Media imperialism

Media imperialism is a theory that suggests smaller countries are losing their identity due to the dominance of media from larger nations. It can be equated to small community shops closing down due to large superstores moving in, taking over and having a monopoly. As the larger media corporations begin to take over, smaller media companies are either being forced out or swallowed up. When the majority of media available in one country is that produced by a different, more dominant nation, it is suggested that the culture of that larger nation, along with its interests, displace that of the home country.

Many critics argue that there is too much media coverage of the events in a limited number of large nations as opposed to the rest of the world. This coverage may be affected by the dominance of media companies in these larger countries, which have the ability to control the content and amount of media coverage on a particular issue. Critics suggest that this media imperialism has led to important events getting little attention, and biased information and inaccuracy within news stories.

Media imperialism is not just seen internationally. When a small number of companies are responsible for large amounts of media output, this too may be considered media imperialism. Countries including Canada and Italy are often accused of having imperialist media. A large amount of the media in these two countries is controlled by just one company in each.

The problem with just one company or owner controlling the media is that media output can be biased. The owner can decide on what information is shown, as well as what to censor. This can sometimes come down to an influence from the country's government, which may have the power to shut down the company if it does not follow the government's wishes. Other times, powerful corporate interests can influence the media, either through their influence with the government or their role as advertisers.

Advertisers use media companies to promote their goods, but in some cases can also lay down stipulations on the content produced. If a media organization earns a significant part of its revenue through advertising channels, these advertisers can have an undue influence on what is shown. In such cases, the content of the broadcasting is down to its profits; if programming does not bring in profits, it is unlikely to survive for long.

In the United Kingdom, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) operates its own form of media imperialism. The BBC has an annual television license that all television owners must purchase, regardless of whether those owners watch the BBC or not. The BBC was created by Royal Charter, but operates independently from the government.

The BBC's television license fee has caused much controversy over the years, and failure to pay for a license can result in a fine. There are a number of channels available to watch on British television, but only the BBC has the right to charge for theirs. It is not strictly thought of as media imperialism, as the content of the BBC is mainly British, though some may argue that it may not represent the multiculturalism present in Britain.

Especially as new technology allows more people from around the world to make their voices heard, there are an increasing number of critics who argue that media imperialism is not the threat it once might have been. Access to social media tools has allowed groups who might have been censored in the past to make their stories more widely known. Even older technologies, such as radio, can be very effective tools to allow a greater diversity of voices in the media landscape. Some critics even argue that, rather than passively accepting the cultural values that foreign media might impose on a smaller nation, people in those nations often pick and choose the aspects of that media that reinforces local values.

Newspapers: A Brief History

Julius Caesar For centuries, civilizations have used print media to spread news and information to the masses. The Roman Acta Diurna, appearing around 59 B.C, is the earliest recorded “newspaper”. Julius Caesar, wanting to inform the public about important social and political happenings, ordered upcoming events posted in major cities. Written on large white boards and displayed in popular places like the Baths, the Acta kept citizens informed about government scandals, military campaigns, trials and executions. In 8th century China, the first newspapers appeared as hand-written newsheets in Beijing. Johann Gutenberg   The printing press, invented by Johann Gutenberg in 1447, ushered in the era of the modern newspaper. Gutenberg’s machine enabled the free exchange of ideas and the spread of knowledge -- themes that would define Renaissance Europe. During this era, newsletters supplied a growing merchant class with news relevant to trade and commerce. Manuscript newssheets were being circulated in German cities by the late 15th century. These pamphlets were often highly sensationalized; one reported on the abuse that Germans in Transylvania were suffering at the hands of Vlad TsepesDrakul, also known as Count Dracula. In 1556 the Venetian government published Notizie scritte, for which readers paid a small coin, or “gazetta”. In the first half of the 17th century, newspapers began to appear as regular and frequent publications. The first modern newspapers were products of western European countries like Germany (publishing Relation in 1605), France (Gazette in 1631), Belgium (Nieuwe Tijdingen in 1616) and England (the London Gazette, founded in 1665, is still published as a court journal). These periodicals consisted mainly of news items from Europe, and occasionally included information from America or Asia. They rarely covered domestic issues; instead English papers reported on French military blunders while French papers covered the latest British royal scandal. Beheading of Charles I   Newspaper content began to shift toward more local issues in the latter half of the 17th century. Still, censorship was widespread and newspapers were rarely permitted to discuss events that might incite citizens to opposition. Newspaper headlines did announce the beheading of Charles I at the end of the English Civil War, although Oliver Cromwell tried to suppress all newsbooks on the eve of the execution. In 1766, Sweden was the first country to pass a law protecting press freedom. The invention of the telegraph in 1844 transformed print media. Now information could be transferred within a matter of minutes, allowing for more timely, relevant reporting. Newspapers were appearing in societies around the world. Japan’s first daily newspaper, Yokohama Mainichi Shimbun, appeared in 1870 (although printing from movable type was introduced in Japan in the late 16th century). Joseph Pulitzer   By the middle of the 19th century, newspapers were becoming the primary means of disseminating and receiving information. Between 1890 to 1920, the period known as the “golden age” of print media, media barons such as William Randolph Hearst, Joseph Pulitzer, and Lord Northcliffe built huge publishing empires. These men had enormous influence within the media industry, and gained notoriety for the ways in which they wielded their power. Newspapers have also played a role as disseminators of revolutionary propaganda. Iskra (The Spark), published by Lenin in 1900, is one notable example. On June 21, 1925, Thanh Nien made its debut in Vietnam, introducing Marxism to the country and providing information on the revolution’s strategic policies. Broadcast radio exploded onto the media scene in the 1920’s. Newspapers were forced to re-evaluate their role as society’s primary information provider. Like the new media technologies of today, the development of a low cost, alternative media source produced rumblings that radio would topple the newspaper industry. To respond to this new competition, editors revamped the paper’s format and content in order to broaden their appeal, and stories were expanded to provide more in depth coverage. No sooner had newspapers adapted to radio than they were forced to re-evaluate themselves in light of a new and more powerful medium: television. Between 1940 and 1990, newspaper circulation in America dropped from one newspaper for every two adults to one for every three adults. Despite this sharp decline, television’s omnipresence did not render the newspaper obsolete. Some newspapers, like USA Today, responded to the technological advancements by using color and by utilizing the “short, quick and to the point” stories that are usually featured on television. The technological revolution of today is creating new challenges and opportunities for traditional media. Never before has so much information been so accessible to so many. By the end of the 1990s, some 700 had web sites; today there are thousands. The amount and immediacy of information on the Internet is unparalleled, but it has not signaled the end of the newspaper’s relevance. Newspapers in print remain a popular and powerful medium for the reporting and analysis of events that shape our lives.

