Almost all of the readings touched upon the influence of local media versus global media. As Tunstall clearly points out, local, national, and regional media tend to have a stronger influence than international media. Thussu states that the localization of the global media’s main objective is to merely make a profit. Even with the emergence of satellite television and an increase in the number of channels, the majority are merely at the national and regional levels with only those dominated by the West ever reaching the international level. Mcchesney relates the structure of the current global media system to a neoliberal democracy which has resulted in a populace that is passive and apathetic concerned more with consumption than any kind of actual understanding.
Wan-Ying Lin’s piece was the one that interested me the most which spoke upon the importance of geo-ethnic media and the role it plays in both integrating minorities into society and also helping preserve their own culture. Its storytelling role also helps to bring the community together and became active participants within the host societies. I do think that Lin brings up an important point though that ethnic media’s role can be taken to the extreme where immigrant populations are more concerned with home news coverage than with what is actually taking place within the local community. I believe that geo-ethnic media has truly reached its goal once it has been able to provide citizens with both information on their home countries and local news and opportunities in order for them to become more incorporated into the community.
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I agree completely with your assertion regarding the importance of ethnic storytelling's role as a connector. The important thing is that this storytelling be balanced enough to enrich the lives of immigrants in their current community as well as massage the nostalgia that they feel for their home.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Chicago, I consistently tried to keep up with "Hoy" in order to see what Hispanic events were taking place in the city. Whether or not it was a good paper, I think that this particular geo-ethnic news source was helpful not only for the Hispanic community but also for those who wanted to become more involved in the Hispanic-American community.