Scripts

All scripts must include:

*An explanation of your theme i.e. what does global media mean? DONE
*Indicate which two media areas you are looking at, what specific examples you have researched. DONE
* Include reference to at least two contemporary media theories and how your specific examples prove or disprove the theories DONE
*Include a summary of how you would answer each of the 4 prompt questions using the media theories and your textual examples.


Prompt Questions-

1. What kind of media are increasingly global in terms of production and distribution?

2. How have global media developed, in historical terms, and how inclusive is this trend in reality?

3. What kinds of audience behaviour and consumption are increasingly global?

4. What are the arguments for and against global media, in relation to content, access, representation and identity?


SCRIPT-

     'The theme that I have researched is Global media. Global media is media, such as radio, television, film, news and internet, on a world-wide scale. For instance Facebook is being used all over the world as a source of communication.
Media turning global isn't a linear development, media has always been cross-cultural, and is now known as globalisation.
The two media areas that I have been specifically looking at are , global news and television. Television is the most widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images. Television on a global scale brings many pros and cons. For example some positive elements are that hardware becomes cheaper, the ability to consume television from anywhere is easier, you can compare your nations television with other nations across the world, which means coincidentally there should be more choice. However the negative elements are that there can be an erosion of national culture, the USA has cultural dominance due to being more advanced, the market forces funding, and coincidentally this could also result in less choice.
In terms of television, the main example I looked into was 'Hybrid Programming'. 'A hybrid programme is one which is sold across cultural and national boundaries, with changes made to the original format to accommodate local cultural differences, either to avoid offense or to attract more viewers. An example of this is the 'X Factor' which originated as a British talent show, which is now been adapted into various countries all over the world, including Australia, Finland, France, Arab World, Indonesia, Russia and the United States. The X Factor has now become a world-wide phenomenon. This is because this programme is easy to export from one country and import into another as it requires little adaptation, which can be described as 'Culturally Transparent'. Being culturally transparent just means that the format stays the same, but the names and presenters change. For example in terms of 'The Weakest Link' across the world the format of the staging and the music stays the same, however the presenter changes to suit the countries audience.
   The other media area I have researched into is global news. Local areas have news which is specific for the area the viewer lives. However now news has become global, meaning that anyone around the world can find out what is happening anywhere else. The BBC News broadcasts about all different issues around the world. For example some of the headlines on 1st February were 'Egypt braces for massive protest', 'Chelsea pay record fee for Torres'. Under global news I mainly looked into news over the internet. From a statistic in 2008, 80% of the world have broadband, therefore that percentage are able to access global news over the internet at any time of day. By this day that percentage may have increased.
    One of the media theories I looked at was Irvine's, stating that 'global digital media transforms the social world'. He says that media dissolves time, distance, place and local culture, which at one time would have divided the globe. I think my specific examples prove this theory is true. This is because if television from one country can be viewed in another, for example US programmes being viewed in India, it can blur the boundaries of local culture with countries influencing the ways of another. Also global news does the same, however it can be a positive thing, for example the protest going on in Egypt. As people in the UK can see this on the news, it may deter them from visiting there at present to be safe, which wouldn't be possible if the news didn't inform us. As the people in Egypt are trying to force their president out of power, they are using social networking sites to communicate and arrange protests. This proves Anderson's theory is true, as people in Egypt are getting together as a community and protesting over the same issue, even though many have never even met eachother, yet they still share the same views.
   Due to the examples I have  researched I have learnt that global media has increased in terms of production and distribution as a result of the increase in demand for nationally distributed television programmes such as The X factor and Big Brother.
   Global media has developed at a significant rate especially in recent years with the introduction of hybrid programming and global news. Nowadays due to free view and 'Sky' there are thousands of different channels available from all over the world, such as, MTV. These wide variety of channels means that they can cater to a larger scale of people due to their range. The news went from local to national as it advanced, but however there has been an increasing demand for local news to be more centered. People such as Jeremy Hunt a culture secretary are fighting to bring back the local news. However others like labors culture minister have been skeptical to this idea claiming it is a 'vanity' project. However how inclusive is the news? 429,000,000 people worldwide have access to the Internet, with only 20% of the world not having Broadband in 2008. The rich and powerful countries, for example the UK and USA have an easier access to the world around them, over poorer countries, for example Gambia, who struggle with the amount of money in their country therefore their culture is kept very local. This all shows us that in countries such as the USA people are very much evolved, and are able to watch whats happening in the world. However on the other hand places such as Africa, their television sets may not have digital television, or they may not have televisions, internet or radio at all, therefore cutting them off from any news at all. Global news has to start from somewhere, and quite a lot of the time its from the viewers them selves that get in touch and produce interesting and quirky news reports. For instance on the channel 4 news on their website they have a news desk, where reports can be delivered and considered to be shown on the news, however this is more on a local scale. On a global scale news stories are most usually found by Correspondents in their particular area such as a foreign affairs correspondent. These correspondents research and find news stories that will cause effect on the viewers. For example 9/11, when two planes were high jacked and killed thousands of people. Even though this was not in Europe people would be interested and concerned due to families and to warn people of the no flight zones and how the situation was developing. This is why global news is such an important communication device. In terms of television some of the problems of global media are: Erosion of national culture, Cultural dominance of the USA , Market forces funding, does this mean less choice? As numerous cultures nowadays can access televisions, they have a wide access to other countries culture, therefore they can learn about other countries identity. However as the USA is such a large percentage of the world, the US culture has said to have become the 'norm' across the world. As a result of this other cultural ways of life are becoming threatened. It has been said that the more globalisation there is, the less people will care about local or national culture, and rather than follow a religion, follow a more attractive, persuasive way of living which they have adapted through the world of media and television. The representation of global media in television is strong. For example 'The weakest link' and the presenter Anne Robinson are represented all around the world, in all the countries that air this programme, the presenters are the same as Anne, the person it originated from. Also furthermore, on the global news, people in gangs, are presented all the same around the world, to cause trouble and danger and causing knife crime. America being the main source of the news, and television, are developing so fast, that they are beginning to wipe out local culture and news, due to their contribution on a large scale to global news. In my opinion Global news will stay global, and people will always want to know whats happening in their own world, i know i do.  

