GLOBAL FLOWS OF COMMUNICATION

Theoretical Approaches

GLOBAL FLOWS OF COMMUNICATION

Theoretical Approaches

Introducing some of the ConceptsIntroducing some of the Concepts

Mapping out the main concepts that have characterised global flow of communication studies over the past 60 years

Theories address growing concerns about political , economic and technological changes and their impact on society and culture

Mapping out the main concepts that have characterised global flow of communication studies over the past 60 years

Theories address growing concerns about political , economic and technological changes and their impact on society and culture

Question of power: the power of media in shaping cultures and the power of other institutions (political or economic) in shaping media contents + regulating the accessibility of media technology to different audiences

Question of power: the power of media in shaping cultures and the power of other institutions (political or economic) in shaping media contents + regulating the accessibility of media technology to different audiences

Theoretical Approaches on international communication

Theoretical Approaches on international communication

Liberal perspective: media as a tool for emancipation and democratisation

Political Economy: emphasis on the underlying structures of economic & political power relations

Cultural Studies: accent on the cultural stratification of society and on the different use of media by audiences

Political Economy Vs Cultural Studies?

Liberal perspective: media as a tool for emancipation and democratisation

Political Economy: emphasis on the underlying structures of economic & political power relations

Cultural Studies: accent on the cultural stratification of society and on the different use of media by audiences

Political Economy Vs Cultural Studies?

Some key theoretical approachesSome key theoretical approaches

Free Flow of Information

Modernisation theory

Dependency theory

Imperialism (Cultural, Media Structural)

Hegemony

Cultural Studies

Critical Theory

IS and discourses of globalisation

Free Flow of Information

Modernisation theory

Dependency theory

Imperialism (Cultural, Media Structural)

Hegemony

Cultural Studies

Critical Theory

IS and discourses of globalisation

Free Flow of InformationFree Flow of Information

WW2 & Cold War: emergence of a set of mass com theories according to which Media Power = Influence

Focus on the impact of media upon behavioral changes

After WW2 and the establishment of a bi-polar world of free market capitalism and state socialism, theories of international communication flows became part of the new cold war discourse

International Communication as the most effective means of promotion of democracy & capitalism for the USA

The Free flow was a liberal, free market discourse that championed the rights of media owners to sell where ever and what ever they wanted

WW2 & Cold War: emergence of a set of mass com theories according to which Media Power = Influence

Focus on the impact of media upon behavioral changes

After WW2 and the establishment of a bi-polar world of free market capitalism and state socialism, theories of international communication flows became part of the new cold war discourse

International Communication as the most effective means of promotion of democracy & capitalism for the USA

The Free flow was a liberal, free market discourse that championed the rights of media owners to sell where ever and what ever they wanted

Free Flow of InformationFree Flow of Information

It therefore served economic and political purposes. Here, media organisations of rich countries could dissuade others from erecting trade barriers to their products or from making it difficult to gather news from their territories

Their arguments drew on premises of democracy, Freedom Of Expression, media role as watchdogs and their assumed global relevance.

For their compatriots businessmen, “free flow” assisted them in advertising and marketing their goods in foreign markets through media vehicles that championed the western way of life, capitalist values and individualism

The Free Flow concepts helped Western governments in ensuring their dominant position over global markets and it served the ideological battle against the Soviet Union

It therefore served economic and political purposes. Here, media organisations of rich countries could dissuade others from erecting trade barriers to their products or from making it difficult to gather news from their territories

Their arguments drew on premises of democracy, Freedom Of Expression, media role as watchdogs and their assumed global relevance.

