World Information Order Research Articles

Russian Newspaper Coverage of Somalia and the Former Yugoslavia

One of the results of the New World Information and Communication Order debate was the invigoration of international communication research on images and coverage of nations in the world media. Specifically, the images of Africa outside the continent became a major research question in Western communication scholarship. The results of these studies contend that several variables such as 1) event characteristics, including deviance, interest, and timeliness; and 2) country characteristics, including economic, political, and cultural significance, proximity and national security, appear to affect the ways one nation is covered by the media of another nation.

Russian Newspaper Coverage of Somalia and the Former Yugoslavia

One of the results of the New World Information and Communication Order debate was the invigoration of international communication research on images and coverage of nations in the world media. Specifically, the images of Africa outside the continent became a major research question in Western communication scholarship. The results of these studies contend that several variables such as 1) event characteristics, including deviance, interest, and timeliness; and 2) country characteristics, including economic, political, and cultural significance, proximity and national security, appear to affect the ways one nation is covered by the media of another nation.

State Characteristics and Foreign Policy:

In the UNESCO crisis the industrialized countries were confronted with the Third World's claim for a New World Information and Communication Order. To this challenge they reacted in many ways, ranging from support of Third World demands to withdrawal from UNESCO. In order to explain this variety, the policies of the United States, the Soviet Union, France and West Germany at the height of the crisis in 1983/84 are compared. Three competing approaches of foreign policy analysis are tested: foreign policy as `interest-oriented behaviour', `behavioural style', or `emergent behaviour'. On the whole, `interest-oriented behaviour' proves to be the most adequate model because the conflict behaviours of the four countries can be systematically related to their different interests. Only US and West German behaviours differed to a much greater extent than their interests. In a basic first cut the variety of UNESCO policies is therefore explained by variables assumed to influence foreign policy interests: the media systems, and the societal values they represent, as well as the positions in the overall international power structure. In a second cut this explanation is refined by looking at factors which might account for differences in US and West German foreign policy styles. In this respect, the differences in behaviours seemed above all to reflect differences in the belief systems of the German and American foreign policy elites.

The MacBride Movement: Old ‘New Order’ leads to the new

‘The MacBride Movement’ was the culmination of the campaign by the Non- aligned Movement to secure a better share of the global communications flows, while improving coverage by the dominant Western news media of Third World information and political objectives. The Soviet bloc, for its own Cold War objectives, joined the Nonaligned's bid for some ‘new world information and communication order’. With the MacBride Commission's report in 1980, following the relatively moderate Mass Communication Declaration at Unesco in 1978, the Nonaligned Movement's drive for NWICO reached its peak. This was the result, I maintain, mainly of 1) the changed global geopolitics, demonstrated spectacularly in 1989–91, and 2) the opportunities for diversity of information flows provided by the new communications technologies. They had already demonstrated they could generate and sustain political revolutions in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The paper traces the ‘Hegelian dialectic’ of events preceding and during the rise of the MacBride Movement: the ‘old order’ (Thesis, or Western dominance) from 1946 to 1976, the old ‘new order’ (Antithesis, or Nonaligned-Soviet challenge) from 1976 to 1989, and the new ‘New Order’ (Synthesis, or coming age of ISDN) from 1989. ISDN, integrated systems of digital networks – the networking of networks, worldwide – provides 'small’ communications capabilities (telephone, fax, copier, computer, radio particularly FM) tied to the long-distance lines (satellites, fiber optics, computer links). The cost of linkage will drop dramatically as each new facility is mass-distributed, and as competition – especially system competing against system – reduces the cost to the citizen. There are, indeed, dangers in mass linkage. The Orwell warning is appropriate. But this paper argues that competition and government regulation (replacing censorship in many places) will prevent the monopolization by commercial interests, as diverse communication machines in the hands of citizens will prevent government monopolies. As a consequence, there were mainly winners in the decade-long debates in Unesco over NWICO. The developing countries are beginning to receive aid in building communication infrastructures, Western coverage of their news is improving, and developing-world citizens will increasingly have access to the domestic as well as international information flows. The West, meanwhile, has ended the bitter debates over NWICO, and the perceived threat of new forms of media censorship from governments or intergovernmental organizations.

Development news on CNN World Report

Beginning in the 1970s, critics of western news media began a campaign for a New World Information Order (NWIO). They argued this new "order" was necessary if the global audience for news was to receive information about economic and social develop ments from around the world. While advocates of the NWIO have yet to achieve all of their goals, the campaign appears to have fostered some noteworthy attempts on the part of western media to correct the imbalance of international news coverage. Perhaps the most significant evidence of this is CNN World Report, begun in 1987 as an outlet for news organizations around the world to report news about their countries, from their own perspective. During the program's first year, it was clear that it could be an important outlet for development news. Not surprisingly, more stories about development came from developing rather than developed countries. By 1989, however, the percentage of develop ment news on CNN World Report had declined somewhat, both overall and in terms of the stories submitted by developing country media. Contrary to expectations, the proportion of development news from the developed world actually increased.

