LESSON 6:

MEDIA AND GLOBALIZATION

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:

a. analyze how various media drive different forms of global integration;
b. compare the social impacts of different media on the processes of globalization;
c. explain the dynamics betw een local and global cultural production; and
d. defined responsible media consumption

INTRODUCTION:

The globalization and media focus on the role of digital platforms in shaping globalization
processes through various ideas and cultures, which creates shared global experiences. Media plays
a significant role in society since it provides interconnectedness to people from different places in which
they entertain and interact with each other. It shapes how people understand themselves, their
communities, and the world around them by producing and sharing stories, images, music, and symbols
that represent cultural identities and experiences. Through television, radio, social media, news, and
films, media influences how people think, what they believe, and how they perceive the world.

Jack Lule (professor and chair of journalism and communication at Lehigh University) was
then right to ask “Could global trade have evolved without a flow of information on markets,
prices, commodities, and more? Could have empires stretched across the world without
communication through their borders? Could religion, music, poetry, film, fiction, cuisine and fashion
develop as they have without the intermingling of media and cultures?

The role of media is a tool for communication and the main channel for the exchange of global
culture and ideas

MEDIA AND ITS FUNCTIONS

Jack Lule
 “A means of conveying something, such as a channel of communication "
 According to him, people's voice is a medium, however the communicator prefers "media" (the
plural of medium), which means technology of mass communication.

Mass communication is the process of sharing information with a large audience through media
like television, radio, newspapers, social media, and the internet. It helps spread news,
entertainment, and messages to many people at once.

Technologies of mass communication:

 Print Media: books, magazines, and newspaper
 Broadcast Media: radio, film, television
 Digital Media: internet and mobile mass communication
 Internet Media: e-mail, internet sites, social media, and internet-based video and audio

Digital media is any content that is stored and shared using electronic devices, like videos, music,
games, and e-books. It can be online or offline.

Internet media is a part of digital media but specifically refers to content that is shared or accessed
through the internet, like websites, social media, and streaming platforms.

So, all internet media is digital media, but not all digital media requires the internet.

Source:
Media AND Globalization. Handout - Acosta- Abanggan - LESSON 7: MEDIA AND GLOBALIZATION
LEARNING - Studocu
Marshall McLuhan (media theorist) (Canadian communication theorist and educator)
 Relatively easy to define " media “, it is more difficult to determine what media do and how they
affected societies
 " The medium is the message "
 media as a form of technology to reshape societies.

Marshall McLuhan's famous phrase "the medium is the message" means that the way we
communicate (the medium) is more important than the actual content (the message).

He believed that different types of media (like TV, radio, or the internet) shape how we think, act,
and interact with the world. For example, watching news on TV affects us differently than reading it
in a newspaper, not just because of the content but because of the way TV presents information—
through images, sound, and motion.

In short, McLuhan was saying that the way we receive information changes our perception more
than the information itself.

Marshall McLuhan meant that media is not just a tool for sharing information—it is a type of
technology that changes how people think, behave, and organize their societies.

McLuhan believed that every new form of media transforms society by changing the way people
communicate and interact with the world.

Effect of the Internet on relations:

 Television - not a simple bearer of message, it shapes social behavior. It also drawn people away
from other meaningful activities
 Smart Phones - keep in touch instantly with different people at the same time.

McLuhan added that different media extend and amputate human senses. New Media is neither
inherently good nor bad because it may expand the communication however dull the person's
communication capacity.

THE GLOBAL VILLAGE AND CULTURAL IMPERIALISM

Global Village:
- the world seen as a community in which people are connected by computers, television, etc., and all
depend on one another.
(https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/global-village#:~:text=global%20village,noun,all%20depend%20on
%20one%20another)

the world viewed as a community in which distance and isolation have been dramatically reduced
by electronic media (such as television and the Internet)

a world that is becoming more interconnected and interdependent due to the advancements in
technology.

Cultural Imperialism:
- the exercise of domination in cultural relationships in which the values, practices, and meanings of a
powerful foreign culture are imposed upon one or more native cultures.
(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9780470670590.wbeog129#:~:text=The%20term%20cultural
%20imperialism%20refers,one%20or%20more%20native%20cultures.

According to McLuhan, television was turning the world into a "global village." He examined
the effects of electronic media using technology. In his writings from the 1960s, he examined how
television had changed society. Many media researchers believed that global media had an ability to

Source:
Media AND Globalization. Handout - Acosta- Abanggan - LESSON 7: MEDIA AND GLOBALIZATION
LEARNING - Studocu
homogenize culture. After McLuhan, They contended that the proliferation of international media
caused individuals to read, watch, and listen to the same content. This emerged at a time when American
influence had become the global cultural heavyweight. On the other hand, communicators think that
American hegemony (dominance of one group over the others) combined with media globalization
would lead to Cultural Imperialism, when American ideals and culture will rule the world.

Herbert Schillers (1976) - a media critic

 Argued that not only the world was being Americanized but this process led to the spread of “
American “ capitalist values.

John Tomlinson
 Cultural globalization is simply for “ Western Cultural Imperialism.”
 It promotes “ homogenize, Western, consumer culture “.

These scholars who decry cultural Imperialism have a top-down view of the media, they concerned
broad structure that determine media. In addition, their focus on America led them to neglect other global
flows of information. This media/cultural imperialism theory, been subject to significant critique.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE CREATION OF CYBER GHETTOES

 Few media scholars argue that the world is becoming culturally homogenous.
 While western culture remains powerful and media production is still controlled, the internet,
particularly social media, is challenging previous ideas about media and globalization.

The equivalent of a ghetto in cyberspace; a place on the Internet etc. where a social group
is marginalized.

a poor urban area occupied primarily by a minority group or groups:

Facebook and twitter

 Enabled users to be consumers and producers of information

Arab Spring (2011)

 During this wave of uprising, a democratic potential of social media was evident
 Since they did not have access to traditional broadcast media like TV; activists opposing
authoritarian regimes (Tunisian, Egypt, Libya) used twitter to organize and disseminate information

Splinteret and cyberbalkanization

 The dark side of social media
 Emerged in 2000’s
 Refer to the various bubbles people place themselves when they are online

Cyberbalkanization happens when people on the internet only interact with those who share their
opinions, interests, or beliefs, avoiding different perspectives.

This segmentation notes an article in journal science, that has been worsened by the nature of social media
feeds, which led to users to read articles, memes, and videos shared by like-minded friends.

 Facebook resembles living in an echo chamber, reinforcing beliefs and options

 Echochamber preludes users from listening to or reading opinions and information that challenge
their viewpoints

An echo chamber makes it hard for people to hear or read opinions that are different from their
own. It keeps them surrounded by ideas they already agree with, so they don’t get exposed to new
or challenging viewpoints.

Source:
Media AND Globalization. Handout - Acosta- Abanggan - LESSON 7: MEDIA AND GLOBALIZATION
LEARNING - Studocu
A filter bubble is when the internet shows you only the things you like or agree with, hiding different
opinions or new ideas. This happens because websites and social media use algorithms to guess
what you want to see.

Source:
Media AND Globalization. Handout - Acosta- Abanggan - LESSON 7: MEDIA AND GLOBALIZATION
LEARNING - Studocu