Literature review-globalisation In a twenty first century society where information can be shared globally with the click of a button,

understanding the processes and mechanisms behind international relations becomes increasingly important, as does the changing role of communication industries in relation to these. Manuel Castels defines globalization as a new historical reality, not simply one invented by neo-liberal ideology to convince citizens to surrender to markets, but also the one inscribed in processes of capitalist restructuring, innovation and competition (Castells, 1999). The restructuring and innovation of media and communications technologies is crucial when observing both the scalar transformation of economics and international trade, as well as the proliferation of social and cultural change, as telecommunications, information and media technologies such as broadband, cable, satellites and the internet facilitate transnational circulation of cultural commodities (Gorman, 2009). Thus, to discern the consequences of a global public sphere (Castells), I will begin my review with an analysis of the effects of old and new media on globalization; specifically the changing systems of media production and distribution in relation to increased individual agency and mass media. Identifying various responses to mass media culture becomes my next priority due to the prominence of discussion on U.S media imperialism and its dominating effect on global culture and national T.V and news industries. Government attempts to regulate globalization will be brought to light as new policies attempt to de-regulate an incredibly established media industry, as well as privatize various public-sector enterprises through mobilizing resources in a new technological environment. With the advent of the internet as the most widely used form of communication, networking becomes increasingly crucial in the proliferation of a common global identity. The reformation of traditional power structures from vertically hierarchical to collaboratively horizontal has seen the decentralization of large media corporations in terms of location and profit concentration, but has paradoxically resulted in the concentration of ideology due to the fragmentation of mass audiences into a huge number of isolated issue publics. (Habermas, 2006) The predominate association of Julian Assange with the creation of Wikileaks as a global networking technology has seen great potential for new forms of the public sphere and civic engagement (Habermas), as its alternative perspectives and isolated agency draw attention to the gaps between the democratic mission of journalism and the extent to which journalistsare quite likely to end up sharing the attitudes and sensibilities of those theyre supposed to scrutinize (Flew 2011). The leaking of hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables has further seen the rise of scientific journalism, through which news is still delivered by traditional channels, but also proven as fact by providing the original document on which a story is based. Castells provides an alternative view on the success of networking, commenting on the difficulty of coordination that requires concentration of resources within large organisations. While Wikileaks collaborative use of old and new media has seen the worldwide convergence of private and individual information sources, a major inhibitor in its success has been the manner in which traditional media outlets released the information Assange and his colleagues provided. The staggered release of Wikileaks documents through front-page scoops by Fairfax media were counter-intuitive to Assanges open-sourced ideology, as their information monopolization was consistent with journalism in an age of information scarcity, in an environment now characterised by information abundance (McNair, 2006). The conflicting perspectives of the Wikileaks debate

demonstrate that while a libertarian approach to global information sharing can result in a successful networking of private and individual interests, economic competition and the need to ensure profit leads to a restricted information flow, attributed in this case to the autocratic tendencies and elitist attitude of the hacking community at large. (Lovink & Riemens, 2010) When observing the technological components that affect international production and distribution of media-based commodities, it is imperative to analyse a range of opinions on the associated disintegration of national borders. Manuel Castels networked society theory provides evidence for the restructuring of national policy, as new forms of entertainment and information through digitally networked information and communications meant the end of the association of nationally based media with the development of national culture (Castells, 1999). Gorman and Macleans work on globalization theory proliferates this, further describing the role of new media, specifically international satellite television, in stimulating widespread condemnation of Chinese government and military actions during the 1989 Tiananmen square protests (Gorman & Maclean, 2009). This example effectively demonstrates the redefinition of the scope of global television, portraying its influence in affecting national politics and world diplomacy while further interpreting the gradual liberalization of the Chinese governments foreign policy as a result of the increased difficulty in policing communications technologies. However while the effect of television on mass consciousness and consumption is undeniable, Gormans analysis is rather idealistic, with a counter-argument proposing that real-time television coveragewill affect emotions but ultimately make no difference to the fundamental calculations in foreign policy making (Gowing, 2003). The widespread availability of information technology has seen the commodification of media products, with mass culture used as an excuse for the success and legitimacy of globalization. There has been a noticeable decline of a public service ethos within the production and distribution of news products, with the emphasis on entertainment and infotainment fueling the tendency of the media to give exaggerated attention to certain events (Gorman & Maclean). This widespread exaggeration has been highlighted through the pervasiveness and impact of the American media in conflict situations, specifically the symbiotic link between terrorism and mass media so prevalent post 9/11. The scale and widespread publication of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan provides evidence towards James Currans hypothesis that direct control over media production is an increasingly central dimension of power in contemporary societies (Couldry & Curran, 2003). While Castells networking theory idealised the breakdown of transnational corporations into smaller, decentralized businesses, the global permeation of U.S media imperialism has subversively resulted in a mass merger culture, where second tier media firms become absorbed into multinational media companies and come to dominate their own, localized markets. The connectedness of the global system requires media content deemed valuable to conform to the dominating interests of the market, thus excluding national interests deemed unprofitable by investors. James Curran effectively emphasizes this point, asking If a government is conscientiously attempting to provide better schools, better health care, housing and public utilities for its citizens, by what means can it raise the necessary funds without alarming investors who may be not at all interested in the wellbeing of those citizens, but merely in their own profits? (Curran & Seaton, 2001) U.S media imperialism can thus be seen to directly affect the cultural economies of smaller, less developed nations as their pre-existing cultural values are replaced by a one-way-flow of American consumerist advertising. Furthermore, the widespread