For their compatriots businessmen, “free flow” assisted them in advertising and marketing their goods in foreign markets through media vehicles that championed the western way of life, capitalist values and individualism

The Free Flow concepts helped Western governments in ensuring their dominant position over global markets and it served the ideological battle against the Soviet Union

Modernisation theory (see Lerner 1958, Schramm, 1964)

International communication as the the key to the processes of development & modernisation in the so-called ”Thirld World”

Intern. Com. as a means to spread the message of modernity & transfer economic, political models of the West to the newly independent countries of the South

Daniel Lerner (1958): mass media enable individuals to experience events in far-off countries, forcing them to question, and change, their traditional way of life:

urbanization literacymedia exposureeconomic & political participation

Modernisation theory (see Lerner 1958, Schramm, 1964)

International communication as the the key to the processes of development & modernisation in the so-called ”Thirld World”

Intern. Com. as a means to spread the message of modernity & transfer economic, political models of the West to the newly independent countries of the South

Daniel Lerner (1958): mass media enable individuals to experience events in far-off countries, forcing them to question, and change, their traditional way of life:

urbanization literacymedia exposureeconomic & political participation

Modernisation theory Modernisation theory Wilbur Schramm(1964): working in conjunction with

UNESCO, elaborated Lerner’s ideas of mass media as the vehicle for transmitting new ideas & models from the North to the South. ”The task of the mass media of inormation is to speed and ease the long, slow social transformation required for economic development, and in particular to speed and smooth the task of modernising

Context: Cold War; 1960s as the “Decade of development”, proclaimed by the UN in 1961: call upon all member states to intensify and their efforts to mobilize support for measures required to accelerate progress towards self-sustaining economic growth and social advancement in the developing countries

Wilbur Schramm(1964): working in conjunction with UNESCO, elaborated Lerner’s ideas of mass media as the vehicle for transmitting new ideas & models from the North to the South. ”The task of the mass media of inormation is to speed and ease the long, slow social transformation required for economic development, and in particular to speed and smooth the task of modernising

Context: Cold War; 1960s as the “Decade of development”, proclaimed by the UN in 1961: call upon all member states to intensify and their efforts to mobilize support for measures required to accelerate progress towards self-sustaining economic growth and social advancement in the developing countries

Case Study: SITE (Satellite Instructional television Experiment) India 1975-1976Case Study: SITE (Satellite Instructional television Experiment) India 1975-1976

Aim: to use satellite technology to assist development by transmitting daily programmes on health, agriculture & education to rural communities (= within the logic of the modernisation theory)

UNESCO & US support: India loaned a satellite from NASA and in exchange should have shared with the US the outcomes of the experiment

Broadcast in 2400 villages through a direct-reception system television installed in public places for community viewing + 2500 villages and town which received the programmes through terrestrial transmitters

Aim: to use satellite technology to assist development by transmitting daily programmes on health, agriculture & education to rural communities (= within the logic of the modernisation theory)

UNESCO & US support: India loaned a satellite from NASA and in exchange should have shared with the US the outcomes of the experiment

Broadcast in 2400 villages through a direct-reception system television installed in public places for community viewing + 2500 villages and town which received the programmes through terrestrial transmitters

SITESITE - Purpose: introducing socio.-cultural changes amongst rural

communities

- 4 hours broadcast/day in 4 languages: Hindi, Kannada, Telugu & Oriya. 4 Programmes:

1. A national programme in Hindi

2. A programmed targeted at children to reduce drop out rate and improve kids’ basic skills in personal hygiene

3. A programme on agriculture to improve farming methods

4. A health care programme. Advises on nutrition, hygiene, pregnancy and birth control

Results: only modest gains. Overall television did not make a big difference as, in the absence of relevant complementary support in the lives of viewers, TV manage to promote awareness on certain issues but could not make any significant change

+ the withdrawal of the satellite by the NASA in 1975 showed once again the dependence of the South upon the North

- Purpose: introducing socio.-cultural changes amongst rural communities

- 4 hours broadcast/day in 4 languages: Hindi, Kannada, Telugu & Oriya. 4 Programmes:

1. A national programme in Hindi

2. A programmed targeted at children to reduce drop out rate and improve kids’ basic skills in personal hygiene

3. A programme on agriculture to improve farming methods

4. A health care programme. Advises on nutrition, hygiene, pregnancy and birth control

Results: only modest gains. Overall television did not make a big difference as, in the absence of relevant complementary support in the lives of viewers, TV manage to promote awareness on certain issues but could not make any significant change

