UAMG 3053 CommunicationTechnology

1. UAMG 3053CommunicationTechnology Week 8 & 9 Culture in Cyberspace

2. Imperialism 1:imperial government, authority, or system 2: the policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other areas; broadly: the extension or imposition of power, authority, or influence

3. Modern Imperialism • To Malaysia, British and Japan were once our imperial governments. Our resources were taken by them as their own and they reorganized our social structure directly • But in modern day, we are looking at the international communication and trying to link Communication Imperialism to cultural Imperialism and media Imperialism

4. Modern Imperialism… • Johan Galtung, a structuralist, tried to link international communication to cultural imperialism • Five types of imperialism: economic, political, military, communication, and cultural • Imperialism can be introduced in any one of these five forms and the spread to the others

5. Modern Imperialism… • The instant communication afforded by tele-satellites and the movement of enormous data and information across national facilitates control of the North over the South • For structuralists, the international communication system is said to be “vertical” from North to South and there is no “horizontal” communication taking place

6. Modern Imperialism… • 1. High levels of industrial capacity and technological innovation exist only in the developed economies of North America • 2. Western news agencies which dominate international news gathering and dissemination (AFP, AP, UPI, and Reuters)

7. 1974 • Nonaligned nations demanded for a New International Economic Order (NIEC) during a special session of the General Assembly in the United Nations meeting • There are imbalances in international relations that allegedly enrich the North and perpetuate dependency for the South

8. 1974… • That led to the demand of a New World Information Order (NWIO) from the Third World nations • The demand of NWIO was meant to balance international inequalities in the flows of information, news, and communication technologies

9. 1977 • The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) funded The MacBride Commission to review “the totality of the problems of communication in modern society”

10. 1978 and 1980 • 1978 - The Commission published Interim Report • 1980 - The Commission published a Final Report

11. 1985 • The MacBride Report intensified some of the hostilities on both sides (North and South) of these debates • To defend the status quo and to defend a free market in international news, the Reagon Administration withdrew from UNESCO

12. 1985… • Despite the report, problems in international communication remain unresolved • E.g. the West in general and the United States in particular often suffer from their lack of information in regard to the true nature of events in much of the world

13. 1985… • At the same time, the centers of East-West conflicts are shifting from North Atlantic to Third World context (i.e., Afghanistan, Central America, and southern Africa)

14. The “New Order” in International Relations • 1950s and 1960s – the rise of nationalism and the end of colonialism – most of the Third World • Many less developed countries (LDC) gained political independence but their national autonomy (self-government) continued to be compromised through other means

15. The “New Order” in….. • Many LDCs remain dependent on their former imperial states for trade, technology, expertise, and cultural resources • The proposal for an NIEO addresses four key areas to promote rapid development in the Third World, while simultaneously reducing the dependency of the LDCs on the West

16. Four keys of NIEO • 1. LDCs were to be given absolute sovereignty over their natural resources, including the right of nationalization • 2. Preferential treatment was to be given to Third World goods in Western markets • 3. Grant, gifts, and other transfers of advanced technologies from the west to the Third World were to be vastly increased and funded by the wealthy industrialized nations • 4. New controls were to be placed on multinational corporations (MNCs) which operate in the Third World

17. NWIO • NWIO followed NIEO – because LDCs still rely on foreign sources for news and communication technologies • The technology necessary for modernizing a national agency or broadcasting studio is primarily a Western export

18. Four keys of NWIO • 1. Absolute sovereignty for LDCs over all of their “information resources” • 2. Preferential treatment for Third World news in Western markets • 3. Direct grants and other gifts of advanced communication technologies from the West to the Third World • 4. The breakup of the Western transnational news agencies (TNNAs: AFP, AP, Reuters, and UPI)

19. Two dimensions in the flow of information • Stevenson & Cole (1984) • The East and West flow - The dominant and industrialized countries of the capitalist West and the socialist countries of Eastern Europe along with the former Soviet Union.

20. Two dimensions ..of flows • The North and South flow - - the “industrialized countries of the Northern Hemisphere and the developing, mainly nonaligned nations of the Third World, located psychologically if not always geographically in the Southern half of the globe”

21. Three Schools of Thoughts on International Communication A) The Conservatives –backed by U.S. government – politically most powerful group of thoughts • They denied that imbalances in international information flows are due to the activities of governments and media in the West

22. The Conservatives.. • They see the imbalances in news flow as being caused by certain “natural” characteristics of information gathering and dissemination • Deny the charges that a free market of information and a free press have adverse effects on underdeveloped nations

23. The Conservatives… • Stress on the positive aspects of a free market in news and information – Western technologies serve as a tools of development for the Third World • Defend the status quo in International communication and argue against governmental control of the mass media – either the Soviet form of censorship and government controls, or the American tradition of press freedom

24. The Reformists • Receives much broader international support that conservatives from many Western journalists and media executives • Admits that imbalances in information flows are due to the West’s near-monopoly of newswires and technology

25. The Reformists… • Recognized the harmful social and political effects that result from the unregulated actions of Western TNNAs • Believe that the current international order can be made more effective and equitable through a series of incremental adjustments

26. The Reformists… • Believe much can be done on the current context • E.g., reduction of costs of communication for LDCs (lower newsprint costs) • E.g., Western assistance to train journalists from LDCs, and increased coverage of Third World nations in the Western press