reach of multinational media corporations has had an adverse effect on the spectrum of culture within the United States, where big city newspapers and national radio and television programshave presided over a marked reduction in coverage of serious public affairs, not least in treatment of international affairs (Gorman, 2009). This has been reflected in the diminishing public trust in the news media, and supports Couldry and Currans paradoxical statement that the more wealth an entertainment system has, the more it shows programmes made specifically for its own audiences. John Tomlinson (2003) disagrees however, arguing that globalization has been perhaps, the most significant force in creating and proliferating cultural identity. The term alternative media, most recently coined by John Downing in his 2002 publication provides strong evidence against the global explosion of U.S imperialism by challenging the concentration of media resources in central institutions, whatever form those concentrations may take in different locations . Couldry and Currans analysis of alternative media strongly resonates with Castells networking theory, exemplifying how independently owned, neighbourhood communications networks helped spread news and slander amongst the urban Indonesian population in order to overthrow the government, despite millions not having direct access to traditional media outlets. Indeed, some alternative media have successfully reversed the flow of global information completely, such as the Chinese spiritual movement of Falun Gong, who have flooded the U.S media with material actively opposing the empowered communist government. They have used the organisational power of the web to develop globally resourced media activism [that] while of major local importance, need have no radical political potential (Couldry & Curran, 2003). Resistance to multinational imperialism is further, ironically demonstrated through the concentration of sales by multinational corporations within their home countries, such as the German automobile and Japanese electronics markets that remain remarkably closed to international goods and services. John Dunnings study of multinational corporations concluded that even in industries where sales abroad were of overall importance, the basis of profit was clearly in one home market first(Dunning, 1993). This study portrays the continued affiliation of individuals with their national identity, and suggests that American consumerism isnt as deeply ingrained within global consciousness as the majority of literature suggests. The link between state ownership and private funding is crucial for maintaining even market pressures on an international level according to Curran, and thus an analysis of the political economy of media production is inherent in understanding how and why governments attempt to regulate globalization. Eric Hobsbawm provides a solid opening argument for the regulation of international influence, distinguishing between the period of state building at the end of the nineteenth century and that at the beginning of the twentieth, where states often attempted to subsume cultural and economic inequalities, and indeed reduce them by redistribution. Flew proposes an equal, democratic society based on agnostic pluralism, where the prime task of democratic politics is not to eliminate passions from the sphere of the public in order to render a rational consensus possible, but to mobilize these passions towards democratic design (Flew, 2011). The mobilization of industry towards a protected national identity has been proliferated through changes in the European Unions policies regarding media production; a shift from free trade within television and film industries to a culturally-based approach designed to stimulate local production. Similarly, recent state subsidies of indigenous Australian media production are deemed effective by Christine Morris and Michael Meadows, as the importance of communication as a central organising element of

