Revised Schedule and Chpt 14

1. Revised Schedule and Chpt 14 Global View

2. New Business • Quizzes are graded, but I still have to input the grades. Grades are dismal. You must do the readings and take notes. • Countries selections are due today. If you haven’t done so, sign up for the presentation. China is no longer available. There are many former Soviet Republics (except Russia) available that are quite interesting. West Indian countries are mostly available (except Jamaica) and they are also interesting cases.

3. Syllabus • There is a typo in the syllabus. “Chapter 7” International Landscapes should be “Chapter 14, Global View.” • Because we are behind I want to revise the syllabus. In exchange, the next quiz will ONLY be on Chapter 3.

4. New Schedule • 2/19 Last Class- Chpt 3 • 2/24 Today- Chpt 14. Global View. Chpt 14 will not be on any quiz, just Midterm • 2/26 Chpt. 6 Commercial Operations • 3/3 Chpt. 6 Commercial Operations Quiz chpt 3 (15 questions) • 3/5 Chpt 7. Non Commercial Services • 3/10 Country Profiles • 3/12 Country Profiles Quiz Chpts. 6 and 7 (20 questions) • 3/17 Review, unfinished country profiles, and we might revisit chpt 14. • 3/19 Midterm (Chpts 1, 3, 6, 7, 14) • Midterm will have two parts. 1 is short answer/mult, mult guess etc… like the quiz. 2 will be essay. I will give you three and you will choose two or I will give you two and you choose one. At least half of the first part will be culled directly from the quizzes.

5. Global View • How a nation organizes its media is connected to its overall political and social context • Three dominant philosophies • Permissive • Paternalistic • Authoritarian

6. Permissivism • American political culture is generally laissez-faire. • While it is true we don’t have true laissez-faire capitalism (without any regulation), the American model tends toward a profit-driven, privatized model. • Constitutionally, free enterprise and freedom of speech is a guarantee in the US.

7. First Amendment • Amendment I • Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

8. Permissivism • Generally, countries with strong US influence have adopted similar permissive media systems: • Philippines • Much of Latin America

9. Paternalism • The idea is to “balance” programming between entertainment, information, national culture etc… • BBC is classic example • BBC converted to a “public service” role in 1926 • Profits come from on a government tax on television, so this relieves the total dependence on advertising • This model is often called public-service broadcasting

10. Principles of Public Service Broadcasting • Balanced programming, representing all principal genres • Control by a public body, relatively independent of BOTH political and commercial pressures • Relative Financial autonomy with partial or complete dependence on licensing fees. • Programming can be received by everyone, including rural dwellers and minorities • strict impartiality of broadcasters • Respect the artistic and journalistic integrity of the program makers

11. Paternalism • It is no surprise that many countries under the British influence subscribe to this model: • Australia’s ABC, Canada’s CBC • Also Japan’s NHK

12. Authoritarianism • Associated with dictatorships • Most world broadcasting systems were government run until there was a trend toward privatization in the 1980s and 1990s (all of Eastern Europe and former USSR for example) • According to the text, programs tend toward educational or propagandistic since there is no pressure to provide entertainment. This is partially true. There was quite a bit of cultural programming in the former USSR, for example, such as poetry readings, opera etc… Cultural programming tends to reinforce dominate ideology, but this is the case in any media system.

13. The Case of The BBC • After WWI, radio was exploding • In the US, a very large number of competing private stations were being set up driven by ad revenue

14. Andrew Crisell • The British government was “loath to follow the early lead of America, where insufficient restriction had resulted in a kind of aerial anarchy: too many stations crowded the waveband, some pirated frequencies and some using stronger signals to drown out their rivals”

15. The BBC • Originally founded in 1922 • Government licensed the major radio manufactures to form a single cartel • This was known as The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) (note that it was called company at this point, not corporation) • It was licensed through the Post Office and run as a monopoly. Revenue was from annual license fees imposed on radio sets.

16. The BBC • 1927- the BBC was granted a Royal Charter to become an independent organization • This is when it became the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) • The BBC is not directly controlled by the state, but the state controls the license fees. • The BBC was intended to be impartial, but the First Director General of the BBC (John Reith 1927-1938), was very pro Conservative (Winton Churchill) and drew the ire of the Labour Party

17. John Reith • John Reith had a strong paternalistic outlook • Some speculate that this is related to his strict religious background (he was a Calvinist and son of a Scottish Free Church minister). His approach to broadcasting has been described as “missionary” by Glenn Creeber (no need to know the academics, but give credit where credit is due). • Reith argued that “Broadcasting is the servant of culture” and should therefore act as its moral guardian. • Krishan Kumar refers to Reith’s high-minded notion of broadcasting as a “cultural church.” The goal was not only to entertain, but to enlighten the public by informing and educating.

18. John Reith • This view is unabashedly elitist, but keep in mind that there was not only a religious tradition of paternalism in Britain, but a political one (there was a Monarch, House of Lords, etc… Also the nefarious example of “White Man’s Burden,” the 1899 poem by Rudyard Kippling) • “…we are apparently setting out to give the public what we think they need- and not what they want- but few know what they want and very few know what they need.”

19. Shift Toward Popular Programming • Thank goodness Reith eventually went away. • The process of moving toward more popular programming began before WWII, but the war accelerated it. • British troops in France listened to more French Radio (Radio Fecamp) than BBC • Then US troops started arriving in the UK and the BBC started responding to American tastes. • American comedy was beginning to be imported (Bob Hope, Jack Benny) and the Britons rejoiced.

20. During WWII • The BBC’s original entertainment programming became increasing important. • “Music While You Work” was played in many factories so people could listen to Benny Goodman while they made bombs and parts of airplanes. • There was a comedy show called “ITMA”- It’s That Man Again. “That Man” referred to Hitler. • It is during WWII that BBC journalism began to shine • The BBC was heavily censored and still often sounded stuffy and aloof, its dedication to public service set journalistic standards world wide.