27. The Reformists… • Reformists proposed to advocate more coverage of ongoing projects for social, political, and economic development • “Development journalism” to replace “spot news” which concentrated on episodic events such as riots, coups, and disasters

28. The Reformists… • two-way form, horizontal, interactive flow, a process of give and take • Called for a mix of governmental controls and free press institutions

29. The Structuralists • Neo-Marxist journalists, Third World diplomats, and theorists like Herbert Schiller and John Galtung • Believe that the source of global informational imbalance can be found in the West’s desire to retain hegemony over formerly colonized areas • To Schiller, communication dominance has replaced more direct forms of political and military control

30. The Structuralists… • Control of communication and information is also said to be the means by which Western MNCs promote their economic interests at the expense of the developing nations • John Galtung, a structuralist, tries to connect communication imperialism and cultural imperialism – the former leads to the latter

31. The Structuralists… • Divided nations into a) the center (developed) and b) the Periphery (underdeveloped) • The center dominated the network of communication • The center owns the major news agencies • The center provides the definition of what is newsworthy for the Periphery

32. The Structuralists… • Journalist and media users in the Periphery come to “see events with center eyes” • These factors erode the cultural identify, national sovereignty, and political independence of developing states

33. The Structuralists… • Structuralists view the current order in international communication as extremely unjust and beyond redemption • Argued that a new order is need to replace the current international system

34. The Structuralists…. • Place a much heavier emphasis on balance than freedom • To achieve political and economic autonomy, Third World or underdeveloped nations must become technologically self-sufficient

35. Tutorial 10 - Questions • In brief, explanation what is Cultural Imperialism and how does the imbalance flows of information effects the underdeveloped nations? • Explain the two dimension of flows of information. Do these two dimensions of flow still exist? • Do you agree with the conservatives, the reformists, or the structuralists? • Based on your extra reading, what will the dependency of East Europe media suggest?

36. UAMG 3053CommunicationTechnology Week 8 & 9 Culture in Cyberspace

37. Two Conceptions of “News” • What is News? – Much of the scholarly and diplomatic debate about NWIO revolves around this simple question. • News as commodity • News as social goods

38. News as commodity • In Western context – news is treated as a commodity • Western media provide international news in the form of “merchandise rather than a service” • News stories are selected for their impact, exoticism, and ability to entertain

39. Commodity… • Contents of international news are determined by market interests • News, historically, serves a particular economic interests and catered to specific cultural taste • A news report tells what, when, where, why, who, and how (later) • A well-written news story should be brief, to-the-point, and clear – “good” news reporting

40. News as social goods • New as social good developed during the 20th century campaign for decolonization • LDCs tried to improve and broaden their industries, educational institutions, and general social welfare all at the same time

41. Social goods… • All national assets, including information, came to be seen as resources held in common, under absolute sovereign control of the state • Information was to be employed as a tool for rapid development

42. Cultural Imperialism and Media Imperialism • Cultural Imperialism Theory, developed by Herbert Schiller in the late 1960s and early 1970s • Cultural Imperialism is about the struggle and shift of power and control that lead to domination and the erosion of local culture. • Stated that global mass media are basically dominated by Western nations

43. Cultural Imperialism… • It suggested a one way (imbalance, vertical) flow of information • Western nations control flows of international news and information, allowing them to undermine the cultures of the rest of the world

44. Cultural Imperialism… • To Petras (1999), imperialism is a “systematic penetration and domination of the cultural life of the popular classes by the ruling class of the West in order to reorder the values, behavior, institutions, and identity of the oppressed people to conform with the interest of the imperial classes” (p. 140).

45. Cultural Imperialism… • Western domination over the media also means the ability of Western media to impose Western views • Western media serve as a vehicle from Western values, Western norms, and Western culture • Along with news and entertainment, Western media carry to the LDCs images of a more prosperous life and more exciting lifestyles

46. Cultural Imperialism… • Third World nations are dependent upon the West for their international news and entertainment broadcasting, they allegedly become molded in the West’s cultural image • Western way of life is said to effect social, political, and economic changes on the Third World nations

47. Cultural Imperialism … • E.g., it stimulates desire on Western culture – demands for a more westernized lifestyle increase the demands of Western goods – lead to increased importation of Western commodities and increased dependency by LDCs on their Northern trading partners

48. Cultural Imperialism … • Anthony Smith, “the flow of media exports acts as a kind of ideological prerequisite for the flow of other material exports” – the condition of cultural imperialism • Referred by Thomas McPhail as “electronic colonialism” – the dependency relationship established by the importation of communication hardware, foreign-produced software, along with engineers, technicians, and related information protocols…”

49. Assimilation and Acculturation • Melting Pot or Salad? • Rethinking acculturation and assimilation • Acculturation defined as the “cultural changes” resulting from contact with various societies over time. • Generally regarded as one strategy of acculturation, assimilation has been understood as a process of melding, whereby one culture changes its cultural characteristics entirely in order to acquire the culture of the host society.

50. E.g Hispanic population in United States Chinese in Canada Indonesians in Malaysia • Cultural historians have begun to explore the extent to which Hispanics are changing American culture. • As Hispanics adopt American ways, their own traditions exert a growing influence on American culture, from tastes in food and popular music to the economic and politics.