Presentation Journal: Europe's Doorstep (Turkey and Israel)

It seems that both Turkey and Israel want to control their borders by deciding which media they allow to influence their nations. However, at times, the result is that they end up constraining the rights of their citizens through censorship. Both nations also have conflicting minority groups they must deal with. To maintain its nationalistic sense in a global world, Turkey sometimes has to have a heavy hand with its citizens, especially with the Kurds, who are considered to be anti-nationalistic. The example of YouTube being blocked for a while in Turkey, despite its popularity, shows how there is a rift between the government and its people. Israel’s culture, which is 75 percent Jews and 25 percent Arabs, is both mixed and conflicted. The government controls the media to unify the culture, which, once again, reminds us that the minority often gets pushed aside in favor of the majority. The United States also seems to have a strong influence on Israeli media, and perhaps on the media of neighboring Arab countries as well.

Presentation Journal: South East Asia

Intense media censorship is definitely the trend in South East Asia, more specifically Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. In Singapore, corporations own all media outlets and maintain economic ties to the government, allowing governmental influence. The material is also censored to discourage political dissent and protect the multi-national public. Media is often banned if it goes against the government's strict laws. Journalists often leave the country to report elsewhere. In Malaysia, media is controlled and operated by the government, and some private corporations, both working closely together. Any material that threatens the government, or one of the ethnic groups, is banned or censored. The government is also known to block foreign media in the pursuit of becoming a more independent, information technology leader. Vietnam’s media is owned by the government; all are subject to censorship, especially if the material is political and against the government in any way. The Internet is the most regulated, with bloggers and social media closely monitored. Foreign films are often censored. Many argue these nations should focus more on human rights and less on censorship and control.

Presentation Journal: Eastern Europe

Countries in Eastern Europe (more specifically: Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia and Moldova) appear to have some freedom of expression in their media, but they are hindered by forms of censorship that seem to loosen up a little each day. In Poland, journalism is viewed as very prestigious, with the primary outlet being the newspaper; the public, as a whole, is heavily involved and interested in the news. The Czech Republic is extremely advanced in technology compared to most countries in Eastern Europe. Their newspapers seem to contain more tabloid fodder than serious news to draw readers. The Czech Republic is also influenced by outside investors, like Germany and Switzerland, who own national and regional newspapers. Russia is a giant country, which makes it difficult for the media to reach all of the cities and towns. Many Russian citizens were illiterate, so the government used the media to spread propaganda to the masses and gain influence. But, the new leader, President Medvedev, is focusing on modernizing the country and encouraging more freedom. And lastly, one of the poorer nations, Moldova, has a lot of indirect censorship; journalists are widely censored by the government. Basically, Moldova has been held back from developing properly due to lack of money, poor management, and political and economic pressures.

Group Research Collaboration: Media Flows and Expansion of Telecommunications Corporations beyond the Latin America Region

As South American countries begin to invest global, privately owned conglomerates have been at the forefront of economic growth. In 1997, Argentina’s cable television network became so large it had to restructure its payment system to be able to continue offering over 65 channels (Paxman). One of the driving forces of this change was Grupo Clarin’s move towards becoming a global company. Grupo Clarin is a privately owned conglomerate of various media outputs with most of its revenue coming from its television shows. Its cable subsidiary is Latin America’s largest; single multiple system operators with 1.3 million subscribers. Historically, Clarin has avoided overseas partnerships for years and preferred supporting local alliances. However, in 1997 Clarin joined other mega telenovela exporters Televisa, Venevision and RCTV in opening a sales office in Miami (Paxman).

Furthermore, the telenovela has become Latin America’s most sought after international media export with investors from Asia to Europe taking note of its growing popularity. One particular example of its international significance is seen through the Colombian-produced telenovela Betty la Fea. The author of "Latino soaps go global" states, “When India's Sony Entertainment Television (SET) adapted the popular Colombian telenovela, Betty la Fea into its own Hindi language version, titled “Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin”, ratings for the timeslot increased over 200%”. Noticing similar trends in both Latin America and in the U.S. on the Telemundo network, CEO of the Venevision channel in Venezuela points to its success stating, "Telenovelas have been able to grow outside their core markets because they are extremely effective for programmers in guaranteeing consistent numbers for an extended period of time". With such profitable international markets and relatively easy programming, La
tin America has become a major player in exporting locally produced media products.