+ the withdrawal of the satellite by the NASA in 1975 showed once again the dependence of the South upon the North

Criticism of Modernisation Theory:Criticism of Modernisation Theory:

Top-down approach that fails to take into account structures of economic, political & cultural power within the media

It is based on a definition of development that follows the model of Western modernisation and industrialisation: it is not only a matter of transistion, but it needs to take into account the problem of translation of Western institution in a non-Western context

Flawed assumption that media are neutral forces in the process of development, while they are the products of social, political, economic and cultural conditions

Idea that the modern and the traditional lifestyles were mutually exclusive

Top-down approach that fails to take into account structures of economic, political & cultural power within the media

It is based on a definition of development that follows the model of Western modernisation and industrialisation: it is not only a matter of transistion, but it needs to take into account the problem of translation of Western institution in a non-Western context

Flawed assumption that media are neutral forces in the process of development, while they are the products of social, political, economic and cultural conditions

Idea that the modern and the traditional lifestyles were mutually exclusive

Political Economy approaches 1960s Political Economy approaches 1960s Based upon a concern with the structural inequalities of production and the consequences for representation & access to consumption = the nature of the mass media cannot be adequately considered apart from general economic changes, which in turn require a historical perspective which will locate mass media within the general context of the process of industrialization

Issues of ownership and control of the media: control over media as the possibility to determine or influence media products and contents

Marxist concept of Ideology: ‘The class which has the means of material production at its disposal

has control, at the same time, over the means of mental production. (…) As they rule as a class and determine the extent and compass of an epoch, they regulate the production and distribution of ideas of their

age’ Despite their liberating potential, the media promote the ideology of

the ruling class and in the end represent the vehicle for a new form of domination

Based upon a concern with the structural inequalities of production and the consequences for representation & access to consumption = the nature of the mass media cannot be adequately considered apart from general economic changes, which in turn require a historical perspective which will locate mass media within the general context of the process of industrialization

Issues of ownership and control of the media: control over media as the possibility to determine or influence media products and contents

Marxist concept of Ideology: ‘The class which has the means of material production at its disposal

has control, at the same time, over the means of mental production. (…) As they rule as a class and determine the extent and compass of an epoch, they regulate the production and distribution of ideas of their

age’ Despite their liberating potential, the media promote the ideology of

the ruling class and in the end represent the vehicle for a new form of domination

Dependency theoriesEmerged in Latin America in late 1960s early 1970s in opposition to modernisation theory, argued for the need of alternative approaches, from the South

Key points:- Western-based countries exercise control over the

developing countries by setting the terms for global trade need to address the extent to which the expansion of media serve the interests of the powerful states of the West

- Aim: Expose the links between discourses of modernisation and the private interests of Western Governments

Dependency theoriesEmerged in Latin America in late 1960s early 1970s in opposition to modernisation theory, argued for the need of alternative approaches, from the South

Key points:- Western-based countries exercise control over the

developing countries by setting the terms for global trade need to address the extent to which the expansion of media serve the interests of the powerful states of the West

- Aim: Expose the links between discourses of modernisation and the private interests of Western Governments

Dependency theoriesDependency theories Herbert Schiller: in Mass Communication and American Empire (1969)

argued that, in pursuit of commercial interests, the biggest US based transational corporations were creating a dependency of the South from the North on both the software and the hardware of communication and media

Notion of cultural imperialism: the sum of the processes by which a society is brought into the modern world system and how its dominating stratum is attracted, pressured, forced and sometimes bribed into shaping social institutions to correspond to, or even to promote, the values and structures of the dominant centre of the system (Schiller,1976)

The declining European colonial empires have been replaced by the new emergent American empire, which enjoys a great advantage through the control of the developing global electronic media. US power even increased after the end of the cold war and the failure of the NWICO order battle.(Global dominance of Hollywood; the actual manufacture of pc-operating systems still largely in the hands of American corporations…)

Herbert Schiller: in Mass Communication and American Empire (1969) argued that, in pursuit of commercial interests, the biggest US based transational corporations were creating a dependency of the South from the North on both the software and the hardware of communication and media

