Current Trends in Mass Communication |
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1) Concentration of Ownership
2) Globalization
3) Audience Fragmentation
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Click for larger image
© 1999, Don Wright
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2) Globalization
Channels are no longer bounded by geography
Satellite and Internet distribution span the globe.
Content can often be universal
For years, the #1 TV show worldwide was "Baywatch". Currently, the most watched drama program in the world is "The Bold and the Beautiful".
Top American TV shows are based on English and European programs. "Survivor", "The Office", "Three's Company", "All in the Family", "Big Brother", "The Amazing Race" all started overseas.
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This Danish add for tequila would work on any American campus.
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Cost of mass media production and distribution can be very large (Except for the Internet)
As a result, multinational conglomerates control much mass media.
Positives of Globalization
1) Formation of a "global village"
People now understand that local and national issues can have a global impact
2) Shared concerns and interests with widely diverse people
3) Economics contribute to success of mass media
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This Polish ad for Levis was designed by the Warsaw office of a world wide advertising agency.
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Negatives of Globalization
These are the same negatives as with concentration of ownership.
1) Limits diversity of opinion
2) Limits sources of information
3) Reduces number of gatekeepers
4) Eliminates any realistic feedback other than economic
5) Possible economic collapse due to unrealistic business expectations
As the "Media Megamergers" article points out, enormous marketing and business culture challenges exist when forming multi-national ventures |
6) Loss of cultural identity / risk of cultural imperialism
As the cartoon from Korea on the right shows, one of the greatest fears is the assimilation of local culture by American products. From Euro and Japan Disney to McDonalds and Coke, American products with their accompanying American culture are moving steadily across the globe. |
Commerce can do what guns could not.
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Canada has been especially vigilant in preserving its "Cultural Sovereignty". Visit the Media Awareness web site for "a comprehensive overview of Canada's struggle for cultural sovereignty."
"But American music and fashion need no such high-level emissaries to win the hearts and minds of China's people -- particularly the children of its growing economic elite.
American chain restaurants and coffee shops have opened even in remote provincial cities. Hollywood movies are so popular that the government limits their number to protect domestic filmmakers. American brand-name outdoor wear and university sweat shirts are almost as common in Shanghai as New York."
Click here to read "Young Chinese Drawn to Hip-Hop."
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Current Trends in Mass Communication |
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This is an official FGCU web page. Revised 01/01/2011
©2011, Terry Dugas
All media, Copyright, respective owners. Media used within copyright Fair Use guidelines as outlined by the University of Texas, Stanford University, and others.
Florida Gulf Coast University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.
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