INTERNATIONAL

COMMUNICATIO
N
DEFINITION OF
INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNICATION
 Thussu defines international communication simply as communication that
occurs across international borders.
 Words, acts or attitudes can be depicted as international communication
whenever they impinge – intentionally or unintentionally – upon the minds
of private individuals, officials or groups from other countries.
 International communication is an extremely broad field involving social
conditions, attitudes and institutions that have an effect on the production
and/or reception of various forms of communication among people.
 It recognises not only the media and technologies through which impulses
pass, but also the attitudes and social circumstances of the sources, the
predisposition of receivers as well as the effects and impact of the
contents.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
 Communication has always bee n critica l to th e establishmen t an d main
tenance
o f power over distance . From the Persian , Greek and Roman
empires to the British, efficient network s o f communication were essential
for the imposition networks of imperial authority , as wel l as for the
international
trade and commerce o n which they were based .
 Communications networks and technologies were key to the mechanics of
distributed government , military campaigns and trade .
 The Greek historian, Diodorus Cronu s (4t h century BC) recounts how the Persian king, Darius I
(522486 BC), who extended the Persian Empire from the Danube to the Indus, could send news
from the capital to the provinces by mean s of a lin e o f shouting men positioned on heights .
This kind o f transmission was 30 times faster than using runners.
 In De Bello Gallico, 12 International Communication Julius Caesa r (1004 4 BC ) reports tha t th e
Gauls , usin g the huma n voice , could call all their warriors to war in just three days. Using fire
a t night and smoke or mirrors during the day is mentioned in ancient texts , from the Old
Testament to Homer.
 Many rulers used inscription fo r public information, writin g becam e a mor e flexibl e an d
efficient t mean s o f con veying information over long distances: 'Rome , Persi a and th e Grea t
Khan of Chin a al l utilise d writing i n system s o f information gathering and dis persal, creatin
g wide-ranging g officia l posta l an d dispatc h systems ' (Lewis, 1996:152).
 It is said that the Acta Diurna, founded by Julius Caesar and one of the forerunners of modern
news media, was distributed across most of the Roman Empire : 'a s communication became
more efficient , the possibility of control from the centre became greater' (Lewis , 1996: 156) .
 The India n Empero r Ashoka' s edicts , inscribe d o n roc k i n th e thir d century BC, are found
acros s South Asia, from Afghanistan to Sri Lanka and writ writer s ha d a prominen t plac e i n th
e roya l household . Durin g th e Mughal perio d i n India n history , th e tvaqi'a-nawis
(newswriters ) were employed by the kings to apprais e them of the progress in the empire.
Both horsemen an d despatch runner s transmitted news and reports. In China, the T'ang
Dynasty (618907) created a formal handwritten publication , the ti pao or 'officia l newspaper '
whic h disseminated information to the elite and in th e Chin g Perio d (16441911 ) privat e new
s bureau x spran g u p whic h composed an d circulate d officia l new s i n th e printe d for m
know n a s th e Ch'ingpao (Smith , 1979).
 In addition to officia l system s of communication, there have also always been informal
networks of travellers an d traders.
 The technologies of inter national communicatio n an d globalizatio n ma y b e
contemporar y phe nomena but trade and cultural interchanges have existed for more
than two-millennia between the Greco-Roman world with Arabia, India and China .
 The medium of communication developed from the clay tablet of Mesopotamia, the
papyrus roll in ancient Egyp t and in ancient Greece , t o parchment codex i n the
Roman empire .
 By the eighth century, paper intro duced from China bega n t o replac e parchmen t i n
th e Islami c worl d and spread t o medieva l Europe. Als o from China , printin g slowl y
diffuse d t o Europe, aided by the Moors' occupation of Spain, but it was not until the fif
teenth century , with th e movable type printing press develope d b y Johann
Gutenberg, a goldsmith i n Mainz in Germany, that the means of communication were
transformed.
