Lecture 03

Media & Globalization

BY: HINA GULL

 Globalisation
Globalisation is the process by which the world is becoming increasingly
interconnected as a result of massively increased trade and cultural
exchange.

Globalisation has increased the production of goods and services. The

biggest companies are no longer national firms but multinational
corporations.

Globalisation has been taking place for hundreds of years, but has speeded
up enormously over the last half-century.

Globalisation has resulted in:

• increased international trade
• a company operating in more than one country
• greater dependence on the global economy
• freer movement of capital, goods, and services
• recognition of companies such as McDonalds
 Definition
Globalization is a process of interaction and
integration among the people, companies, and
governments of different nations, a process driven
by international trade and investment and aided by
information technology. This process has effects
on the environment, on culture, on political
systems, on economic development and prosperity,
and on human physical well-being in societies
around the world.
 ROOTS OF GLOBALIZATION
 “Global Village” concept by McLuhan (1964) & Meyrowitz
(1985) – existent ICT has dense space & time enable
societies around the globe living in borderless world.
 United Nations itself has encouraged member countries to
invest in digital technology as a way to achieve its
millennium development goals (MDG).
  End Poverty and Hunger
 Universal Education
 Gender Equality
 Child Health
 Maternal Health
 Combat HIV/AIDS
 Environmental
Sustainability
 Global Partnership

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT
GOALS
 Globalization - Conceptualization
 The term globalization is linked to a variety of different perspectives and
ideas about what globalization is and how it affects people and communities
around the world.
1. Encyclopedia Britannica says that globalization is the "process by which the
experience of everyday life ... is becoming standardized around the world."
2. globalization stress convergence of patterns of production and consumption
and a resulting homogenization of culture.
3. globalization has the potential to take many diverse forms.
4. Globalization (or Globalization) refers to increasing global connectivity,
integration and interdependence in the economic, social, technological,
cultural, political, and ecological spheres. Globalization is an umbrella term
and is perhaps best understood as a unitary process inclusive of many sub-
processes that are increasingly binding people and the biosphere more
tightly into one global system.
 Globalization and media
 practically no globalization without media & communications
(Terhi Rantanen, 2004).

 process has been facilitated by a world-wide trend toward

deregulation and privatization of the mass media.

 Globalization – the growing integration of economies & societies

around the world – has been one of the most hotly-debated topics
in international economics over the past few years.
 Continues ….
 special characteristic of the globalization of the media &
communication sector is as a powerful agent in the
transformation of social, cultural & political structures.
 impact of the gradual commercialization of media &
communications on critical social functions, such as the
formation of individual & community identity, cultural &
language diversity, the capacity to participate in the
political process & the integrity of the public sphere, the
availability of information & knowledge in the public
domain, & the use of media for development, educational
& human rights purposes.
 Continues ….
 The social consequences of the globalization of the sector itself are
comparable to those of many other sectors
 For instance, the social consequences of facilitating the emergence
of globalize financial transactions (e-commerce) & manufacturing
industries open markets for “lifestyle” products (Valentine Day,
Mothers Day, etc.), popular culture (k-pop culture), which includes
fast food (KFC, McDonald, etc.) and cosmetics, are a result of the
growth of these sectors.
 The media & communication industries are a leading sector in
facilitating overall globalization.
 SOCIAL CHANGE

 Transformation of traditional society into a

modern society.
Changing of attitudes and norms
Adoption of innovation
Urbanization
Better income
 Related concepts….Positives
 Globalization has various aspects which affect the world in several different ways such as:
1. Industrial (alias trans nationalization) - emergence of worldwide production markets and
broader access to a range of goods for consumers and companies
2. Financial - emergence of worldwide financial markets and better access to external financing
for corporate, national and sub-national borrowers
3. Economic - realization of a global common market, based on the freedom of exchange of
goods and capital.
4. Political - Political globalization is the creation of a world government which regulates the
relationships among nations and guarantees the rights arising from social and economic
globalization.
5. Informational - increase in information flows between geographically remote locations
6. Cultural - growth of cross-cultural contacts; advent of new categories of consciousness and
identities such as Globalism - which embodies cultural diffusion, the desire to consume and
enjoy foreign products and ideas, adopt new technology and practices, and participate in a
"world culture".
7. Ecological- the advent of global environmental challenges that can not be solved without
international cooperation, such as climate change, cross-boundary water and air pollution,
over-fishing of the ocean, and the spread of invasive species.
8. Social - the achievement of free circulation by people of all nations.
9. Transportation - Fewer and fewer American cars on American roads each year.
 Continues ….
 Greater international cultural exchange
1. Spreading of multiculturalism, and better individual access to cultural diversity (e.g.
through the export of Hollywood and Bollywood movies). However, the imported
culture can easily supplant the local culture, causing reduction in diversity through
hybridization or even assimilation. The most prominent form of this is
Westernization, but Sinicization of cultures has taken place over most of Asia for
many centuries.
2. Greater international travel and tourism
3. Greater immigration, including illegal immigration
4. Spread of local consumer products (e.g. food) to other countries (often adapted to
their culture)
5. World-wide fads and pop culture such as Pokemon, Idol series, YouTube, Black
Mental, Hip-Hop, and etc.
6. World-wide sporting events such as FIFA World Cup and the English Premier
League (EPL), Olympics Games & etc.
7. Formation or development of a set of universal values.
 Summary
 Globalization is much like fire. Fire itself is neither good nor bad.
 ICT as alternatives enhance national development, national unity, .
 While some people think of globalization as primarily a synonym
for global business, it is much more than that.
 As Friedman says: "[Globalization] can be incredibly empowering
and incredibly coercive. It can democratize opportunity and
democratize panic. It makes the whales bigger and the minnows
stronger. It leaves you behind faster and faster, and it catches up to
you faster and faster. While it is homogenizing cultures, it is also
enabling people to share their unique individuality farther and
wider."