Assignment 2

*** Drawing a Bead on Global Communication Theories ***

* “Normative” Theories


The tentative to "taxonomize" international communication into either: Authoritarian or Soviet or Liberal or social responsibility or developement model or the pariticipatory media concept. This part also focuses on how comparing different media systems help us sharpen our understanding of our own country's media system. The idea being to be able to define how media systems ought to operate according to certain guiding principle.

* A Different Approach I: Comparing and Contrasting Media

o Political Power

The influence of media makes it the favorite target for all kind of authoritarian and criticism-unfriendly political systems.

o Economic Crisis

The role of the media during economic crisis can vary greatly depending on the political and social environment, in an Ideal situation, it would help identify the causes and responsibles if any, if being very repressed by the government (exmple of the Soviet USSR) it could deviate from this roles to support the local government by blaming the International monetary fund, or a domestic or distant scapegoat

o Dramatic Social Transitions

Russia and it's numerous social transitions with their direct influence on the media goes from the most sever repression, to a very libertin open and encouraged freedom of expression and speech (mainly during the Bolshevik reign) before diving again in repressen and censoship during the Communist era making Russia a very good example about the impact SOcial and Political transitions can have on the media

o A Different Approach II: Globalization and Media

Focusing on the current trnds towards globalization of the media as a complementary approach to the contrasting and comparison of media systems.

The effect which global communication resulting from international brandings and open open markets/colonial impacts had on different countries with different cultural and religious beliefs.
The author also investigates how some people developed a cultural resistance against cultural invasion also known as Hybridity, as they cound find a sound balance between total ignorance and pathetic defeat due to the submerging perspectives and values brought by cultural invasion.

o A Different Approach III: Small-Scale Alternative Media

Small scale media may have immense impact as the ease to produce these short, small and very controversial material can have a huge impact because of the high level of repression met from the state-published media with is generally propaganda-based material made to keep the masses under control. How Even the most basic media (example of the Russian samizdat during Soviet reign) can overcome more massive but biased and untrusted state-based media.