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Increasing Visibility in the Global South Media and Media Professionals Introduction

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Increasing Visibility in the Global South Media and Media Professionals

Introduction

In the early 2000s, the United States and Europe-based scholars made many calls to
internationalize the ambiance of media and communication. The calls were motivated by various
such as the increased globalized world that allowed inclusive practices in the field of media,
among other concerns. For many years, many studies have acknowledged the pedagogic, applied,
and notional globalization of journalism standards. Even though some studies and scholars have
questioned these extant philosophies, others complied. Even so, the era of sustained Western
discourse supremacy appears to be coming to an end if the many calls for re-theorization ails
through and are accepted in the media houses in the global south. This study will analyze various
perspectives of media personalities working in different parts of the global communities who try
to present the global south media through a non-Western perspective. Besides, the essay will
synthesize the possible pathways emerging in the journalism field in the global south. Generally,
the study will answer the question of various epistemic policies and media beliefs that disrupts
media ethnocentrism and promote visibilities of global south media.

Concepts and Epistemic Perspectives from the Global South

The major issue that disrupts media ethnocentrism and fuel visibility of the Global South
media and professionalism in this field is the universalization of journalism standards. People
believe that understanding the actual scope of journalism practice can only be achieved through
benchmarking from the Western media and journalism. However, a small group of scholars have
shown their dissatisfaction in this philosophy and questioned it (Lim, 2020). Since journalism
became professionalized, and journalism schools proliferated, there have been emerging
imposition of the Western views, approaches, and primacies in both the journalism practice and
scholarship. The cry that journalism is in crisis is a good justification of this homogenization.
The dissolute business model that promoted a monopoly of news corporations of the Global
North an issue to be prioritized and privilege is no longer acceptable (Lim, 2020). However, this
is not the ideal meaning of the crisis in the journalism profession. This is because, journalism
still fulfills its critical duty of voicing out the diverse concerns of the public, and the main
provider of information of communities in the rural parts of the world.
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Extant studies continue to avail insufficient and inaccurate theorization of the many
world’s journalism, and this homogenization directs research objectives that are mostly irrelevant
for scholars outside Western context. For instance, the studies on journalistic agendas, and digital
creativity remains incomplete. The underlying practices of journalism are somehow
interconnected globally as reflected in codes of ethics across the international communities (Lim,
2020). For examples, these codes have a mutual consensus on the relevance of accuracy,
impartiality, integrity, and accountability in the profession. These universal elements of
journalism are challenged in some contexts influenced by political, social, historical, and cultural
policies. (Lim, 2020). Even so, the study and professionalism of journalism have bee weighed
through a universal Westen lens as “the global standard” that promotes status and
acknowledgement. In addition, journalism in the Global South is made to comply to these
universal “standard ways” of carrying out journalism practices. In recent years, these
assumptions have yielded notable challenges, and publishing the complexities of journalism in
the Global South is highly conditioned by the facts of the local context. Despite these facts, the
Global South media have been working hard to deconstruct this perspective and establish a
conducive and interactive media ambience where both the central and periphery media houses
grow and develop together to a consensus understanding. For example, journalism in the Global
South have adopted policies that indicate and promote build-up platforms in these regions. This
move also include the adoption of inclusion views, and better understanding by the Global South
media personalities.

Today, the situation of journalism practice in Global South appears to be improving. The
Global South media have embarked on developing and synchronizing technology in the
profession to enhance their perceptions of media culture. The use of electronic sources has made
Global Sout media houses enjoy many advantages such as increasing visibility globally, even in
the central parts of the Global South regions. Additionally, the new policies and practices have
made the Global South media to gain recognition, through emphasizing on better forms of
broadcasting and collecting data (Esser & Hanitzsch, 2012). The critical issues of consideration
are the concerns of growth and development emerging in media homes and journalism practice.
Global South media have the agenda of establishing and rolling out their development strategies
to mitigate the negative perceptions coming from the central regions.
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Comparative Media Case Study

The technological development of media houses in Global South region aims at creating
a stability and enhancing the journalism profession in the regions. Furthermore, recent studies
have reported that there is growing need to address the major issues and challenges experienced
by the Global South media houses. For instance, there is a rising concern for a better and
advance systems to liberate the Global South media from being inferior and less effective than
the Western media practices. According to (Bachmann & Proust, 2020), the inferiority feeling
has made journalism profession in the Global South to be less attractive because majority of
students pursuing the career feel that adopting many of the Western practices in the Global South
media houses denies the host the only opportunity, they could have used to express themselves
freely and make the Western experience them and their unique cultural polices and beliefs. Many
media house battle with this Western superiority challenge because it limits them from freely
addressing their views and critical concerns that affect their practice.

The third world countries like the Global South have their idiosyncratic perceptions of
the concepts of development because of their mentality to develop and grow. According to
Mignolo (2021), the establishment of understanding can only be enhanced through making
global management and interactions viable. In other words, the Global South media houses can
only enjoy an interactive environment when they develop the mentality of equality because this
is the only way of making them work on idea and concepts. Nevertheless, media ethnocentrism
is compromised because of the extant perception where everything relates in a global direction.
The interaction of undermined capacity in an advancing ambiance constricts ethnocentrism and
avail difficulties to collaborate and creating platforms of similarities.

