MediaTheory: New World Information & Communication Order (NWICO) (W11-P4) Fa18

America's Problem with UNESCO Pt. 1 

America's Problem with UNESCO Pt. 1 (2012)


Now some background, some context, some history.

“New World Information and Communication Order” (NWICO) [a.k.a. NWIO].

• By the early 1970s many nations see the strong need to alleviate/lessen the problems related to international communication (see issues/controversies covered previously). They call for NWICO. They seek a new world policy.
• Controversy about controversies. Debates about the debates.
• Problem dealt with mainly within UNESCO.
• "UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) – contributes to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and communication in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations."

‘76-‘78	The Mass Media Declaration calls for “free flow and a wider and more balanced flow of information.”  Declaration was passed, but will to implement was weak.
‘79-‘80	Begins to unravel. Western gov’t & media concerned.  Agreed that MacBride Commission to study world “communication problems.”
‘80-‘83	Western press lobby groups and U.S. press begin to play a stronger role.  Influencing U.S. gov’t.
12/84	U.S. (Reagan administration w/ influence from the Heritage Foundation) withdraws from UNESCO
‘85-	UNESCO’s stance of NWICO wavers.  NWICO dead?  We have a New Order but it is “the order of the advanced industrialized nations” (Mowlana).

Update:
2002: UNESCO welcomes back U.S.A.
2011: U.S. withholds funding to UNESCO [video]
2013: U.S., Israel lose voting rights at UNESCO over Palestine row
2015: The United States' Reelection to the UNESCO Executive Board
2017: US withdraws from UNESCO [video]


If you are interested, America's Problem with UNESCO Pt. 2 (Daily Show, 2012)






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MediaTheory: Media Imperialism & the Mindset of "The Burden" (W11-P3) Fa18

Media Imperialism (Anglo-American Dominance)

Imperialism: “the extension or imposition of power, authority, or influence.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online)

Imperialism is justified under “the White Man’s Burden” views. (See 1899 poem by Rudyard Kipling entitled “White Man’s Burden”)

Part of Poem:

"Take up the White Man's burden‑‑
        Send forth the best ye breed‑‑
Go, bind your sons to exile
        To serve your captives' need;
To wait, in heavy harness,
       On fluttered folk and wild‑‑
Your new‑caught sullen peoples,
       Half devil and half child."

This is an example of the imperialistic mindset.

This cartoon from 1903 is a follow-up to the poem and the imperialistic, racist mindset.

To where is the "native" being taken?  For what purpose?

And now...
Media Imperialism: “the imbalance and inequality in flow of mass media materials between developed and developing countries, and its subsequent effect on the developing country’s society and culture”(Araby in Frederick,1994).

Can you develop another definition related more to the definition of imperialism above?

Western (American) Media Imperialism.
Q: What American values can be found in its media products?
A: Individualism, materialism, adventurism, etc.

Effects of Media Imperialism?

See below the relevant quote William Loren Katz wrote in his book "The Black West: A Documentary and Pictorial History of the African American Role in the Westward Expansion of the United States."

"The 1890s, which opened with the closing of the [U.S. western] frontier, closed with the beginning of American imperialist expansion. From Puerto Rico in the Caribbean to the Philippines in the Pacific, industrialists and bankers found a new frontier brimming with opportunity. To justify the control of darker peoples abroad, white supremacy arguments again flooded the land. White racism at home or abroad employed the same rhetoric and wielded the same weapons" (Katz, 1996, p. 321).

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MediaTheory: International Journalism: North Korea & Theories of the Press (W11-P2) Fa18

North Korea: An Example

What type of press system does North Korea have?  See What is the North Korean media like?




What are the different types of press systems around the world?


In the late 1950s Siebert, Peterson and Schramm (aka Uncle Wilbur) identified four types of press systems that existed in countries up until the 1950s.

They published their findings in their book titled Four Theories of the Press: The Authoritarian, Libertarian, Social Responsibility and Soviet Communist Concepts of What the Press Should Be and Do (Illini Books)

In the book they highlight the relationship between the form of government that a nation has and the press that operates within it.

The four theories:

1. Authoritarian
1. Purpose of the Press: To serve and promote the government/rulers
2. Ownership of Press: private or public
3. Notes/Examples: England/Western European countries 19th century and before; Afghanistan under the Taliban
2. Soviet-Communist
1. Purpose of the Press: To serve and promote the government or the Communist party
2. Ownership of Press: public
3. Notes/Examples: Soviet Union and other communist countries
3. Libertarian
1. Purpose of the Press: To inform (i.e., present the facts) and monitor the government
2. Ownership of Press: Mostly private
3. Notes/Examples: England
4. Social Responsibility
1. Purpose: To monitor the government.  While another purpose is to inform (i.e., present the facts to) the citizens, this press system goes beyond just presenting the facts to promoting understanding and discussion/debate related to those facts.  
2. Ownership of Press: Private
3. Notes/Examples: U.S., Canada

What would it be like being a journalism student or a journalist working in these different press systems?

Do you think that these four theories still adequately describe the types of press systems that operate in the countries of today?  Does, for example, the introduction of social media, require modifications to the four theories?

The work of Siebert, Peterson and Schramm has received criticism and updating.  If you are interested, see for example the following books.

Last Rights: Revisting Four Theories of the Press (History of Communication)

Normative Theories of the Media: Journalism in Democratic Societies (History of Communication)

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