The news has at one point or another played a part in every one of our lives. Whether it is a weather report giving flash-flood warnings, information on presidential campaigns, or an obituary citing the death of a television personality, we crave it. Until the recent development and affluence of the Internet as a news source, newspapers have globally been the primary source of current events. Having become part of a daily routine in most lives, little is known of the immense history this learning tool holds.

The story begins some five centuries ago in Europe. Here, merchants would distribute newsletters written by hand containing information regarding the weather, economic conditions, wars and human-interest stories. Although this was the first known form of distributed written information, the country accredited with the creation of the first newspaper is Germany. In the late fifteenth century, a cross between a brochure and a pamphlet was dispersed among the people, the text containing highly sensationalized stories along with description of the current news events.

America, however, was a step behind. Publick Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestick, was the first newspaper published in America. Printed by Richard Pierce, and edited by Benjamin Harris, the first copy issued on September 25, 1690 would also be the last. It filled only 3 sheets of paper measuring six by ten inches, the equivalent of filling half of the front page of a newspaper today (14" x 23"). The paper had intended to be issued once a month.

The sudden discontinuation of Publick Occurrences would mean the last news offered to Americans for the next few years. Instead, newspapers published in London were read even though the "first true newspaper in English was the London Gazette, published four years later in 1666.

Fourteen years later, back in America, John Campbell, a bookseller appointed Postmaster of Boston, became the editor of the Boston News-Letter. The first issue was dated Monday, April 17 to Monday April 24, 1704 and contained only one advertisement. This was produced weekly and continued to be so even when William Brooker was appointed Postmaster to replace Campbell. Campbell refused to authorize the use of the title "News-Letter" to anyone else so Brooker called his newspaper the "Boston Gazette". Seven months later, Philip Musgrave was awarded the position of Postmaster in Boston and replaced Brooker. At this time, James Franklin, the printer of the Gazette, was also replaced. He wanted to start his own newspaper even though friends and family dissuaded him from doing so by telling him that Boston already had a sufficient number of newspapers (2) and a third could not survive. Despite this, Franklin went ahead and published his own newspaper, the New England Courant. The first issue was printed on August 19, 1721 making it the fourth newspaper published in America.

When James Franklin published an editorial criticizing the government, he was sent to prison. James' 13 year old brother and apprentice, Ben, took over the work of laying type, printing, and delivery of the issues. Six months later, James Franklin was forbidden to publish any more newspapers so the masthead now carried the name "Ben Franklin" as editor and publisher. Ben, now legally free of being an apprentice, and having a dislike for his brother James, ran away to New York and later to Philadelphia. The New England Courant kept publishing issues claiming Ben Franklin was editor and publisher until 1726 without anyone being the wiser.

The fact that newspapers had been so scarce in Europe, America, and many other continents is due to many factors. To find a literate man was no easy task after Europe was emerging from the black age. Paper was extremely expensive, and hard to come across, and the task of printing was long and laborious. The latter was still a problem even with the invention of the printing press in 1436.

A 39-year-old Johann Gutenberg came up with a printing method, where, by arranging stamps displaying the letters of the alphabet, one could construct a page of literature to be copied numerous times. This became known as the Gutenberg Press, one of the greater inventions the fifteenth century held. Although a giant improvement from hand copying, this method still required the rearrangement of the letters each time a new page was to be printed.

In the early 1800's the development of continuous rolls of paper enhanced the original Gutenberg Press as did a steam-powered press and a way to use iron instead of wood for building presses. This added efficiency of printing made the prices of printed goods more reasonable hence the term "penny press". This phrase originated when newspaperman Benjamin Day dropped the price of his New York Sun to a penny a copy in 1833. Historians have accredited the "penny press" as the first true mass medium.

Another advancement in the history of printing was the origin of Linotype, a method of creating movable type by machine instead of by hand. This was introduced in 1884 and marked a significant leap in production speed. In terms of the use of computers in the field of printing, especially newspapers, the progression is unbelievable. From the first daisy-wheel and dot matrix "impact" printers to common use of the non-impact printers: ink-jet, laser and thermal-transfer, printing presses are on the brink of becoming a thing of the past.

The big question regarding what the future holds for the old-fashioned newspaper is whether or not it will be overcome by the use of the Internet. Studies show that from 1992 to 1997, the weekly hours of using the Internet has increased from 1.8 hours, to 9.1. Although the evidence is convincing that in the future the use of computers will obliterate that of newspapers, sometimes the tangible aspect is too great to give up for a color monitor. You may be convinced that there's no better way to relax than with some black coffee and the front page. Or perhaps up-to-the-minute updates on top stories are more your interest. All we can say is: To each his own, but always keep an open mind.

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