The Media

Learning Objectives

• Analyze and evaluate the role of some English-language media in the international society

• General and specialized vocabulary

• Digital competence

• Film analysis

• Critical use of sources

Global Media

An Interconnected World

• Global Media• Internet• The print media

– Newspapers, magazines

• Advertising• TV• Online News Channels

– BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera

• Movie Industries– Hollywood, Bollywood

• Radio (?)

Global Media and the English Language

English – A Lingua Franca

• A lingua franca – is the language people who speak different native languages use in order to communicate with each other – e.g. French, Spanish, English, German, etc.

• English is the lingua franca in the global media today

• E.g it is claimed that 80% of all Internet content is in English

Early Media History – The Telegraph

The Telegraph 1837

The 'Victorian Internet' • The invention of the electric

telegraph made rapid communication possible between Europe and America, and between Britain and her distant colonies such as Australia.

• It was as revolutionary for its time as Internet is for our time

Early Media History – The Radio

The early 20th century

• Another revolution

• Broadcasting news, music, entertainment and advertising

• Reached masses of people

Early Media History -TV

In the UK around 1930

• Yet another revolution• Soon developed in other parts

of the world• Within 3 years USA had a

million TV – viewers• Television broadcasts were

local or regional until the 1980s

• 1980s - development of global satellite technology

The Information AgeThe Internet

• Developed by US military in the 1970s

• Software programs were soon developed

• The mass communication tool of the 20th century

• It is continually growing• Has introduced the Information

Age• Instrumental in bringing the

world closer together

The Power of the Internet• All the world’s media is available on

the Internet– News– Advertising– Movies– Radio– TV, etc.

• Provides unlimited amount of information, news, entertainment, etc.

• Attempts at censorship have failed• Available to everyone with knowledge

of and access to Internet • Anyone can contribute• Also major source of misinformation

and abuse

The Print Media

Print Media– Newspapers– Magazines

Examples of Global Print Media– Time magazine– Newsweek– National Geographics– Vogue, Cosmopolitan (fashion

magazines)– Esquire (men’s magazine)– O (Oprah’s magazine)– BBC Gardeners’ World– Playboy

AdvertisingAdvertising

– TV and radio commercials

– Print advertisements

– Electronic billboards

– Public building and road posters

– Internet advertising• E.g. Website banners

– Spam (e-mail)

– Mobile phone instant messaging

• Most of the world’s media are run by advertising

• Aggressive advertisng campaigns are run world-wide by major international corporations (Microsoft, Nike, Coca Cola, McDonalds, Kelloggs, etc.)

Global Media – A Source of Variety?

• Not really!• Media broadcasting around the world looks

pretty much the same everywhere

• TV – adopting similar formats– TV-series, films, weather reports, morning

news, weather reports, soap operas, reality-TV series, game-shows are the same or pretty much the same world-wide

• TV-companies world-wide copy or buy programmes that are popular from one another

• Local TV-stations buy programmes from media giants like BBC, Time Warner and Disney

• Films made in Hollywood are bought by local cinemas around the world or downloaded legally or illegally from the Internet or watched on cable-TV

• As a result of economic factors and consumer demands, few TV-shows are produced locally

The Effect of Globalized NewsCuriously Similar – Why?• News

– News are sold by a few, Anglo-American news services like Reuters, United Press International and the Associated Press which have offices around the world

• Media networks compete for global audience

– Sensationalizing news events and situations – Less emphasis on information, thorough

analysis, background information on or causes of wars, disasters, and crisis – more focus on entertainment

– Trying to arouse viewers` and readers` emotions

– Move fast from one scandal, hot topic or disaster to another – human tragedies are easily forgotten

Picture: Reuters in London

Cultural Influences and Values• Media decides what is news and what

is not• It controls the information we have

about what is happening in the world and what information we do not have about world events

• It shapes our view of the world – as people do not have much time or opportunity to search for information themselves

• There is also a fear among some people that globalized media will do away with cultural differences through TV, advertising, Internet, movies, etc.

• Some fear that local cultures will be replaced by Western or American values – especially those in American TV-series

By Nina Sandström Angelsen

Selbu videregående skole