 By th e beginning of th e sixteenth century , the printin g presses were turning ou t
thousand s o f copie s o f book s i n al l the majo r Europea n lan guages. For th e firs t
tim e the Scripture s were available in a language othe r than Latin , underminin g th e
authorit y o f priests, scribe s an d politica l an d cultural elites . As a consequence, 'th
e unifie d Lati n culture of Europe wa s finally dissolved b y the rise of the vernacular
language s which wa s consolidatedother by the printing press'
 The new languages, especiall y Portuguese, Spanish , Englis h and French ,
became th e mai n vehicl e o f communicatio n fo r th e Europea n colonia l
powers i n many parts of the world. This transplantation o f communicatio
n systems around the globe resulted in the undermining of local languages
and cultures of the conquered territories.
 European language s especially Portuguese, Spanish, English and French
became the main vehicle of communication fo r th e colonia l power s in
many part s o f the world . This transplantation o f communication system s
around th e globe created a new hierarchy of language and culture in the
conquered territories (Smith , 1980).
 The Industrial Revolution in Western Europe,
 Britain's domination of the sea routes o f international commerce,
 Technologica l advance s suc h th e development of the iron ship, the
steam engine and the electric telegraph all helped to keep Britain ahead o f
its rivals.
 The posta l reform i n Englan d i n 1840 , initiate d b y the wellknown
author, Anthon y Trollope a s PostMaster General , with th e adoptio n o f a
14 International Communication singlerate, one penny postage stamp (th e
Penny Black), irrespective of distance, revolutionized postal systems.
 The growth of the telegraph:
 The second half of the nineteenth century saw an expanding system of imperial

communication s mad e possible by the electric telegraph invented by Morse in

of the British Empire. The rapid development of the telegraph was a crucial
feature in the unifi cation of the British Empire.
 Durin g th e Civi l War i n th e U S (186165) ove r 2400 0 kilo metres o f cabl e
wa s lai d to send more than 6. 5 millio n telegrams .
 The American Civil War was not only one of the earlies t conflicts to be
extensively reported , but als o the first exampl e both of cooperative news
gathering among the America n an d European journalists , and of the us
journalise of photojournalism.
 The era of news agencies:
 The newspaper industry played a significan t rol e i n th e developmen t o f
international telegraph networks , t o b e able to exploit th e rapid increas e
in demand for news, especially the financial information required to
conduct international commerce.
 The Frenc h Havas Agency (ancesto r o f AFP) was founde d in 1835 ,
 th e German agenc y Wolf f i n 184 9 an d th e Britis h Reuter s i n 1851 .
 The US agency, Associated Press (AP ) was establishe d i n 1848 , bu t onl y
th e thre e European agencie s bega n a s international ones ; not until the
turn of the century did an America n agency move i n thi s direction .
 From the start , Reuters made commercial and financial information its
speciality , while Havas was to combine information and advertising.
 The expansion of trade and investment during the nineteenth century had
led to a huge growth in the demand for news and contributed to the
commercialization of news and information services. Reuters astutely
exploited this demand.
 Radio and international communication-
 As with othe r new technologies, Wester n countries were the firs t t o gras p the
strategic implication s o f radio communication after the first radio transmissions of the
human voice in 1902 .
 Two distinct type s of national radi o broadcastin g emerged : in the USA, the Radio Act
of 1927 enshrined its established status as a commercial enterprise, funde d b y
advertising , whil e th e Britis h Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), founde d in 1927 , a s
a nonprofit , publi c broadcastin g monopoly , provided a model for several other
European and Commonwealth countries (McChesney, 1993).
 Increasing use of radio for propaganda
 The Cold War - from communist propaganda to capitalist persuasion era
 Soviet broadcast propaganda; Communis t propaganda, a centra l component o f
postwar Soviet diplomacy, was primarily aimed at the Eastern bloc, and, increasingly,
to what came to be known as the Third World .
 US broadcast propaganda; Although the Voice of America had been a part of US
diplomacy during the Second World War, with the advent o f the Cold War, propaganda
became a crucial componen t o f US foreign broadcasting.