Notion of cultural imperialism: the sum of the processes by which a society is brought into the modern world system and how its dominating stratum is attracted, pressured, forced and sometimes bribed into shaping social institutions to correspond to, or even to promote, the values and structures of the dominant centre of the system (Schiller,1976)

The declining European colonial empires have been replaced by the new emergent American empire, which enjoys a great advantage through the control of the developing global electronic media. US power even increased after the end of the cold war and the failure of the NWICO order battle.(Global dominance of Hollywood; the actual manufacture of pc-operating systems still largely in the hands of American corporations…)

Dependency theoriesDependency theoriesOliver Boyd Barrett (1977): starting from Schiller analysis and through an

examination of media inequalities (in the field of news agencies, magazines, film, radio and TV) between nations and their implications on broader issues of dependency, introduces the notion of Media Imperialism:

‘The process whereby the ownership, structure, distribution or content of the media in any one country are singly or together subject to substantial external pressures from the media interests of any other country or countries, without proportionate reciprocation of influence by the country so affected’. (Boyd Barrett, 1977)

CRITICISM:- Lack of empirical evidences- Assumes a ‘hypodermic-needle model’ perspective- Displays a lack in the understanding of developing countries, seeing them

as culturally homogeneous and not taking into account internal differences

Oliver Boyd Barrett (1977): starting from Schiller analysis and through an examination of media inequalities (in the field of news agencies, magazines, film, radio and TV) between nations and their implications on broader issues of dependency, introduces the notion of Media Imperialism:

‘The process whereby the ownership, structure, distribution or content of the media in any one country are singly or together subject to substantial external pressures from the media interests of any other country or countries, without proportionate reciprocation of influence by the country so affected’. (Boyd Barrett, 1977)

CRITICISM:- Lack of empirical evidences- Assumes a ‘hypodermic-needle model’ perspective- Displays a lack in the understanding of developing countries, seeing them

as culturally homogeneous and not taking into account internal differences

Structural Imperialism (Galtung 1971) - Notions of centre and periphery: the world as made by developed ‘centre’ states and

underdeveloped ‘periphery’ states - Structural Imperialism: ‘ A sophisticated type of dominance relation which cuts

across nations basing itself on a bridgehead which the centre of the centre nation establishes in the centre of the periphery for the joint benefit of both

Commonality of interests between the centre of the powerful (media owner) nation and the centre of the periphery nation. This situation allows the centre nation to main5tain its power over the peripheries

The centre-periphery relations are sustained and reinforced by information flows and reproduction of economic activities. These create institutional links that serve the interests of the dominant groups.

Information flows respond to a vertical logic from the developed country to the developing country, but there is no connection between peripheries. All the information Southern countries receive is filtered through the lenses of the media system at the centre, even info on neighbouring countries

This situation influence the creation of an Agenda Setting shaped accordingly to the interests of Western Countries

Criticism:Its focus on the impact of business and the role of external forces on social & economic development fails to address issues related to the internal structures of developing societies

Structural Imperialism (Galtung 1971) - Notions of centre and periphery: the world as made by developed ‘centre’ states and

underdeveloped ‘periphery’ states - Structural Imperialism: ‘ A sophisticated type of dominance relation which cuts

across nations basing itself on a bridgehead which the centre of the centre nation establishes in the centre of the periphery for the joint benefit of both

Commonality of interests between the centre of the powerful (media owner) nation and the centre of the periphery nation. This situation allows the centre nation to main5tain its power over the peripheries

The centre-periphery relations are sustained and reinforced by information flows and reproduction of economic activities. These create institutional links that serve the interests of the dominant groups.

Information flows respond to a vertical logic from the developed country to the developing country, but there is no connection between peripheries. All the information Southern countries receive is filtered through the lenses of the media system at the centre, even info on neighbouring countries

This situation influence the creation of an Agenda Setting shaped accordingly to the interests of Western Countries

Criticism:Its focus on the impact of business and the role of external forces on social & economic development fails to address issues related to the internal structures of developing societies

Media & Foreign Policy Media & Foreign Policy

Noam Chomsky & Edward Herman: “Manufacturing Consent” (1994):

- The US largely function through a class-based monopoly of ideas, where money & power are able to filter out the news fit to print, marginalize dissent, and allow the government and other dominant interests to get their message across the public.