examples for each media area.

This is 'Global News' from the internet.

This is the bar on the website, this shows that there is 'Global news' and local news for your area. This helps the communication through countries, and broaden peoples veiws on the world.

Television (TV) is the most widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission.

The weakest link is also 'Global media', due to it being viewed all over the world.

X-Factor is another example of 'Global media' and how television programmes are shown in different countries, for example america. The X Factor is a British television singing competition contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions, which started in September 2004. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date have been broadcast from August/September through to December. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The "X Factor" of the title refers to the undefinable "something" that makes for star quality. The show is broadcast on the ITV network in the United Kingdom and on TV3 in Ireland, with spin-off behind-the-scenes shows The Xtra Factor and The X Factor 24/7 screened on ITV2 and TV3. The X Factor was devised as a replacement for the highly successful Pop Idol, which was put on indefinite hiatus after its second series, largely because Cowell wished to launch a show to which he owned the television rights. The perceived similarity between the shows later became the subject of a legal dispute.

 

 Global television and hybrid programming

It is important to resist the idea that media used to be a notional and now it is global, as though this were a neat, linear, historical development. In fact, as Hartley reminds us, 'Globalisation is as old as the media themselves', and what has really happened is that we have begun to realise how cross-culture media have always been, and we have given a name to this - Globalisation. Clearly, whether or not it is a new thing we can see that there are disadvantages and advantages to the global distribution of television, represented here is a basic list.

Pros;

1. Cheaper hardware (televisions) 

2. Ability to consume TV from elsewhere 

3. Ability to compare own nations television with the other TV

4. More choice?

Cons; 

1. Erosion of national culture

2. Cultural dominance of the USA

3. Market forces funding

4. Less choice? 

 The pros are partly economic and partly cultural. Companies like Sony compete in the global marketplace and the price of technology reduces far more than it would if we had nationalised industries at a fixed price. 

Local TV: Will it survive?

A summarised version from an article on www.bbc.co.uk/news

   Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt spoke at the Oxford Television Convention and announced his plans for a network a local television services to be launched across the UK. He stated that the stations would need to be supported by a national digital channel, therefore he invited media organizations to suggest and bring forth ideas of how this could be run. Local television is something he seems to be very passionate about, as he has been bringing up the subject of Local TV for years.
   
   Most media executives have been very skeptical about it, as well as Labour's shadow culture minister claiming that it is a ''vanity project''. In mainland Europe and North America local services have been proved to work, so Hunt argues why not here. If he gets his way with his action plan he hopes we will see the first local TV services licensed to broadcast by the end of next year.

    His plan is for a national digital channel to act as a 'spine' for local services to opt into, each broadcasting for a couple of hours at peek times of the day. It would have a prominent place on the electronic programme guide (EPG) and he'd like to run it on all digital platforms, including Freeview, Sky, Virgin and YouView. 

   By 1st March he hopes that new and existing media providers will have come up with an idea into how they would run it. His department will then draw up a blueprint and a licensing system to get local services up and running. Support for the idea is growing. An independent review panel told the government that up to 15 city stations might be viable on digital terrestrial television- provided there was a national channel to link them and attract national advertising. 


   This would be an interim solution until more homes had high-speed broadband, at which point dozen of local TV stations may be possible, via the internet. The former BBC director general chairs and industry group called the Local Television Advisory Committee, which believes many more local stations are possible because they can run cheaper than the review panel suggested and could attract more local advertising.

Media Theories Slideshow.

For revision a copy of a slide about Global Media:

"Irvine offers this example of how global digital media transforms the social world:

• ' At the extreme, modern media simply dissolves time, distance, place and local culture that once divided the globe. Perhaps the best examples are computer games and pop videos.  Routinely their content blurs boundaries of history and geography in a mix that denies the specificities of actual locations and particular chronological periods. In effect, we are putting all our cultural eggs in one basket.'
• Some see this as a negative thing, others see it as positive. it is now easier to disseminate cultural products around the world and to use technology to communicate with people across the world. Is this new 'global village' a good or bad thing?

