The Myth of Media Globalization

The ongoing interconnection of the world through modern mass media is generally considered to be one of the major developments underpinning globalization. This important book considers anew the globalization phenomenon in the media sphere. Rather than heralding globalization or warning of its dangers, as in many other books, Kai Hafez analyses the degree to which media globalization is really taking place. Do we have enough evidence to show that there is a linear and accelerated move towards transnationalization in the media? All too often the empirical data presented seems rather more anecdotal than representative. Many transborder media phenomena are overestimated and taken out of the context of locally and nationally oriented mainstream media processes all over the world. The inherent danger is that a central paradigm of the social sciences, rather than bearing scholarly substance, will turn out to be a myth and even a sometimes dangerously ideological tool. Based on a theoretical debate of media globalization, the work discusses most major fields of media development, including foreign reporting, satellite TV, film, internet, foreign broadcasting, media and migration, media policy and media economy. As an important new contribution to timely debates, The Myth of Media Globalization will be essential and provocative reading for students and scholars alike.

List of Figures and Tables vii Introduction 1 1 Theory – Structural Transformation of the Global Public Sphere? 7 2 International Reporting – ‘No Further than Columbus . . .’ 24 3 Satellite Television – the Renaissance of World Regions 56 4 Film and Programme Imports – Entertainment Culture as the Core of Media Globalization 82 5 The Internet – the Information Revolution Which Came Too Late for the ‘Third Wave of Democratization’ 100 6 International Broadcasting – from National Propaganda to Global Dialogue and Back Again 118 7 Media and Immigration – Ethnicity and Transculturalism in the Media Age 128 8 Media Policy – why the State Continues to Play a Role 142 9 Media Capital – the Limits of Transnationalization 158 Conclusion: Globalization – a Necessary Myth 167 Notes 175 Bibliography 197 Internet Sources 214 Index 217