Friday, October 26, 2007

Milestones in Communication and National Development

Chapter IX Outline
Katherine Wilson

I. Post World War II Realities
- increased birth rate and infant mortality rates
-Marshall Plan
apply a similar model to conditions in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean
-spheres of influence
ability of powerful states to impose their will on other states through economic, cultural, and military means
-UN has played a major role in development of the field of comm. for development
II. What is Development?
-a complex, integrated, participatory process involving stakeholders and beneficiaries and aimed at improving quality of human life.
- stakeholders include national gov. and politicians, development assistance agencies (USAID), private sector, NGOs, and cultural leaders
-Andrew Moemeka (2000): Comm. for development has two roles
1. support social chance that aims for higher quality of life
2. socialization- an environment which supports positive social change
III.Communication for Development
-most theories emerged out of the modernization paradigm
-Everett Roger's A History of Communication Study (1994)
a. Southeastern Ohio
(I've experienced this first hand; as I live right on the border of Southern Ohio, in WV, which has its own developmental issues!)
-problems with unemployment, obesity, and environmental degradation
-coal mining; logging
-participatory and sustainable
b. The Caribbean Community
-problems with disease (dengue, malaria)
-PAHO, CANA
IV. The Modernization Model
-dominant paradigm (modernization model)
-dependency paradigm (dependency critique)
-alternative paradigm (another development, participatory model)
V. The 1980s: Development Support Communication and Project Support Communication
-UNDP, UNICEF
-DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT COMMUNICATION
-Childers (1973) "use of communication techniques to elicit voluntary and active participation of people in development planning and action"
a. Dependency Critique
-Wallerstein, Frank, Prebisch
global economic relations are dominated by the global North, therefore contributing to the underdevelopment of the developing world.
-development sabotage communication
VI. Contemporary Strategies in Communication for Development
1. Public Awareness Campaigns
-PSAs (Public Service Announcements)
health, wellness, M.A.D.D
2. Social Marketing
-reproductive health, immunization, and childhood diseases
3. Entertainment Education
-HIV/AIDS prevention
-domestic violence
-New Life, New Hope
4. Advocacy
-stakeholders in development process who promote interventions by reporting on positive experiences and benefits
-Arab Women Speak Out

Communication and Culture

Chapter 13 Outline
Katherine Wilson

What is Culture?
- what is means to be a human being
-national culture- all people living within a particular nation-state who share the same culture
-stories and images are a primary way societies transmit their values and beliefs from generation to generation
1. Cultural Industries
-Theodor Adorno and Max Hornheimer (Frankfurt Institute for Social Research in 1923)
-"products which are tailored for consumption by masses, and which to a great extent determine the nature of that consumption, are manufactured more or less according to plan"
-UNESCO: describes cultural industries to be "copied and boosted by industrial processes and worldwide distribution"
II.Transmission of Culture
-primary symbolic system to transmit culture is LANGUAGE
-Benedict Anderson (1983)
"print capitalism" leads to "imagined communities"
III. How the West Dominates in Production of Culture
-Herbert Schiller (1969) Mass Communication and the American Empire
-military industrial complex in US was using TV and film to obtain world dominance in cultural products
-(1971) Finnish scholars, Nordenstreng and Varis
-(1977) Jereremy Tuunstall The Media Are American
-(1991) John Tomlinson Cultural Imperialism
- Tomlinson argued that blame to be put upon specific institutions- not individual practices
IV.What Cultures Do to Defend Cultural Autonomy
a. Subsidies
-MEDIA (Measures to Encourage Development of the Audiovisual Industry)
b. Adaptations
- Soap Operas
-Reality TV
- American Idol, Pop Idol, Super Star
c. Resistance
-Briza
-TV Globo
d. Regional Alliances and Co productions
-UNESCO
-Bilateral agreements- India and Canada
e. Quotas
- Television Without Frontiers
-GATT
V. Not All Pop Culture is American
- In India, Russia, Japan, and Brazil, domestic production accounts for between 70 and 96% of market share.
- English musicals
VI. Role of Journalists in Production of Culture
- expected to produce news without bias
-John Fiske (1987) TV news producer deceives herself that truth exists, and the production of news story is just a matter of organizing it for easy consumption
VII. Managing Cultural Conflict
-Benjamin Barber (1995) Jihad vs. McWorld
- globalization versus fragmentation
-Kurdish example
VIII. Hybrid Cultures and the Media
- melting pot...without losing identity
-hybridity, creolization, glocalization
- not fixed: fluid and dynamic

Global News and Information Flow in the Internet Age

Chapter VI Outline (in brief)
Katherine Wilson

Origin and Early History of News Agencies
-Agence France Presse
-Associated Press0
-Reuters
-UPI (United Press International)
-ITAR-TASS

International News Agencies Today
-Associated Press
-United Press International
-Reuters
-Agence France-Press
-ITAR-TASS and Interfax

Supplemental News Agencies
-New York Times News Service
-Los Angeles Times
-Washington Post News Service
-Dow Jones Newswires

Broadcast News Services
-Reutuers Reports
-Reuters News Video Online
-AP Digital (division of Associated Press)
-Wall Street Journal Report

Global Newspapers, Magazines, and Broadcasters
-The New York Times
-The Times (of London)
-The Guardian (Britain)
a. Newsmagainzes
1. Time
2. Newsweek
3. Economist
Voice of American (VOA)
Radio Moscow
Radio Nederland
All India Radio
Radio Cairo

The Transnational Media Corporation and The Economics of Global Competition

Chapter IV Outline
Katherine Wilson

I. The Transnational Media Corporation
- TNC: a system of organization, focusing on the primary commodity being sold is information and entertainment.

