Volume 2, No 2.

 
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Local identities and imported media: The fear of displacement in Puerto Rico

by Nancy Morris

The vulnerability of local cultures to imported mass media has been a theme in both international relations and communication studies for more than two decades. The notion that programming from the United States and other media-exporting countries deliberately or incidentally undermines the cultures of receiving countries has been variously termed "cultural imperialism", "media imperialism", "cultural domination", "cultural homogenisation", or at times "Americanisation". This paper suggests that one way to better understand these issues is by identifying the specific elements of the receiving culture that members of that culture consider to be threatened by imports. This examination of the question of imported culture focuses on Puerto Rico, a society that has been exposed to forces of globalisation through deliberate coercion, integration into US market culture and continuous exposure to imported media products.

The games people play: Television and cross-cultural identification

by Tony Wilson

"Games People Play" outlines an account of what it is for television audiences to identify with program content under cross-cultural conditions of reception. This paper seeks to show that the cognitive "play" of identification is not in conflict with, but can secure, creative and varied readings of a single text. Equally, emerging from the playful consciousness of identifying, viewers can energetically distance themselves from what is on screen. Media globalisation heightens concerns which have driven television studies for at least ten years. These preoccupations have surfaced in a prolonged discussion over the extent to which viewers can be said to be "active" or "passive" consumers of electronic media. Here, reflecting upon this academic debate, this paper considers audience talk amongst Chinese (in Melbourne) and Malaysians (in Kuala Lumpur), their appropriation or dismissal of Western televised meanings.

Dutch broadcasting media: Privatisation and commercialisation in view of European regulations

by Jan Servaes

In the last half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th Centuries, Dutch society was characterised by a phenomenon called ‘pillarisation’. Society knew a few divisions and the division lines were visible in all parts of society. Three large so-called ‘pillars’ emerged: the Catholics (about one third of the population), the Protestants, and the Social Democrats (both somewhat under 30 percent). These pillars were organised and structured as "closed communities", that is, each pillar was largely autonomous and engaged in little exchange or contact with other pillars. So, each pillar had its own political party, labour union, cooperative, health and school system and media. This paper discusses how as a result of modernisation, secularisation, and the emergence of new technologies the society gradually depillarised

Communication for social revolution: A revised analysis of the 1986 defeat of Marcos

by Bruce Horsfield

On Saturday, 22 February, 1986, anti-Marcos Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and General Fidel Ramos were tipped off that they were about to be arrested by Marcos. They moved decisively with about 100 soldiers to Camps Crame and Aguinaldo in the eastern suburbs of Metro Manila and declared their support for Cory Aquino, whom Marcos had just cheated out of an election victory. A political crisis ensued in which the world press showed People Power prevailing against the armed force of Marcos. Journalists and writers have since analysed People Power and from that literature several consensual accounts can be identified, favouring in turn the Catholic Church under Cardinal sin and helped by its Radio Veritas, the US State Department and the CIA, the Philippine left and the Christian citizens of Metro Manila. These themes are either religious or secular or some of both, depending on the writer. This paper challenges the dominant interpretations of People Power and adds new information to the communication history of the fall of Marcos.

Newspapers and the ‘open door’ policy toward Cuba: A sample of major US cities: ‘community structure’ approach

by John C. Pollock, Lorena E Shier, Patricia A Slattery

The US immigration policy has been the target of much probing and evaluation over the decades, and recently it has received renewed national and international attention. The magnitude of the Cuban exodus has prompted both intellectuals and citizens to speak out against the "open door" policy louder than ever. As public and professional opinions begin to waver from traditional views, the presentation of the exodus in the media may have a great effect on the national consensus. While Washington debates immigration issues, how newspapers report the present circumstances provides a significant area of study. This paper explores nationwide reporting on Cuban migration by looking at major city newspapers across the United States, analysing the level of favourability present in the articles and associating those levels with specific city characteristics.

  
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