The utmost desire to experience a better interactive space with the Global South has
promoted and enhanced engagement of the central media and given it proper recognition. The
major shortcoming of ethnocentrism is its tendency of shifting opinions and feeling of inferiority.
Bachmann 7 Proust (2020) posited that with ethnocentrism, the feeling of superiority is likely to
negatively affect the viability of achieving desired goals and objectives. This is because the
superiors will create the need to achieve their set standards of doing things “the right way” to
make then continue enjoying dominance over the inferior Global South media. This shift in ideas
and beliefs can be neutralized the Global South media house through presenting a common
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nature and similarity platforms as the only approach towards understanding each other. It is
undisputed that media houses have many social platforms that promote interaction with others.
Global South media captures many of these social platforms, hence, visible to different parts of
the globe. Further, Mignolo (2021) explained that there is emerging adoption of advance
technology to improve visibility and development of global media houses and centers, making
the social platforms of interaction an integral part of this core objective. In other words, the
author highlighted and identified the need for more better and synchronized media systems as the
only approach for liberating media houses from ethnocentric perspectives that have made the
Global South media and those in the third world countries to lurk behind and feel inferior in the
journalism environment.

The ultimate goal and duty of media is to be effective in presenting the voice of people.
The idea of globalizing media should, thus, promote mutual growth and advancements through
sharing of information and beliefs across the global communities. According to Mutsvairo et al.
(2021), globalization of media houses should help the Global South to create more platforms
where various burning issues in the community or from international communities can be aired
out and addressed accordingly. This would be a positive step towards enhancing and promoting
unity in meeting particular needs that require immediate or urgent attention from the public and
relevant authorities. Therefore, various needs should be incorporated into the already existing
social platforms to ensure that the activities in the social media are effectively managed ad well-
enhanced (Campbell & Haynes, 2020). These authors explained in their study that the use of
media to promote and enhance growth and development should not be undermined. This is
because, through sharing critical information in these platforms, the media promotes growth. It is
undisputed that nothing beats information because it if from such ideas that various influential
plans and development strategies are identified and acted upon for a better change of the media
houses.

Discussion of Visibility of Global South Media or Media Professionals

The major expectation of societies from the Global South media houses is to release
crucial information, spread events, among other significant roles. A study conducted by Carilli
(2021) pointed out that modern societies expect the best from various operations and projects
imitated in their environments. This implies that the Global South media centers are equally
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included in this expectation. In other words, the Global South communities expect the very best
from their media houses just like in the Western medias. Thus, the rising network of spreading
information through the globalization of media activities should help the Global South
journalism to be one of the best in fulfilling the core desires and wishes of citizens in these
regions.

It is undisputed that the frequent happenings and events that raise visibility in the Global
South helps in reducing ethnocentrism. Addressing these events globally is a positive sign that
the Global South media houses is working towards achieving successful relationships and
interactive milieu that will be effective in advancing other development agenda. However, to
achieve this critical objective, the Global South should also prioritize establishing successful and
advanced centers. This dimension will be effective in accommodating more advanced technology
in the Global South media. This is because it would be irrelevant and perhaps impossible to
introduce the advance technology in the Global South media centers when they still use the
outdated systems of broadcasting. The need to create a better milieu in the Global South media
should be prioritized and considered the genesis of all positive and development agendas. In
other words, through creating modern technological experiences in the system, it will become
accessible to globalized information. Thus, Esser & Hanitzsch (2012) supported this claim by
arguing that proper and effective development can be perceived as part of the developing
platforms that act as benchmarks for ensuring that all aspects of the plan addressed and
standardized. With such growth, the Global South media will heighten the possibilities of
interacting with other media houses and centers globally. Alahmed (2020) argued that such
advancements of the Global South media houses will create attractive platforms for further
expansion, and spreading of various ideas.

Conclusion

Global South media creates the equilibrium between the expectations of media house and
the concept of globalization. Extant research discussed in this paper highlights that adopting
development agenda is better than stronger relationship. In other words, the Global South media
should adopt various initiatives that will allow them to be in the same caliber with the Western
media groups to avoid being inferior. This is because having strong relation with the Western
media groups while failing to advance technologies used in the Global South media will make
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the former to dominate the latter and hinder proper sharing of information according to the major
goal of globalization. Based on various media houses, serious commitment has been directed
against ethnocentrism because global states are thirsty for equality and mutual understanding.
Besides, it is prudent to highlight the standards and levels of information through the specific
scopes that fit all the global media centers.
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References

Esser, F., & Hanitzsch, T. (Eds.). (2012). Handbook of comparative communication


research (p.3) New York: Routledge.

Mutsvairo, B., Borges-Rey, E., Bebawi, S., Márquez-Ramírez, M., Mellado, C., Mabweazara, H.

M., ... & Thussu, D. (2021). Ontologies of Journalism in the Global South. Journalism
& Mass Communication Quarterly, 98(4), 996-1016.

Mignolo, W. D. (2021). Coloniality and globalization: a decolonial take. Globalizations, 18(5),

720-737.

Carilli, T. (2021). Marginalized Voices in the Global Media Dialogue. In Oxford Research

Encyclopedia of Communication.

Bachmann, I., & Proust, V. (2020). Old concerns, renewed focus and novel problems:
Feminist communication theory and the Global South. Annals of the International
Communication Association, 44(1), 67-80.

Alahmed, A. M. (2020). Internalized Orientalism: Toward a postcolonial media theory and De-

Westernizing communication research from the Global South. Communication Theory, 30(4),


407-428. https://academic.oup.com/ct/article-abstract/30/4/407/5846214

Lim, M. (2020). The politics and perils of dis/connection in the Global South. Media, Culture
& Society, 42(4), 618-625.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0163443720914032

Campbell, B., & Haynes, N. (2020). Constructing the digital self in the Global
South. Journal of Language and Sexuality, 9(1), 1-13. https://www.jbe-

platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/jls.00006.cam

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