International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

Like many other spheres of contemporary life, the mass media have been profoundly affected by the processes of globalization (→  Globalization Theories ). During the 1990s, the global media landscape was transformed as a result of the deregulation and privatization of broadcasting and telecommunication, enabling a quantum leap in the production and distribution of media products across continents and in real time. The globalization of media, and especially of visual media, is helping to make →  Marshall McLuhan's dream of a “global village” a reality. In the era of “real-time” communications, people all over the world can watch live as events unfold, such as the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September, 2001, the tsunami that overwhelmed southern Asia in 2005, or major sports events such as the football world cup or Olympics. With the convergence of →  Television and the →  Internet and the growing availability of broadband, media consumers today can share information and entertainment programs and, with digital devices, even generate and distribute their own media content (→  Convergence of Media Systems ). Whether the audience is enjoying sports or watching →  news reports of military conflicts or natural disasters (→  Disasters and Communication ), →  music videos , →  soap operas , or game and chat shows, the globalization of the media has enabled the ... log in or subscribe to read full text