Over the course of the semester we have discussed many theories and concepts surrounding media globalization and the effects of global media. Because the media landscape is always changing and expanding I thought it was important to look at the effects that new global news outlets are having on the current news flows (old media); how they are affecting who consumes them and how the new outlets are slowly chipping away at the power of the old media. More media is readily available to those who have access more now than ever before.   

These days information and news is provided instantaneously by a multitude of sources, long over are the days where world news was filtered and disseminated by old dominant media outlets. Now, consumers of media and news are seeking out new sources of unfiltered, instantaneous information. This can be in the form of a news outlet similar to Al Jazeera or the common use of social media websites like Twitter and Facebook, or even blogs written by people with no formal journalistic training who are simply reporting the news as they see it happening. Thomas L. Friedman, an American journalist and New York Times editorial columnist, explains the impact that media globalization has had,


“[Media globalization] … will be seen in time as one of those fundamental shifts or inflection points, like Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press, the rise of the nation-state, or the Industrial Revolution—each of which, in its day, noted Rothkopf, produced changes in the role of individuals, the role and form of government, the ways business was done and wars were fought, the role of women, the forms religion and art took, and the way science and research were conducted, not to mention the political labels that we as a civilization have assigned to ourselves and our enemies.”


By comparing media globalization to Gutenberg’s printing press and the Industrial Revolution, Friedman brings to light just how much of a phenomenon media globalization is and how immense of an impact it has had on everyone’s everyday lives whether or not you chose to consume media it is impacting one or more aspects of your day to day happenings. 

New global media, as of late, has begun to affect politics in a different way than I believe it has in the past. In past decades, there is no doubting the fact that the old dominant flows of media have been able to set the agenda or sway the public when it comes to the electing of government officials and other news surrounding our nation’s governments.  Even Rupert Murdoch himself has been quoted as saying he has definitely tried to set the agenda and has also noted that while he doesn’t necessarily choose what is printed in his paper on a day to day basis, he is in charge of choosing the editors.  More recently, global media has taken this a step further and has impacted politics and social change in a more positive way; most notably the events of the “Arab Spring” and how the widespread use of social media effected political and social change through protests and marches among many other things. 

Social media, although an important tool in these social uprisings in the Middle East, cannot take all the credit for the positive changes in these nations and the taking down of these oppressive regimes. Before the explosion of social media, there were news outlets like Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya that were acting as “whistle blowers” to the old dominant flows and offer alternative, less filtered sources for world news.  The documentary, Control Room, was an eye-opening experience; before viewing it I had a one dimensional view of the coverage of the Iraq War. The documentary provided another look into what was going on during that time from the perspective of the people living through the actual news that was being reported abroad. Al Jazeera offered a less censored version of what was going on during the war, acting as a whistle blower to the old dominant news flows that were trying to portray the war in a positive light in order to maintain the support of the people here at home. While I don’t believe this was the first time American news outlets tried to “set the agenda” it was, however, one of the first times that they were successfully challenged by other media outlets. Al Jazeera offered a supplemental source of coverage that was sought out by those wanting to know more. 

In the book The Al Jazeera Effect: How the New Global Media Are Reshaping World Politics, author Philip Seib discusses the effects that news outlets like Al Jazeera in the Arab world and Telesur in Latin America are having on the world’s political landscape and the idea of “virtual states”.  Seib says,


“The battle for hearts and minds in the Middle East is being fought not only on the streets of Baghdad but also on the newscasts and talk shows of Al Jazeera. China’s future is being shaped not solely by Communist Party bureaucrats but also by bloggers working quietly in cybercafés. Al Qaeda’s next attacks will not necessarily be directed from Osama bin Laden’s cave but from cells around the world connected by the Internet.”


With the emergence of these new global media outlets things are being done differently, no longer is the Western style of journalism the only accepted form; even though, many try to dismiss Al Jazeera and other similar new media outlets because of their “lack of objectivity.” Seib states a case that proposes that objectivity may not be a standard that these news outlets are necessarily held to because, “They are credible; that’s what matters” (Seib, 2008).  Objectivity as we discussed in class, is an unfair barometer on which to grade journalism, fairness is and will continue to be a better quality of journalism. With the rise of these new global media outlets, governments here and abroad can no longer micro-manage the information flow that is being consumed by their citizens.   

Wanting to know more and not taking everything in the news at face value are other reasons new global media is having such an impact on people today.  While the old dominant flows, the Big 4, and news outlets like the BBC, News Corp and Fox News, and CNN-Time Warner still control the market in terms of viewers and market value there has definitely been a shift to the counter-powers of global media including but not limited to Al Jazeera and forms of digital media, specifically social media like Facebook and Twitter.  Recently in a survey done by Grayling Momentum, a company that specializes in Public Relations services across the Middle East, Al Jazeera was named the most trusted news channel in the United Arab Emirates and was even more recently acknowledged by Senator Hilary Clinton who praised the channel for its coverage on events in the Arab world. 

Similarly, social media has received praise among its users and “produsers” because of the fact that it is not edited or controlled by anyone except for the people who are using it. While this does not ensure that what you are consuming is the truth or fact, it offers an alternative source of news that is not jaded by the owners of a large corporation that is trying to set an agenda or be viewed in a certain way by its news consumers. In The Al Jazeera Effect, Seib says, “’the media’ are no longer just the media,” I think this is telling of the social media movement that has exploded on the global media scene. While Facebook, Twitter, and other social media site users probably do not consider themselves members of the media they can, at times, become just that. Towards the end of Mubarak’s regime in Egypt much of the news flow coming out of the area was via Twitter and Facebook, so much so that the government shut down Twitter in efforts to regain control during the social uprisings this January.  While social media cannot be given all the credit for the events in Tunisia, the fall of Mubarak’s regime, the conflicts in Libya and other Arab nations it certainly has acted as a catalyst or vehicle to social change. Social media’s whole purpose is to connect the unconnected to things they are interested in. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and general counsel Alexander Macgillivray made a statement after Twitter had been shut down last January,


“Our goal is to instantly connect people everywhere to what is most meaningful to them. For this to happen, freedom of expression is essential. Some Tweets may facilitate positive change in a repressed country, some make us laugh, some make us think, some downright anger a vast majority of users. We don’t always agree with things people choose to Tweet, but we keep the information flowing irrespective of any view we may have about the content.”


In essence, this is why social media has been so successful and will continue to be so popular with its users. The social media landscape was designed to be void of censorship, filtering and editing done by anyone except for those choosing to use it. This raises a question we discussed in class, “so, should we worry about global media consolidation in the age of horizontal communication?” Because of deregulation there is always a fear of companies like Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites being bought up by the “old media barons,” but if these sites continue to see growth and the impact that they are having on media globalization I don’t think this will happen. Facebook and Twitter’s whole foundation centers on the fact that they are user friendly and devoid of any editing or control. 

The impact of new global media outlets on the current news landscape cannot be denied; but what also cannot be denied is the fact that the old dominant media flows, whether that be the Big 4, BBC, Fox News or CNN, have not lost their hold on the market in terms of money and exposure. News stations like Al Jazeera and Telesur along with social media sites are beginning to have a palpable impact on our world’s current news flow, which will only continue to grow.



Sources:


Hickman, Mary. "The Effects of Media Globalization." Quoted Thomas L. Friedman. accessed via google search.


Seib, Philip. "The Al Jazeera Effect: How the New Global Media Are Reshaping Politics." Potomac Books. September 2008.


http://socialtimes.com/twitter-tweaks-egyptian-government-for-internet-shutdown_b54596


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