Global Media & Democracy

• How do audiences consume and/or participate, in the media areas you have selected, now compared to in the past? Give specific examples.

• How ‘global’ is your media area? Can everyone in the world access it or is it still dependent on access to the Internet? How many people in the world have access to the Internet?

 429,000,000 people worldwide have access to the Internet, with only 20% of the world not having Broadband in 2008. The rich and powerful countries, for example the UK and USA have an easier access to the world around them, over poorer countries, for example Gambia, who struggle with the amount of money in their country therefore their culture is kept very local.

•  What do you think are some of the problems of global media in terms of a community’s identity?

 In terms of television some of the problems of global media are: Erosion of national culture, Cultural dominance of the USA , Market forces funding, Less choice?  As numerous cultures nowadays can access televisions, they have a wide access to other countries culture, therefore they can learn about other countries identity. However as the USA is such a large percentage of the world, the US culture has said to have become the 'norm' across the world. As a result of this other cultural ways of life are becoming threatened. It has been said that the more globalisation there is, the less people will care about local or national culture, and rather than follow a religion, follow a more attractive, persuasive way of living which they have adapted through the world of media and television.

Global Television

Media turning global isn't a linear development, instead we've come to realise how media has always been cross-cultural, and has now been given the name, globalisation.

Pros:
Cheaper hardware (televisions)
Ability to consume TV from elsewhere
Ability to compare own nations television with other TV
More choice?

Cons:
Erosion of national culture
Cultural dominance of the USA
Market forces funding
Less choice?

For companies like Sony, they compete in the global marketplace which means the price of technology reduces far more than it would if we had nationalised industries which could fix a price.
When protestors of Free Tibet disrupted the Beijing Games, access to images of the event were denied to the Chinese public. This is due to having a government which controls the flow of information.
Due to this the US culture has been said to be the norm across the world, and as a result cultural ways of life are threatened.

Hybrid Programming-

'A hybrid programme is one which is sold across cultural and national boundaries, with changes made to the original format to accommodate local cultural differences, either to avoid offence or to attract more viewers.' An example of this is Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? , being broadcast in different countries under different names. For example I Love Quiz Show in Korea, The Dictionary Of Happiness in China and in India as Kaun Benega Crorepathi. This programme is easy to export from one country and import into another as it requires little adaptation, which can be described as 'Culturally Transparent'. Aslong as the programme, especially in the context of Soap Operas, makes the audience comfortable with the verisimilitude, which is 'the believable sense of reality and authenticity constructed by the text'.
There is a distinguish between hybrid programmes where specific cultural adaptation is required, and those culturally transparent where the format stays in place, but the names and presenters change.

Global facts, and names we might need to know...

• 1960 - marshal McLuhan wrote 'Explorations in communication' - introduced the idea of 'Global village'. 
• He predicted where the media was headed, even before mp3 players and what we call the media today!
• (statistic in 2008) 20% of the world do not have broadband, this makes a digital divide.

What difference does it make?

Some people like waters (1995) thinks that the more globalisation there is the less people will care about local or national culture, and rather than follow religion, follow a more attractive, persuasive way of living, regardless of where they come from. Not every person agrees with this theory Moore's argues that the idea we can go onto a website and be able to see what another country is doing is like walking down the street on your phone to some one on the other side of the world, its like being in two places at once, and making the way we see the world more convenient. So we end up living in two places at once, both locally and globally.However is this making people travel less? And making the world smaller?


Another speculation is that the globalization will cause a 'Winners and losers' effect on the trading world. Whereas the rich and powerful have broadband and mobile networks, such as America. Places like Gambia where culture is very local, and very poor, will struggle to contact their providers and buyers, so will lose profit and money from lost communication.

For this theme we need to know about;

1. A variety of media which can consider global in terms of how they are distributed and shared.
2. The historical development of media globalisation.
3. The impact of global media on audience behaviour.
4. Debates about the pros and cons of global media.

1. What kind of media are increasingly global in terms of production and distribution?

I think from doing little research, that films and television programmes such as 'The weakest Link' are distributed all over the world. Australia was the first country to adapt the BBC show, and versions have also been produced in Azerbaijan, Belgium, Chile, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Macedonia, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway, Panama, The Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and the United States. The Link franchise is the second most popular international franchise, behind only the 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?' franchise, which also originated in the United Kingdom.

Exam prep!

Exam prep! 

 In preparation for the exam students must:

*Engage with a range of theoretical perspectives

*Demonstrate a personal position on the issues

*Know about research carried out to discover audience practices and habits (this could be research carried out by themselves)

*Exam answers must have a historical, contemporary and future perspective, focussing mostly on the contemporary.

*Emphasise the active audience i.e. how people 'give meaning' to cultural products (media texts).

*Have an understanding of two different areas of the media ie. film, television, internet, magazines, etc.

MEDIA?

Media is used everywhere, and because of this we are all surrounded by a reality blur. The media gives their audience a undefined barrier between reality and make believe. Media reality is a new reality.