In Venezuela, the impeding government crisis can be one of the reasons Grupo Cisneros has decided to take their investments global. Grupo Cisneros has been making its moves away from Venezuela and Venevision into satellite phone service and the world of telecommunications. In addition to this, pay-tv ventures that include partnerships with companies like Direct TV, Hearst, and Playboy entertainment can be considered the extension of the South American media empire (Burnett and Conde, 25).

In Nicaragua, television users are exposed to ‘transnational level programming’ with 60% from Mexico and 15% from the United States. The rest comes from neighboring Latin American countries, providing media such as telenovelas and sports on ‘transnational-global level’ (Aguilar, 2005). In addition, programming such as “CNN,” Hollywood movies, and other foreign media can also be viewed in Nicaragua. Recently, Latin American producers and distributors have prepared arrangements with U.S. satellite and cable services to offer and have available more channels and content. Furthermore, U.S. companies such as TNT and HBO have modified their shows to be more compatible with Latin America. However, even though 93% of Nicaraguan homes have a television, only 4% have cable due to the expense (Aguilar). This lack of media technology has a negative effect on foreign countries trying to influence or gain profit through television within the country.

Articles:

Paxman, Andrew. “The Global 50”. SPECIAL REPORT: Variety 92nd Anniversary Issue; Pg. 45

"Latino soaps go global. " Television Business International 1 Jan. 2004: ProQuest Central, ProQuest. Web. 9 Nov. 2010.
Link: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=813923411&sid=17&Fmt=3&clientId=9269&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Burnett, Kate, and Pablo Conde. "Media's Feared and Revered - Kate Burnett and Pablo Conde Profile Four of the Biggest and most Powerful Media Owners." Campaign March 21 2003: 25. Print.

Aguilar, Jorge A. “Viewing America: A Qualitative Analysis on How Nicaraguan Citizens Perceive U.S. Lifestyle and How U.S, Television Programming Influences Those Perspective”. 2005.
Link: http://etd.fcla.edu/UF/UFE0010825/aguilar_j.pdf

Linking with the Group (Latin America)

Propaganda campaigns have transformed many countries over the decades on both local and global scales. In particular, the Latin American countries of Venezuela, Argentina and Nicaragua, as well as the Caribbean country of Cuba, have been influenced by Western media. In Venezuela, the media is mainly owned by family businesses, such as Grupo Cisneros (Venevision). Their president, Hugo Chavez, showed how media can be used as a dangerous weapon. He directed attacks against journalists and freedom of expression when the media went against his policies. In other scenarios, he used television media to gain popularity. Latin America, as a whole, adapted its media from the West, received foreign investments, and even telecommunication technology. All of these had a huge impact on their media development.

Cuba serves as an example of the Soviet Presence in Socialist countries within Latin nations. The country had poor relations with the United States, which resulted in an embargo. Under President John F. Kennedy, the United States had an anti-Fidel Castro propaganda campaign; when attempts failed to remove him from power, they developed media to influence the Image of Cuba (Radio Marti and TV Marti). Despite all U.S. efforts, Cuba still has a tight grip on its citizens and strong nationalism. The country is still against ideas of democracy and capitalism. Telenovelas remains their only non-state controlled media.

When the United States, or the local Latin American country, didn’t have much media influence on a region, Europe filled the gap. Argentina was involved with a British Propaganda campaign trying to persuade the U.S. to combat Germany in WWII, by bullying and bribing Latin American media to broadcast their messages. The United States used paper media to compete against Europe’s lead in international news. Argentina was highly-ranked for having access to the Internet, and half of Argentina’s households had cable before 2000. Television was viewed as having a prominent influence over the people of Argentina. They had access to a plethora of American networks, including American advertisements, which served as a technique to westernize Latin America.

Nicaragua, a third world country with high illiteracy and low college enrollment rates, makes media a main source of education, knowledge and manipulation, at least to the poorer and less educated crowd. Under President Ronald Reagan, the United States used the media (legally and illegally), along with the Marines and CIA, to promote its agenda of democracy and anti-communist views. The U.S. also supported different sides through funding or armaments, as shown through Contras and Sandinistas. There was also a trend in the United States’ influence: it would start off strong and, after a while, it would weaken. Eventually, the media influence of Europe and other local Latin American countries would emerge as more prominent than that of the United States. The West started the media boom; Latin and Central America have not been able to reap the full benefits of Globalization. However, they are starting to benefit through privatization and advancements in telecommunications, independence and media outlets of their own.