Globalisation Vs Localisation

Are global media giants threatening our media ecology? New media technologies have undoubtedly changed our media landscape but for better or for worse?


The international economy is now ‘dominated by a few megacorporations, increasingly global in the production, distribution and consumption their goods and services’ (Schiller in Thussu, 2006, p 59). In general media flows now move from the core- the Western word- to the periphery. Some media theorists believe that such patterns have led to the proliferation of Western – and in particular American – cultural products with their associated values of individualism and consumerism.

Globalisation of the media also poses a threat to local languages. UNESCO notes that there is a current trend of biodiversity loss and degradation in terms of language. They predict that up to 3000 languages word wide are endangered. English tops the hierarchy of international languages. It is becoming increasingly accepted that ‘English, preferably American English…is the accepted vehicle of global communication’, rendering other languages irrelevant (Satchidanandan cited in Thussu, 2007, p 163).


In terms of news reporting there are concerns that local news is being overlooked in place of easy standardised global content. This is a real issue as to be able to participate in community life and make political choices, citizens rely heavily on information. It is important that citizens know what is going on in their local area. While I read the Sydney Morning Herald every morning I also read my local paper, The Newcastle Herald, as I believe it is so important to be informed about the current issues in my local community. When I don’t read the local paper I feel really out of the loop. For example at the moment The Newcastle Herald is playing an important role in informing Novacastrians about the future of the Newcastle CBD. I also really value the local ABC radio station which won a Walkley Award for their reporting on the 2007 Newcastle floods. During the floods we had 1233 on all day and night, listening for any important updates. If there were only had centralised production centres it would be a real loss for local communities. We can already see this starting to happen - for example our ‘local’ news from Prime and Southern Cross Ten come from Canberra-based studios.

While all these factors definitely raise alarm bells for me – it is important to look also at the positive effects of am increasingly globalised media. We must remember that mediums such as the internet allow consumers to ‘cherry pick’ information. This allows consumers to browse alternative media sources and to have a healthy scepticism about what is reported in the mass media. It also allows for citizen journalism and the increased freedom of speech. For example Natalie Devlin mentioned in her seminar that an Iraqi girl who goes by the name of Sunshine has a blog about her everyday life in war torn Iraq. This is not something she could have published in her local media but the internet allows her to share her life story with the world. Here is a link to her blog http://livesstrong.blogspot.com/. It can also help give increased awareness to global issues as people are becoming more aware of what is going on at an international level.


Having said this we must also be aware that while we may be more conscious of what is happening at in international level this does not necessarily give us any more analytical tools. There may be a lack of analysis and as my tutor pointed out the globalisation of media not only allows a message to travel around world but it can also allow the an incorrect message to travel around the world.


Another interesting point that was made by my tutor was that perhaps social media has come about as a result of people feeling disconnected from their local communities? I would be interested to look into this more. Here is a great video that delves into the idea of online communities emerging as a way to fulfil a hunger for a sense of community.


If this video is too long for you to watch one of the more interesting points to take away from it is the idea that ‘there’s this cultural inversion going on where we are becoming increasingly individualised yet still have this really strong desire and value for community. We are becoming increasingly independent while longing for stronger relationships. We see increasing commercialization around us and yet we long for authenticity.’ (Wesch, 2008). This video really shows that human craving for a strong community. I believe local media is one factor that helps people feel a sense of connection.

In conclusion I think it’s important to note that there absolutely needs to be a balance between local, national and global media for a well informed public. Each play a vital role and I don’t believe a healthy democratic society can exist with any one of these forms of media absent.