New World journalism in Mauritius: The credibility of development news in the Third World

This study examines how a Third World audience perceives the credibility of development news. This problem arises from the debate over UNESCO's New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO). A model of news media credibility is employed to test whether a Third World audience sees differences between development news and independent news in terms of fairness/balance, believability, penetration of community problems and accuracy. In a probability sample in Mauritius (N=502) development-type news on TV was rated higher than news in a “free” press on fairnessfoalance, but other credibility dimensions were not significantly different for the sample as a whole. Higher levels of education are associated with newspaper use. When separated by media use, the sample showed newspaper readers perceive significant differences in fairness/balance and believability between media, but TV news viewers do not. The data suggest part of the news audience sees - and cares about - the difference in state-influenced deve...

“Two faces have I:” Future media elite of Finland assess America

Despite Finland's prominent role in furthering the Media Imperialism and New World Information Order theses, American media products pervade the daily life of the people of Finland, and the country has been often called the most Americanized in Europe. However much this holds for the “average”; Finn, it is not the case for the future media elite of Finland, that is, students in the Department of Communication at the nearly 350‐year‐old University of Helsinki. Stephenson's Q‐Methodology was used to bring to light two “understandings”; or “factors,”; both of which are highly critical of America's social, economic, and political values and policies. The theme of one factor was characterized by seeing Americans as “a people better than its government”; whereas the other—darker—understanding was that “the American dream is dead.”; Small, practical steps for a growth in understanding are derived from the inherent logic of the research methodology.

The movement for a New World Information and Communication Order: a second wave?

The movement for a New World Information and Communication Order: a second wave?

The Religious Ethic in the History of American Free Press Philosophy, The Prohibition of Journalistic Racism and The New World Information Order

The Religious Ethic in the History of American Free Press Philosophy, The Prohibition of Journalistic Racism and The New World Information Order

Censorship: Past, present and future

In this article, censorship in the broad sense of the word, that is all legal and extra-legal restrictions on freedom of speech and expression, is contrasted with censorship in the narrow sense of the word, which is conventional or state-imposed censorship. The acceptability and workability of a state censorship machine depends largely upon the manner in which the adjudication of undesirable matter is approached by the censorship bodies, and with this in mind the approach adopted by each of the three chairmen of the Publications Appeal Board, is examined. The question whether the state has the right to control the arts and freedom of expression is then addressed, with specific reference to aspects such as public morality and political censorship. Thereafter, the development of the New World Information Order is discussed and weighed against the individual's right to know.

Toward a Transnational World Information Order: The Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement

The Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement constitutes U.S. vision for transnational world information order. The goal is to integrate culture and communication into global electronic services sector managed by transnational business. The m A vision contains significant implications for Canadian and European communication policy. L'accord de libre-kchange canado-amkricain constitue une vision arnkricaine d'un ordre international de l'information transnational. L'objectif est d'intkgrer la culture et la communication en un secteur international des services Clectronique gkr6 par le commerce transnational. L'accord de libre-khange est lourd de cons6quences pour la rkglementation des communication au Canada et en Europe. A NEW ECONOMIC CONSTITUTION FOR NORTH AMERICA On 1 January 1989, the governments of Canada (1987a) and the United States put into practice North America's first free trade agreement F A ) . As Warnock (1988:9) notes, the then President Reagan recognized the broad significance of the deal by hailing it as a new economic constitution for North Though he opposed the agreement, the Attorney General of Ontario agreed with Reagan's assessment, arguing that: Like constitution, the scope of the agreement is all embracing. It touches on virtually all aspects of governmental activity .... The agreement imposes new constraints on what Canadian governments can do CANADIAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATIONNol. 15, No. 2 47 for people in the future, and the erosion of our ability to govern ourselves will be difficult to reverse (Cameron, 1988: 241). This article examines what makes the Free Trade Agreement new constitution for North America. In doing so, it identifies how the Agreement promotes major changes in both Canadian political culture and in its political institutions. Notwithstanding the claims of those like Crisp (1988). who see the agreement as simple treaty to eliminate tariffs, one can argue that the FTA is constitutional document because the Agreement deepens and extends the postWorld War I1 process of reconstituting the Canadian cultural and political

Global News Flows

This article seeks to test certain hypotheses drawn from structural communications theory, hypotheses that tend to support the call for a New World Information Order (NWIO). Structural theorists such as Johan Galtung and NWIO advocates from the Third World have charged that developing nations are dependent upon the West for international news. News dependency, in turn, is said to lead to the adoption of Western news values and subsequent cultural imperialism in the South. Finally, news dependency is said to be neocolonial in the sense that information flows through “vertical” channels (from North to South) and within distinct spheres of communication hegemony. These claims are tested with a news flow study drawn from African and Latin American dailies. Results of the empirical tests show that the Third World is dependent on Western agencies for the bulk of its international news, and that Third World newspapers reflect the news values of Western prestige dailies. Nonaligned newswires, however, are shown to be more resistant to journalistic westernization, as their coverage is markedly different from that of the Western wire services. Finally, news flow patterns do exhibit a pronounced neoimperial character. Agencies from the United States, Great Britain, and France each hold sway over their own regional domains within the Third World.