 The BBC; In contras t t o U S state propaganda , th e BBC' s Externa l Service s prided
themselves o n presentin g a mature , balance d view , winning b y argument , rather
than hammering home a point, in the best tradition o f British understatement. Thi s
proclaimed policy of 'balance' gav e the BBC more international credibility than any
other broadcasting organization in the world.
 Cold War propaganda in the Third World;
 International communication and development
 Apart from highlightin g th e structural inequalitie s i n international commu
nication, there were also efforts made among many developing countries ,
often wit h financial o r technical support from th e West, to use
communication technologie s for development. This could take different
forms from promoting literac y and informatio n abou t healthcar e t o
spreadin g con sumerism.
 One area which receive d particular attentio n from policymaker swas
satellit e television , which give n its reach , wa s considere d a powerful
medium that could be harnessed fo r educational purposes , an d i n the
long run, to help change social an d cultural attitudes o f 'traditional' peopl
e and 'modernize' societies .
 Communication Technologies
 Global connectedness was enhanced by the development of ICTs such as
the telegraph and telephone; the laying of submarine cables between
Europe and the USA; the expansion of railroads and the development of
modern navigation with the help of newly developed radio technology.
 This period also saw the growth of the major international news agencies in
Europe and the United States •
 The period was furthermore characterised by the hegemony of the great
European powers that used the developing communication technologies,
media and international news agencies not only to enhance their powers
globally and to acquire colonies and manage empires, but also to foster
Westernisation and Europeanisation around the world.
 Importance of Public Opinion
 The great world powers also started to realise the impact of and
importance of public opinion and the value of propaganda especially in
wartimes as well as the potential of the developing media such as the radio
in this regard. The spread of contending ideologies such as liberalism,
communism, fascism and a number of Islamic movements furthermore led
to the increasing usage of the fast developing media, the press and
communication technologies to organize the transnational activities of
revolutionary movements.
 However, it was in the period after World War II that the growth of global
communication really accelerated (Mowlana 1996). This acceleration was
firstly driven by the continued development and expansion of media such
as television and, most importantly, the rapid development, improvement
and widespread proliferation of ICTs such as satellites and computers.
Democracy and Media •
The rise of democracy and the attainment of independence by many former
colonies of the great European powers also led to an increase in the number
of nation-states who participated in the political, cultural and socio-economic
aspects of international communication (Mowlana 1996). During this period
the USA emerged as the dominant political power and increasingly employed
the media as well as ICTs not only for the purposes of economic and military
domination, but also economically and culturally.
International Communication •
The acceleration of international conferences; the international expansion of
educational institutions, congresses and seminars; the exchange of students
between countries; the popularization of international travel; and the
expansion of international sport furthermore increased contact and
communication between the peoples of the world. •
In this competitive world with its revolving economic and communication
giants, the globe has been transformed into a global electronic village and
information has emerged as a primary commodity and resource. • The
conclusion can be drawn that global communication is in a continuous state
of ferment and evolution .
Effects of Global Communication
The borders of nation-states have become porous as the globalisation of technology has made
it virtually impossible for governments to regulate and control the transborder flow of
information and communication. Global media systems have furthermore introduced
propaganda and public diplomacy as important factors in international relations. • Global
communication is radically redefining the nature of both hard and soft power in international
relations.
McLuhan’s(1964) Notion of the globalvillage
Socially, integrated global communication networks has to a certain extent resulted in the
realisation of McLuhan’s (1964) notion of the global village with the emergence of, among
others, global interconnectedness, global consciousness and global co-operation between
NGOs in widely different areas such as human rights, women’s rights and environmental
protection. Social relations are no longer restricted to a particular space or locality, but are
dispersed globally and spatially as ICTs create and maintain social relations irrespective of time
and space.
Global Digital Telecommunication:
However, one of the most important consequences is probably the blurring of the boundaries
between technological, economic, political, social and cultural domains .
Both traditional media (eg print, photography, film, radio, television and videos) as well as the
fast developing new information and communication technologies (ICTs) (eg telephone and
telegraphy, satellites and computers) that have initially developed fairly independently, are
merging into a global digital telecommunications network.