distributed is widely spread among populations. (Flew, T.: 2007, p. 37)

The differences between cultural studies and critical political economy have frequently revolved around the question of ideology, and the ways in which developments in the economic and cultural spheres are articulated and have mass-popular impact in contemporary societies. Hall argued that cultural studies addressed these questions through the concept of hegemony. The notion of ideology as hegemony implies continually shifting power balances between the social classes, so that 'the concept allows for the dimension of struggle and opposition, of contradiction between different cultures, where hegemony has to be negotiated and won'. (Flew, T.: 2007, p. 38)

In the media sector, the ideology of hegemony is evidently occurring between the mainstream media corporations and the independent media centres. In other words, there has been a radical shift in public interest from the national media to the voluntary media organisations striving to portray the reality of key global issues, for example, climate change.

The documentary presents us with two incidents, both handled differently by two opposing media organisations. The first incident occurred in Seattle in November 1999. An anti-globalization protest began at the World Trade Organisation summit. It was during this protest that the first independent media centre was founded. The website was entitled 'Seattle Independent Media Centre'. This media website used real live footage gathered from independent camcorder operators within the crowd to capture the level of police brutality exercised during the protest. Disturbing images of protesters being shot at with rubber bullets and doused in tear gas were made available to the public via internet. At first the national media channels refused to report on this brutality. However following the increasing number of Americans viewing the reality online, CNN were forced to turn their story around.

The same situation occurred in another instance two years later in Genova during the G8 Summit. Over two hundred thousand people travelled to Genova to highlight the increasing role the corporate world was having in their day to day lives. It was during the Summit that the first Italian independent media centre was established. The protests became international news when the level of police brutality was broadcast across the globe via the worldwide web. One protester was killed, several others critically injured. The police also raided the independent media centre, including the sleeping quarters of its technicians. Cameras and computers were smashed and protesters beaten to within an inch of their lives. Despite the grave level of violence witnessed and felt by thousands of people on this occasion, not one Italian television station reported it. It is choices such as these that are creating a further level of distrust between the media and the people.

Strong Globalization Theories: a Critique

According to Manuel Castells, and quoted in the Flew text, 'we are not living in a global village, but in customised cottages globally produced and locally distributed'. (Flew, T.: 2007, p. 59)
Supporters of the strong globalization thesis would echo this theory. The world is rapidly becoming smaller as the nations become more interconnected and interdependent on each other.

'The power of nation-states is in decline, with many of their core operations being superseded by the laws and regulations established by supra-national governmental institutions'
Manuel Castells (Flew, T.: 2007, p. 57)

In the documentary, there is one clear instance of strong globalization. There is a piece of footage taken from The European Bioscience Conference held in 10 Downing Street on the 20th of November 2000. At the conference, Prime Minister Tony Blair made a number of arguments as to why bioscience was vital for the country's well being. What the Prime Minister was really doing was promoting an ideal that was pushed into Europe from the USA, the world's largest super power and thus, the cultural imperialist.

'Britain has the opportunity to lead Europe in pioneering this new technology and setting the standards that govern it. To be the life sciences hub of Europe, and the bridge between the European and US health care markets.'
- Tony Blair speaking at the European Bioscience Conference.

Conclusion

Globalisation has provided the world with one of the most diverse and interesting topics of discussion and debate. Whether one be in favour of the movement or opposed to it, one cannot deny the reality of its rapidly increasing growth. And furthermore, it is the responsibility of the media to portray this phenom om in a way which is truthful and free from prejudice.

List of References Used

1. Flew, T. (2007) 'Theories of Global Media' in Understanding Global Media
2. Globalisation and the Media, documentary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6HRt1bH_dw