[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he information revolution driven by communication technologies has impacted news communication around the world in a multitude of positive and negative ways. It seems as if the world is more connected than ever before, especially through the use of the Internet and countless electronics like computers, videos, and cellphones. The U.S. and the West have become leaders in the spread and development of the information revolution, setting a basis for the ideal press to be “free,” independent, and always questioning the questionable, but also creating a centralized platform focused on commercialism and entertainment (Hachten and Scotton 8-12). These communication technologies are allowing us to see, hear, and know about things that otherwise may have remained unknown from across the globe, however, they are also drawing an evident line between “media-rich” and “media-poor” nations (Hachten and Scotton 9). While I am not quite sure that anyone can just opt out of the process of globalization, it is clear that particular nations are being restrained, while others are flying forward.
Hachten and Scotton focus on the importance and effects of communication, like news media, within a globalized world. The text states that globalization is an international system – one that largely learns and spreads information about otherwise unknown people, cultures, and religions through technology and variations of global communication (Hachten and Scotton 12). While a positive attribute of global communication like international news can lead to awareness among viewers or readers, it can also lead to negative connotations, false perceptions, and continued stereotypes. Globalization can also lead to unnaturally forced social, political, and ecological norms, continuing the expansion and diffusion of hegemonic Western values and ideals.
Hachten and Scotton claim that in many ways the media can have a greater impact on individuals than education itself, although it can also remain ineffective in areas where peoples are not able to receive or understand [illiteracy rate] the information they are provided with (16-17). It is also vital to recognize that much of the information we are presented with [whether in the U.S. or in China, etc.], especially through the news, is driven by politics, sensationalism, ratings, prejudice, culture, religion, and/or speediness (Hachten and Scotton 4-5). When taking these factors into consideration, it is obvious that communication, and how information is presented, transformed, and spread globally, is much more important in the continuation and development [or failure] of an international system – and potentially an international society – than one may initially realize.
Text: Hachten, William A., and James Francis Scotton. The World News Prism: Challenges of Digital Communication. Chichester, West Sussex ; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. Print.
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