MDSA01H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11: Capitalism, New Media, World-Systems Theory
Lecture 11: Globalization
Defining Terms
-media geography: DEFINE
-Globalization: the set of processes by which social, cultural, political, and economic
relations extend further than ever before, with greater frequency, immediacy, and
facility; refers to the increased mobility of people, capital, commodities, info
-Aspects of globalization: economic, political, social, cultural, environmental
-The migration of people has become a more common experience
-Companies seek business opportunities wherever they can be found and flee from
regions deemed uncompetitive or hostile to free enterprise
-“New media order” - goal of media corporations is to get their product to the largest
possible number of consumers
Mass Media as Agents of Globalization
-Transportation and communication technologies collapse space and time
-As mobility has increased, so have the number of spheres of activity
•These spheres need integration and international management in the form of
international governing agencies
•Integration can create conflicts between international policies and national interests
-The roles of media in the globalization process
•Media of encounter (allowing us to connect)
•Media of governance (allowing centralized administration)
•Situating us within the world
•A globalized industry in and of itself
-Communication media reduce the meaning of physical distance, allowing us to
expand our relationship, political, and economic networks
-The mass media provide us with a sense of place and identity
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-Media have become a central constituent of globalization in what is called the
information age, or the network society
-The commodification of the communications industry results in a conflict between
public and corporate interests
-Digital technology allows the public to participate in the communications industry and
develop alternative media organizations
•Consumers of media also become producers, or “prosumers”
Global Information Trade
-International cultural exchange has traditionally been uneven, with a small number of
information sources serving many
•This has resulted in media imperialism (the exploitation of global media markets to
build political, economic, and ideological empires of influence and control)
-The use of digital platforms has only enhanced their ability to penetrate global
markets
-Table 11.1 & 11.2
-Large, transnational media companies are interested in the world’s most affluent
audiences
-Digital technology allows us to access a greater variety of both commercial and
independently produced cultural products and services
-The corporate structuring of communication grants media companies the power to
inhibit, even prohibit, the production and circulation of products or services with
limited appeal, or products that are critical or threatening in some way
Theories of International Communication Flows
-World Systems Theory
•The leading model for international communication flows (Wallerstein 1974)
•Focuses on the relationships between nation states
•Three world economic zones
-Core states (industrialized with a strong merchant class)
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