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.

ISBN 0745639097   DEWEY edition DC22 ISBN13 9780745639093 (What's this?)   Pages 232 Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd   Volumes 1 Imprint Polity Press   Weight (grammes) 374 Format Paperback   Published in Oxford Publication date 30 Jan 2007   Height (mm) 229 Translator Skinner, Alex   Width (mm) 155 Library of Congress P   Spine width (mm) 17 DEWEY 302.23   Academic level Professional / Scholarly

* Introduction *1. Theory - structural transformation of the global public sphere? *1.1 System connectivity *1.2 System change *1.3 System interdependence *2. International reporting - 'No further than Columbus...' *2.1 The world-view of international reporting *2.2 The global non-dialogue of 11 September 2001 *2.3 The Iraq War 2003: war reporting in the far from obsolete nation state *2.4 The myth within the myth: the 'CNN effect' *3. Satellite television - the renaissance of world regions *3.1 Cross-border media use and the triumph of the monolingual middle classes over cosmopolitan elites *3.2 Global television and the 'spiral of silence' afflicting democratisation *3.3 The regionalisation of the media in geo-linguistic areas: 'Huntington' on the small screen *3.4 The case of al-Jazeera: an 'Arab CNN'? *4. Film and programme imports - entertainment culture as the core of media globalisation *4.1 Who's afraid of Uncle Sam? Relativising American cultural hegemony *4.2 How the globalisation of entertainment culture helps permeable national cultures modernise *5. The Internet - the Information Revolution which came too late for the 'Third Wave of democratisation' *5.1 The Net as Tower of Babel *5.2 The digital divide *5.3 Virtual cosmopolitanism *5.4 The 'Zapatista effect' *6. International broadcasting - from national propaganda to global dialogue and back again *6.1 After 11 September: the new war in the ether *6.2 Interdependence gaps and attempts at reform *7. Media and immigration - ethnicity and transculturalism in the media age *7.1 Cultural exiles and bi-culturals: immigrant media use *7.2 A persistent cultural deficit: xenophobia in the age of global media *8. Media policy - why the state continues to play a role *8.1 The 'New World Information Order' in the age of globalisation: the rudiments of a pancapitalist vision

"A comprehensive analysis that nicely summarizes and integrates existing research ... I would not hesitate to assign the book in upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses." British Journal of Sociology "A well-argued, much-needed intervention that pleads for better scholarship to illuminate the 'necessary myth' of globalization ... translated into very readable English by Alex Skinner." Global Media and Communication "This book will provoke controversy amongst media scholars and it will certainly become a 'must read' for any student working in the field." Colin Sparks, University of Westminster "Hafez's book is well written. The point is made convincingly that so far no global public sphere has been established. Therefore it seems too early to talk about a paradigmatic change of the global communication system. Nevertheless, Hafez argues, the myth of globalization has been helpful for a better understanding of global processes." Hans Kleinsteuber, University of Hamburg

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