Globalization

Globalization and Media Connectivity

Connectivity describes the extent, speed, and intensity of the international or intercultural exchange of information. Connectivity may be generated between entities, however defined, through various means of communication. Alongside mediated interpersonal communication (telephone, e-mail, letter, fax, and so on), communication that depends on mass media can also be understood as direct access to the range of communicative services produced by another country or culture (Internet; direct broadcasts by satellite); international broadcasting (special TV and radio services in foreign languages broadcast to other countries); imports or export of media); and access to information and contexts in another country or cultural area conveyed by journalism (international reporting on television, radio, the press; corresponding media services on the Internet).

One of the key factors shaping the globalization debate over the past decade was the fact that the means of transmission and the exchange of information beyond borders has increased dramatically. The “new media” have set the overall tone of the debate since the 1990s. However, it is far from certain that the new media, regardless of their many new forms, characterize the processes of globalization more than national journalism and international reporting.

The concrete form of connectivity via the new media depends on a range of technological, socioeconomic, and cultural parameters:

Technological reach and socioeconomic implications of media technology. Nation-states and cultural areas are characterized by very different technological capacities for transmission and reception in the field of satellite broadcasting, depending on the prevailing political and financial parameters. The same goes for the Internet. Regardless of the strong increase in the number of connections, a “digital divide” exists, above all between industrialized and developing countries, that restricts connectivity substantially.

User reach. The debate on the globalization of the media often fails to distinguish between technological reach and user reach. The number of those who use a technology per se lies below the technologically possible use—and cross-border use is only one variant of the use to which the new media may be put.

Linguistic and cultural competence. To communicate with people in other states and cultural areas or to use their media generally requires linguistic competence, which only minorities in any population enjoy. To avoid dismissing cross-border connectivity as marginal from the outset, it is vital to distinguish between various user groups: globalization elites and peripheries. Connectivity is without doubt partly dependent on the nature of the message communicated, including music, images, and text. Music enjoys the largest global spread, and images occupy a middle position (for example, press photographs or the images of CNN [Cable News Network], also accessible to users who understand no English), while most texts create only meagre international resonance because of language barriers.

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