Prospects for Future World Communication

The international flow of information produced by international press agencies is discussed in this article. The author shows how the position of the Third World with respect to the alleged imbalances in the international communication infrastructure, both quantitative and qualitative, has led to two legal developments. On the one hand, the ‘right to communicate’ was formulated in addition to the traditionally recognized freedom of information. On the other hand, the concept of a New World Information Order has been developed. The ideological battle between the West and the Third World, which has dominated the discussion on these concepts since the early 1970s, should, according to the author, not impair the development of a viable technological infrastucture in the Third World. Development assistance could be used to give new and independent news agencies access to the international flow of information.

Book Review: Communication for All: New World Information and Communication Order

Book Review: Communication for All: New World Information and Communication Order

Regulation and deregulation of telecommunications: the economic and political realities. Part III: Japan, the Pacific Basin and less developed countries

The liberalization of telecommunications in the western hemisphere has not gone unnoticed in the countries of Asia and the Pacific Basin. Japan has already taken the plunge and indeed she passed legislation to end the monopoly of the Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Public Corporation (NTT) in 1984. She has realised that a monopoly can impede develop ments in Information Technology and that deregulation is essential to stimulate competition and consequently lead to the availablity of a wide range of economical value added network services. Liberalization can also be regarded as a tactical move to achieve a firm foothold in the lucrative international tele communications market. There are at least three Japanese companies competing aggressively in the international arena and one of them has already opened an international telecom munications consultancy office in London with plans for fur ther expansion in the United States. The rates of growth of the telecommunications industry in other countries of the Pacific Basin including Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong have also been phenomenal. It is no exaggeration to say that telecommunications is contributing significantly to the continuous shift of economic power from the Atlantic to the Pacific region. However, the area also includes several countries which are so technologically back ward that deregulation is virtually a non-issue. Nevertheless they face several economic, political and information disad vantages which arise from the lack of a well-defined, modern telecommunications infrastructure. They have already recog nized the value of telecommunications in their overall and individual development, and are campaigning vigorously in international forums such as NWICO and WARC for a new world information order based on telecommunications.

Voice of America and radio Moscow newscasts to the third world

The involvement of international radio broadcasting in the world information order has received little attention. Do messages from Western radio broadcasters to Third World nations share characteristics of other Western media messages identified by analysts critical of the present structure of international communication? Do Soviet radio messages to developing nations have these qualities? To answer these questions, the content of Voice of America and Radio Moscow newscasts transmitted to Africa and Latin America was analyzed.

Communication for All: New World Information and Communication Order

Communication for All: New World Information and Communication Order

Trends in international informational issues

Technical developments since the Second World War have fostered the integration of computers with modern communication systems. As a result, a new age of information is rapidly approaching which fundamentally alters communication patterns on a global basis. Three important international issues, the New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO), World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC), and Transborder Data Flow (TBDF), are discussed in order to identify the important trends and implications of these developments. The purpose of this article is to examine these three issues together in order to show their interrelationships as well as propose a more active, and positive, negotiation climate.

World communications after UNESCO

Abstract The withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) represented an abrupt change in the long debate over the role of mass media, especially the so‐called New World Information Order. The NWIO issue itself was not a justification to withdraw, but other factors—corruption and incompetence within UNESCO and ill‐conceived programs— were. The debate, however, did spark a renewal of interest in the role of communications, particularly telecommunications, to promote Third World economic and political development. It also produced a modest but important commitment by U.S. government and private mass media to increase technical assistance and training programs. Despite the UNESCO rhetoric, support for the Western tradition of independence between mass media and government remains strong among Third World journalists.

Forget the NWICO...and Start All Over Again

Despite the emphasis which has been placed on the New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO), developing countries still do not see information as a key resource to decision-making. The external debt problems which were not foreseen by Latin American countries illustrate how the neglect of specialized information flows weakens the position of developing countries in negotiations which affect their interests. A study undertaken by the author showed that Latin American debtor countries lacked the information necessary to renegotiate their debts due the absence of a mechanism for sharing information and surveying the world economy. By contrast, at an early stage the main creditors had established their own information centre, the Institute for International Finance. Some guidelines for future strategies to improve the position of developing countries in the international economic and information order are suggested.