- They propose “A Propaganda Model” in which cultural mechanisms for the maintenance of the status quo are less overt, but not less effective, than in systems such as totalitarian dictatorships. The model is based on a few media filters through which information must pass before it can reach the audience

Noam Chomsky & Edward Herman: “Manufacturing Consent” (1994):

- The US largely function through a class-based monopoly of ideas, where money & power are able to filter out the news fit to print, marginalize dissent, and allow the government and other dominant interests to get their message across the public.

- They propose “A Propaganda Model” in which cultural mechanisms for the maintenance of the status quo are less overt, but not less effective, than in systems such as totalitarian dictatorships. The model is based on a few media filters through which information must pass before it can reach the audience

Hegemony (Gramsci 1891-1937)

Herman & Chomsky propaganda model French Marxist Louis Althusser notion of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA)

ISA: various social institution that arise within civil society. They too (as the RSA) perform regulatory functions & reproduce ideology on behalf of the state. They include education, religion, the family, the legal system, culture and communication. They are characterised by consent rather than by coercion and by their relative autonomy from the dominant economic class. In the case of media: pretence of impartiality in the representation of the social world. (1971)

ISA contribute in the maintenance of the conditions and relations of production.

Gramsci notion of Hegemony echoes Althusser’ statements. The dominant social group/nation has the capacity to excercise intellectual and moral direction over society or others and builds a new system of alliances to support its aims. This happens when this group exercise control over mass media, schools, religion etc

Crucial point of hegemony: it does not operate by forcing people against their will, but it wins consent to ways of making sense of the world that fit the interests of the elite. This is in contrast with a situation in which a class merely rules and imposes coercively its will on subordinated classes.

Hegemony one of the key concepts in Cultural Studies

Hegemony (Gramsci 1891-1937)

Herman & Chomsky propaganda model French Marxist Louis Althusser notion of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA)

ISA: various social institution that arise within civil society. They too (as the RSA) perform regulatory functions & reproduce ideology on behalf of the state. They include education, religion, the family, the legal system, culture and communication. They are characterised by consent rather than by coercion and by their relative autonomy from the dominant economic class. In the case of media: pretence of impartiality in the representation of the social world. (1971)

ISA contribute in the maintenance of the conditions and relations of production.

Gramsci notion of Hegemony echoes Althusser’ statements. The dominant social group/nation has the capacity to excercise intellectual and moral direction over society or others and builds a new system of alliances to support its aims. This happens when this group exercise control over mass media, schools, religion etc

Crucial point of hegemony: it does not operate by forcing people against their will, but it wins consent to ways of making sense of the world that fit the interests of the elite. This is in contrast with a situation in which a class merely rules and imposes coercively its will on subordinated classes.

Hegemony one of the key concepts in Cultural Studies

Critical theory (Adorno, 1903)

Horkheimer & Adorno: ”Cultural Industries” (1947) production of culture as a commodity by the capitalist societies

This lead to standardization resulting into mass culture leading to the deterioration of other cultures

Forum for propagating capitalism ideologies and thinking among recipients

These debates have greatly influenced debates of thee Global flow of information and communication

Critical theory (Adorno, 1903)

Horkheimer & Adorno: ”Cultural Industries” (1947) production of culture as a commodity by the capitalist societies

This lead to standardization resulting into mass culture leading to the deterioration of other cultures

Forum for propagating capitalism ideologies and thinking among recipients

These debates have greatly influenced debates of thee Global flow of information and communication

How relevant is the notion of imperialism in understanding information flows across the globe?

What is the role of media ownership in determining the flow of information and communication?

How relevant is the notion of imperialism in understanding information flows across the globe?

What is the role of media ownership in determining the flow of information and communication?