At first look, globalization sounds like a wonderful opportunity for people everywhere to be able to experience other cultures through the use of media. However, like most things, there are positives and negatives concerning globalization. The three key aspects of media globalization that I looked at is globalization,

Globalization

There is no where in the world that you can travel today without the familiar sites from home of global brand icons such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Nike, etc. These global brands and many others have travelled the globe to find new markets for their products and to offer to the world what Americans have grown up using. Sociologists use terms today like McDonaldization, Coca-Colonized to discuss the effects of how globalization has affected other cultures around the world. The brand identities of these companies are literally recognized around the world in even the most remote places. Logos and symbols, like McDonald’s golden arches and Nike’s swoosh are recognized and respected around the world and transcend any cultural or language barriers. People who would not normally be able to enjoy the taste of a Coke or wear a pair of Nike sneakers are able to because of the global marketing commitments of these companies. A downside of this globalization is that some U.S. companies, especially in the clothing and toy businesses, have been found responsible for contributing to unfair child labor and poor working conditions in factories. There is a need for social responsibility for these global brands that must be watched carefully. The spread of consumerism is another concern of some people who do not believe that consumerism is a positive thing.

People’s lives are becoming more affected by global phenomena and the global media industries play a primary role is raising global awareness. With the technological advances of the Internet and satellite transmissions, the world has become infinitely smaller and instantly up to date with happenings around the world. Certainly, the issue of global warming is something that affects everyone, and through globalization we can all work together to find solutions to the problems. What we do here in the U.S. affects the air quality of countries elsewhere and the reverse is true that other countries affect the air quality of here in the U.S. Global warming affects everyone and we need to all work together to develop a globalized answer to the problems.

With satellite transmission, everyone is able to keep up with the most up to date news of what’s happening in the world. When the earthquake hit in China a few months ago, we were able to watch video of real time events and results of the massive earthquake. This enabled the Red Cross and organizations around the world to provide help and money to these people almost immediately.



Media Globalization

The media industry has changed dramatically in the last twenty years and has been reduced to a handful of powerful conglomerates that own almost all of the media.
Conglomerates such as Time Warner, Bertelsmann, Disney, Sony, Viacom and News Corporation operate globally and are responsible for the vast majority of what is seen and heard around the world. These companies all own a great many other companies, many of which people never realize, and contribute to the communication of the world. For instance, Time Warner owns AOL’s AIM which has 110 million users just in the United States. Time Warner publishes over 166 magazines, produces movies seen worldwide and CNN which reaches over 1 billion people worldwide with news. These companies have taken over how the world learns about entertainment and news. While they have made information available worldwide, there does need to be concern regarding the control these companies have and the deregulation that has taken place in regards to how they are monitored.

The music industry has also contributed to media globalization. Bands like U2 have transcended the role of just being a band and have become a global brand. They reach out to people with their music and through the invention of MP3 players such as iPods, music has become a critical and necessary part of many people’s lives. U2 also uses their music to create global awareness of important social topics such as AIDS and the problems in Darfar.

The Local and the Global

Because of the vast development of technology and the media conglomerates, people are exposed constantly to events that are happening locally and globally. Whereas people used to really only know and understand what was happening in their corner of the world, we now know what’s going on everywhere. The media that is pretty much all Western based is responsible for covering the events worldwide. When reporting on events in Third World countries or in Communist countries, the media is reporting from a free Western point of view. The benefits are that the Western world can step up and help in a better way when events are reported on natural disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, famine, etc. and some countries don’t want our media showing their way of life to the world. This was a big problem when the tsunami hit in Indonesia three Christmas’s ago. The world was trying to get food, water and supplies to the people and the government was blocking the aid to their own people.