De-Americanising Media Studies and the Rise of “Chindia”

Indigenizing journalistic objectivity in an African context: How ‘indigenous’ journalistic practices (re)define professional norms

“…We also find this study very relevant for its innovative and immense contribution to waves of research attempts to de-westernize media and communication scholarship in a manner that helps address issues concerning media and power in society (Curran and Park, 2005; Thussu, 2013), explores the relationship between political structures and different ‘media system models’ (Hallin and Mancini, 2012) and to (de)globalize professional norms through postcolonial responses (Wasserman, 2006). The attempt to deglobalize journalistic ethics gains traction owing to trends of scholarly endeavors that encourage a re-conceptualization of teaching and study of media in Africa to make it more responsive to local and international demands – a critical step to ‘free’ Africa’s media education from a firmly entrenched European colonial system (Mano, 2009).…”

“…Beginning with the Hutchins Commission’s report on the freedom of the press (Commission on Freedom of the Press, Albig, 1947), a corpus of scholarly works decries the dominant Western-led libertarian journalistic model for its emphasis on elitist, ‘free’ and ‘objective’ press. These works further culminated in empirical efforts to ‘localize’ professional ethics and helps de-Westernize media and communication scholarship (Curran and Park, 2005; Thussu, 2013), and (de)globalize professional norms through postcolonial responses (Wasserman, 2006). The drift reasonably resonates with a UNESCO-funded study of how newspapers in Asia affirmed the media’s aspiration to serve the community through ‘local’ issues and voices (Maslog, 1985).…”

A passage to India: The Indian film market and the political economy of Disney’s transnational operations

“…Further, local partners and subsidiaries such as Yash Raj Films and UTV assisted Disney in developing localised content by focusing on younger populations (14 years or less) in India, an audience greater in size than the entire population in the United States (Desai, 2013;Marr, 2007;Thussu, 2013a). Considering the importance of a predominantly younger, middle-class, consumer-oriented target population, Disney and other transnational media corporations preferred to cut deals with viable local partners for the sustainability of their business ventures (Dasgupta, 2014).…”

“…Considering the importance of a predominantly younger, middle-class, consumer-oriented target population, Disney and other transnational media corporations preferred to cut deals with viable local partners for the sustainability of their business ventures (Dasgupta, 2014). Prior to the deregulation and liberalisation of the entertainment market in India, the film business was controlled by several small-scale companies owned largely by families traditionally involved in the film business (Prasad, 1998;Thussu, 2013a). For example, a business report on the status of the entertainment media claimed that there were around 400 smaller companies engaged in film production in India; however, around three dozen of these companies were registered on the stock exchange as corporate entities in the first decade of the 21st century (Desai, 2013).…”

“…Kavoori and Joseph (2011) argue that the globalisation of Bollyculture has connected Indian diasporic communities through traditional South Asian narratives promoted by Bollywood films. According to estimates, approximately 11 million people watch Bollywood movies every day, and the industry produces more than 1000 movies per year, not only in the Hindi language, but also in major regional languages (Thussu, 2013b). Bollywood has earned a distinctive place in the international popular culture that has encouraged global cultural industries, such as Viacom DreamWorks, NBC Universal, Warner Brothers, Sony and Disney, to engage in joint ventures with the Indian entertainment industry, allowing them to make inroads into the large Indian market (Rasul, 2018).…”