indigenous culture is acknowledged, along with the redefinition of intellectual property rights based not on individual possession but responsibility and reciprocity (Morris & Meadows, 2003). Such investments have been designed as a mechanism for preventing complete cultural assimilation, as well as to protect national film and television industries from corruption by relatively cheap American programming (Curran and Seaton, 2001). However despite all the efforts of national governments to protect their industries from foreign consumption, global finance flows mean that changes in national economic policy will invariably have a wider effect. David Held and Anthony McGrews (2007) chapter on the political economy of globalization reinforces the sobering state of attempted economic growth, describing how governments have reduced legal barriers to the movement across national borders of capital, goods and services. They have lowered taxes on international trade, attempted to create common international standards for services and products, and often have liberalized rules regarding investment inflows and outflows. The collapse of the Soviet Union is a prime example of the consequences of attempted international imperialism, as the uneven distribution of resources saw the breakdown of state infrastructure, including the state printing industry, resulting in massive economic instability and inequality. Despite previously discussed attempts at a regulated global economy, there is increasing inequality between countries in the world at largepolarization is on the rise everywhere with the ratio between the 20% highest and lowest incomes increased from 30:1 to 78:1 over thirty years. (Castells, 1999) This demonstrates the affiliation of economic openness with increased economic growth that while has been shown to increase the aggregate national benefit, results in competition that reduces the ability of national governments to provide for their citizens (Held & McGrew). The sheer number of conflicting perspectives regarding globalization makes it difficult to draw any empirical conclusions as to its overall international and national effect. Globalization is undoubtedly an extremely prominent force in the twenty-first century, and will most likely become more so as media and communications technologies increase in both speed and accessibility, giving individuals greater agency in terms of social and political voice. While national cultures appear to blend together as a result of the established U.S media imperialism, recent efforts to contain and sustain the cultural economy of nation states have had varying levels of success, in many cases strongly proliferating a sense of national identity within countries citizens as they form internal and external network communities. The breaking down of trade barriers has seen an increase in global economic inequality as the production and distribution of values becomes commoditized and profit-based, with international competition resulting in a reduction of the capacity of governments to care for their citizens. While the literature proposes accurate and relevant points relating to the previously made points, there is a marked absence of discussion on individual agency in either accepting or rejecting the effects of globalization, with case studies focussing on the implications for community groups and political parties. Toby Miller graciously provides a final quote regarding the expansive topic of globalisation, stating: one groups religious rite is anothers tourism ritual, one groups progressive textual interpretation is anothers targeted consumption, one groups avant garde is anothers music video and one groups counter history is anothers national identity (Miller, 2009).

References: Gorman, L. & MacLean, D. (2009). Globalization and Media in Media and Society into the 21st century: a historical introduction. Wiley Blackwell: Chichester, UK. pp.265-283. Castells, M. (1999). Information Technology, Globalization and Social Development, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, discussion paper no. 114. Habermas, J. (1989). The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. Flew, T. & Liu, B.R. (2011). Globally networked public spheres? The Australian media reaction to Wikileaks, Global Media Journal: Australian Edition, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1-13. McNair, B. (2010). In the long run WikiLeaks strengthens democracy, On Line Opinion, Retrieved 16 May, 2011, from http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=11339&page=0. Lovink, G. and Patrice R. (2010). Twelve theses on WikiLeaks. Eurozine, Retrieved 9 December, 2010, from http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2010-12-07-lovinkriemensen.html) Gowing, N. (2003). Real-Time Television Coverage of Armed Conflicts and Diplomatic Crises: Does It Pressure or Distort Foreign Policy Decisions? In Palmer, N. (ed.), Terrorism, War and the Press. Harvard University Press. p.15. Couldry, N. & Curran, J. (2003) Contesting Media Power: Alternative Media in a Networked World. Rowan and Littlefield, pp.3-15. Curran, J. & Seaton, J. (2001) Power Without Responsibility: The Press and Broadcasting in Britain. Routledge, New York. pp 237-317. Dunning, J. H. (1993) Multinational Corporations and the Global Economy. Wokingham, Addison-Wesley. Hobsbawm, E. (1994) The Age of Extremities, London, Allen Lane. Held, D. McGrew, A. (2007) The political economy of globalization in Globalization theory: approaches and controversies. Cambridge: Polity Press. pp. 106-126. Miller, T. (2009) From Creative to Cultural Industries, Cultural studies vol. 23, No.1 pp.88-99