Media and Globalization

Abstract

Globalization is usually understood as a process of economic and political integration, but it is also a cultural phenomenon in which the media of communication have a central role. Media corporations, whether in legacy media such as broadcasting, digital interactive social media, or online entertainment, have expanded globally in pursuit of advertising revenue, notably from global consumer goods and service corporations. A theoretical critique of cultural imperialism arose in the 1970s, fearing that global media, especially emanating from the United States, would smother national cultures, but theorists of globalization have since identified complexities in media production, distribution, and consumption, not least because of the challenge to national cultures from another globalization trend, the transnational movement of populations. Thus, while homogenization is evident in some cultural forms carried by the media, diversity, or heterogenization, is also being created, resulting in cultural hybridity. The case of geolinguistic television markets is considered.