My Global Media Empire

My very own global media empire? I feel a little bit unqualified seeing as the closest I’ve come to having a job in the media is the fact that my boyfriend works for The Age… unless temping as a receptionist at the now defunct News of the World offices for 2 weeks while on my gap year in London counts?

In all seriousness though my media empire would integrate news and opinion in both video and text formats.  I wouldn’t want to associate with the term ‘mass media’ which, according to Stevens, “undermines culture (2003 p.56)”.  In order to do this I’d ensure at least attempt to show various points of view by featuring writings from all points on the political spectrum for opinion pieces rather than become a single agenda pushing empire like Fox News.

I believe that in order to reach media empire status you need integration of your source of media into everyday lives and into the existing sources of media as well as having valued staff.  Taking a page out of Google’s book this would involve recruiting the best and brightest and ensuring loyalty through allowing them to work creatively whether that includes working wirelessly or ensuring a large level of autonomy.  

References:

Steven, P 2003, ‘Political economy: the howling, brawling, global market place’, The no-nonsense guide to global media2003, New Internationalist/Verso, Oxford, pp. 37-59

What is in a definition?

In 2005 Terhi Ratanen wrote a piece that sets out numerous academic definitions of Globalisation, which as I blogged about last week, is a word that is difficult to accurately and wholly define.

Quoted in this piece was Anthony Giddens who wrote that Globalisation was:

"the intensification of worldwide social relations, which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and visa versa (Giddens 1990 as in Ratanen 2005 p.6)"

I find this definition interesting as it was written in that historical time ‘before the internet existed’, that is a time that many of us don’t even remember. I like that Giddens was able to anticipate the impact that improvements in technology like the internet have changed our lives to allow for the local to become the global.  An easy example of this is the Arab Spring.  

(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Arab_Revolt_Map.png.)

Before the process of globalisation individuals throughout the Arab world would not have followed the uprising and eventual over throw of the Tunisian president in early 2011.  Improvements in communicative technology allowed individuals in nearby countries like Egypt and Libya to witness the success of the Tunisian protests which inspired them to act on a local level in their own countries with similar protests.

Gidden’s definition however does fail to specifically refer to the economic and environmental relations which due to globalisation have become worldwide issues with nation states decision effecting not only their people but also citizens worldwide.

References

Rantanen, T 2005, ‘Theorizing media globalization’, The media and globalization, Sage, London, pp. 1–18

Globalisation

Being as I am in my fourth year of a Bachelor of Arts/Commerce degree with politics and economics majors, Globalisation is one word that keeps coming up in my studies… but what does it mean?

Globalisation, in my view, is a word that doesn’t come with a quick and easy definition which is why I like Hatchen and Scotton’s (2002, p. 3) attempt at defining globalisation as “a broad and inexact term for a wide array of world-wide changes in politics, economics, trade, finance, lifestyles and cultures”.   Globalisation transcends borders, languages and cultures and allows for citizens to connect to each other from around the world.

The Benefits of Globalisation affects each and every one of us in Australia on a daily basis.  We have access movies, television shows and music from all around the world on a daily basis, although personally I’d happily give the US back Justin Bieber and the T.V show ‘Two and a half Men’.

Globalisation also has more serious downsides then the proliferation of Justin Biebers music. Economic inequalities have led to anti-globalisation movements such as the recent Occupy movement where protests that began in New York and quickly swept the world with groups of people Occupying cities as far spread as Australia and Mongolia.

References:

Hatchen, WA & Scotton, JF 2002, ‘News communication for a new global system’, The world news prism: global media in an era of terrorism, 6^th edn, Iowa State Press, Ames, pp3-14

I'm guessing that the only people reading this will be other people enrolled in ALC215...that is unless Globalisation and the Media blogs suddenly become insanely popular..?

Well my name is Eloise Treacy and I'm in my fourth (but not quite so final) year of a Arts (Politics and Political Thoughts)/Commerce (Economics) degree.  I stupidly started with an accounting major which is why I'll still have another semester to go after this one. I'm trying to limit my time at Burwood this semester so I can fit in some time to work so this is my first off campus unit!

Thanks for reading :)