Chapter 15: Mass Media GlobalizationChapter Insights- Philosophical premises explain differences between countries with free and controlled mass media- The principle of a free mass media is hard to keep in the crisis of war- Online media have created tools for fundamental changes in human governance and commerce- Governments can use mass media to reach people in other countries- Generalizations about Arab mass media are hazardous- Dynamics are in place to move China out of heavy-handed media censorshipMass Media and Nation-State- The world’s nations and media systems fall into competing, philosophically irreconcilable systems.- Authoritarianism places confidence in political and sometimes theocratic leadership for governance.- In contrast, libertarianism emphasizes the ability of human beings to reason their own way to right conclusions and therefore believes humans are capable of their own governance.- Democracy and a free mass media are in the libertarian tradition.War as a Libertarian Test- From the fog of war can come defining clarity on the irreconcilable clash between authoritarianism and libertarianism.- The trials of combat, with national survival at issue, can put even the greatest democracies to a test of their libertarian ideals.- Expedience can lead to contradictory policies—such as censorship and suppression of dissent.o In times of war, even little wars like Grenada, leadership consistently has declared that national survival trumps free express and a free pressOnline Global Reform- Online global communication has evolved quickly to challenge the most powerful structures that the humanspecies has created.- These structures include nation-states and mega-corporations and their traditional mode of operations, including secrecy.- With online tools, independent organizations like WikiLeaks are torpedoing government and corporate secrecy as contrary to the public good.o The secrecy that has been a core tool in statecraft and corporate policy is under new assault by online activistso The goal of activists is to force openness, transparency and accountabilityo Neither governments nor corporations have found ways to counter the leaks, in part because the internet is global and also because the sites have mechanisms to assure the anonymity of whistleblowerso The question is whether nation-states or mega-corporations can keep doing business as usualTrans-Border Soft Diplomacy- Mass media are important in statecraft.- Governments have beamed radio broadcasts across borders to bypass hostile governments and reach foreign audiences directly.- The Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty projects of the U.S. government date to the Cold War.- More recent projects are Radio and Television Marti for Cuban audiences and Radio Farda for Arab audiences.- The United States also subsidizes in-country media as part of its soft diplomacy in nation-building.o As part of its nation building programs in developing countries, the United States finances start-up mass mediao The greatest spending is in countries deemed critical to U.S. interests, like Afghanistano The goal of nation building is a self-sustaining national infrastructure, which, of course, includes functional broadcasting and web systemso Trans-border programming beamed into hostile countries was designed to turn people against theirgovernmentso This was a Cold War tactic from the 1940s through the implosion of the Soviet Union in the 1990sArab Media Systems- Media in Islamic regions do not fit a single mold.- These media operate in diverse political systems, some driven by theologies that themselves are inconsistent.- Others are pragmatically oriented to create pan-Arabic mass audiences.- Among the most successful is Al-Jazeera.o Although most nations in Islam-dominated regions are authoritarian, they are also diverseo Some of these countries have moved beyond religion and pragmatically sough the be part of the modern worldo Media production centers, notably in Lebanon and Dubai but also elsewhere, are cultivating trans-border and trans-cultural Arab and Islamic audiencesChina Media- The struggle between freedom and tyranny plays and replays itself out with the mass media offering case studies on broader issues.- Among major nations, China has suppressed challenges to government authority with the most labor-intensive censorship initiative in history.o China’s emergence as a global economic power hinges in part on its ability to tightly control mass mediao Government policy is to let nothing interfere with the stability necessary for the nation’s economic engine to remain in high gearo The government has created the largest pre-publication censorship apparatus in human history, called the Chinese Firewall, to monitor and censor incoming communicationo Within the country, both entertainment and news media are kept in check—although signs of loosening appear from time to