II. The Purpose of a Global Media Strategy
- TNMC tends to operate in preferred markets with a an obvious preference toward its home market.
- TNMC's are NOT monolithic in their approach to business.
-Bertelsmann, for example, reflects the business philosophy and media interests of its founder: interests such as strategic planning and decentralization.

III.The Globalization of Markets
- driven by world wide deregulation and privatization trends, advancements in new technologies, and market integration (such as NAFTA, European Community)

a. The Rules of Free Market Trade
- only system operation in the world today is FREE MARKET CAPITALISM
- attempts to promote as much domestic competition as possible

b. Foreign Direct Investment
- refers to the ownership of a company in a foreign country

i. Propriety and Physical Assets
- ownership of talent or specialized expertise can be considered a type of propriety asset
- SONY, purchase of CBS

ii. Foreign Market Penetration
- purpose of entering a foreign market and serving it from that location
-Bertelsmann AG when purchased Doubleday Publishing

iv. Production and Distribution Efficiencies
- countries which offer significant advantages such as lower labor costs, tax relief, and technology infrastructure
-shooting movies in Canada/Ireland, rather than New York/LA

v. Empire Building
-high premium placed upon successful deal making and new project ventures

c. The Risks Associated with FDI
-problems associated with political instability: wars, revolutions, coups
-country risk assessment

IV. Transnational Media Ownership

a. Mergers, Acquisitions, and Strategic Alliances
-represent different ways that companies can join to achieve increased market share, to diversify product line, and/or create greater efficiency of operation

VI. Media and Global Finance
-today, companies will either use their own money or seek assistance of financial lending institution
-enables companies to issue securities and obtain loans

VII. Role of Global Capital Markets
-brings together those companies and individuals who want to invest money and those who want to borrow it.

a. Capital Market Loans
-either equity loans or debt loans
-equity: made when corporation sells stock to investors

VIII. Business and Planning Strategies
-Core Competency suggests that a successful company is one that possesses a specialized production process, brand recognition, or ownership of talent.
- Time Warner-
-Broadband Communication

IX. Global Competition and the Diffusion of Authority
-What distinguishes TNMC from TNC?
PRINCIPAL COMMODITY BEING SOLD IS INFORMATION AND ENTERTAINMENT.
-TNMC actively pursues the use of advanced media and information technology
-TNMC and host nation have shared responsibility to create system that is desirable and sustainable.

France Launches World TV Channel

Assignment #3

"Our mission is to cover worldwide news with French eyes,” said Alain de Pouzilaik, the channel's head. Is the concept of "news a la francaise" plausible? While it is a completely patriotic (heroic?) undertaking, is France 24 overestimating it's ability to compete with such giant international neww corporations, like the BBC and CNN? With a budget one tenth the size, I think the French might just have taken too big a bite.
Just finishing my presentation on cultral autonomy, I completely understand the French desire to remain "untouched" by American cultural imperialism, but I believe this is going to far. Besdies which, is it not counterindicitave to promote a "french INTERNATIONAL news service"? If you don't agree with CNN, there's always BBC....We'll see how France will carry "its values throughout the world".

Facevalue of Mark Zukerburg of Facebook

Assignment #2- Response to "Book Value"

So who is this "this cartographer of social connections" that bloggers speak of? Mr.Zuckerburg , a twentysomething Harvard graudate, has already been compared to Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple. Is Facebook really the next best thing since sliced....Google?

In my opinion, these bloggers are completely correct. I remember when Facebook first took off- I was only in high school at the time, and snubbed the idea of a website for "social connections", I didn't need the internet to connect me to my friends....did I?

However, as soon as I was ordering books and packing away photo albums for college, I was checking my friend's "status updates" on facebook. I had bit the bait- I was a facebook junkie. And it didn't take much- unlike Myspace, Facebook seemed to me to be so much more user friendly. Within a week, I had about 300 friends (I was even reconnected with some friends who lived abroad and had lost their contact info).

As embarassing as this is to admit, I think I check my facebook more than I check my email. Its so much more convient, and as a very visual person, more stimulating. Since I became a member in 2005, Facebook has now expanded to have more than 31 million members. Is this a trend that is doomed to fade out with my generation? Only time will tell....but until then, I'm going to keep "poking".

Beware the Trojan Panda

Assignment # 1- "Cybersecurity" The Economist


The term "electromagnetic dominance" is not something that immeadiately comes to mind when speaking of security in America (or for any other country). As we continue to push farther and farther ahead into the world of "e-communication, e-governemnt, e-business" though, I suppose that it is a threat we should be taking seriously. Towards the beginning, the article speaks about hackers- easily teenagers and chat room junkies. To think that hacking has now reached a whole new domain:" trying to cripple America's military and communications satellites". No longer are we facing online credit card theft from bored housewifes- now we have to worry about The China's People Liberation Army! I agree with Jill on this subject- this potential new "silent" threat is alot more worrisome than the old fashioned weapons of mass destruction.