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International Communication, Mudassar Hussain

Course Out line

1) NWICO
2) Free Flow of Information Theory.
3) Modernization Theory.
4) Dependence Theory.
5) Structural Imperialism.
6) Hegemony.
7) About Coding Sheet (5 marks).

1) The demand for a New World Information and

Communication Order (NWICO):
The New World Information and Communication Order started in 1970, when the developing
countries feel their disadvantages in field of information communication. The third world
countries encouraged by the movement of non-Aligned countries (NAM) protested against the
global leadership of the western news agencies. (AP, AFP, UPI and REUTER). These agencies
were perceived as controlling up to 95% of world wide information flows.

The NWICO protagonists argued, continue and strengthened inequality in development,

with serious implications for the countries of the South, which were heavily dependent on the
North for both software and hardware in the information sector. It was argued by Third World
leaders that through their control of major international information channels, the Western media
gave an exploitative and distorted view of their countries to the rest of the world. The existing
order, they contended, had, because of its structural logic, created a model of dependence, with
negative effects on the polity, economy and society of developing countries. Their demands were
articulated by Tunisian Information Minister Mustapha Masmoudi, who was later a member of
the MacBride Commission. The chief complaints from the long litany of the Third World
demands were as follows:

1) Owing to the socio-technological imbalance there was a one-way flow of information

from the 'centre' to the 'periphery,' which created a wide gap between the 'haves' and the
'have nots;'
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2) The information rich were in a position to dictate terms to the information poor, thus
creating a structure of dependency with widespread economic, political and social
ramifications for the poor societies;

3) This vertical flow (as opposed to a desirable horizontal flow of global information) was
dominated by the Western-based transnational corporations;

4) Information was treated by the transnational media as a 'commodity' and subjected to the
rules of the market;

5) The entire information and communication order was a part of and in turn propped up
international inequality that created and sustained mechanisms of neo-colonialism.
(Masmoudi, 1979: 172-173)

2) Free Flow of Information Theory

Free flow of information is the theory of international communication; theories of international

communication became part of the new Cold War discussion. After the Second World War there
were two concepts about the control of media information, the first one is Marxism and the
second one is Capitalism.

Marxism believed that the control of communication is basically the control of mantel
production. the authority who have control on mass communication, it means, they holding the
control of the mind of people. the Marxism believed that this control of the media should in the
hand of government, that the government lead and push the society toward a successful direction
through media. the information production should be with ruling class, the subject class should
only the follower, it is known as greater state regulation on media.

After some time, the active group generate the concept of Capitalism, For the supporters of
capitalism, the primary function of media was to promote democracy, freedom of expression and
markets. Capitalist approach altogether opposite to the Marxism. It believed on the media
freedom in the market, they are support to work for demarcation process. According to
capitalism approach the production of the media should not being in the control of government.
but it should have needed in open market. Media should be deregulated. the means of the
production should be in the privet hand.

These two approach are circulating in the world. Most of the international communication theory
are generated due to these two concept. Some theory believes on dependence, some believed on
state control, some believed on market control and some believe on free flow of information.

Free flow of information provide space for both Marxism and capitalism approach, It believed
that if the Marxism want to support the government, they are free to support, and if the capitalist
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want to promote the market they are should able to do it. According to this theory the media is
free commodity for every person of the system. the people who belong to both concepts are able
to freely express their expression through media, the free flow of information theory support the
concept of liberal form, as like libertarian theory. The flow of information theory assumed that if
the media become free in the market instead of under government their production and
distribution of information will be totally in unique form.

The American media scholar Wilbur Schramm noted in 1964 that the flow of information among
the nation is too much thin and narrow. the attention toward the under developed country is too
much less than the attention which provided to developed country. the imported events are
ignoring and reality is distorted. Wilbur Schramm believed it is needed that the media become
free and open in the market for the equal distribution of information between the both under
developed and developed nations.

The concept of ‘free flow’ therefore served both economic and political purposes, the media’s
role as ‘public watchdog’ and their assumed global relevance. For their compatriot businessmen,
‘free flow’ assisted them in advertising and marketing their goods and services in foreign
markets.

Function of Free flow of International Communication:

There are three primary functions of the International Communication such as,
 To promote the democracy.
 To promote the freedom
 To promote the open market.

3) Theory of Modernization

Modernization theory studies the process of social evolution and the development of societies.
This theory isn’t attributed to any one scholar. The Modernization theory focus on two types of
countries in the world, first one is developing country (Latin America, Asia, Africa) and second
one in developed country (Europe countries, North America). The developing country is also
known as periphery country and the developed country is also known as Core country.

The modernization theory is discovered for the solution of only one question that, why the
developing courtiers are not developed? after the World War. II the theory authors explore itself
the different reasons for the solution of his question. According to Daniel Lerner there are four
reasons as a barrier for the developing country to become developed, such as;

 Weak Government
 Low rate of saving
 Lack of infrastructure
 Lack of technologies.
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Daniel Lerner argue that if any country wants to become developed, they will be improving the
above four factors which are great barrier for development of any society which known as
internal factors. The modernization theory assumed that it needed to developing country to
adopted the way of western countries for the modernization, in every aspect of life, such as;

 Economic policies as Western

 Political policies as Western
 Cultural as Western
 Religion as Western
 Social Interaction as Western.

The modernization theory only focus on the internal factor for the solution of the problems. To
changing in a Thought, Feeling, Food, Taste , Habits, Choices, Idea and Speaking style as
Western is necessary for the development of the society, but In 1960 the Latin American
theorist criticize on Modernism theory through the help of Dependence theory, that there is not
only internal factor as a barrier for development but there are also external factors too.

4) Theory of Dependence
In 1960 the Latin American theorist criticize on Modernism theory through the help of
Dependence theory. The Dependence Theory urged that there aren’t only internal factors for the
development of any third world country. But, there are some external factors also, which is
known as exploitation.

The developed countries exploit to the underdeveloped countries through the help of their
superior economic and technologies. the developed countries easily get the cheap labor and raw
material by low price from the third world countries. and convert these raw material into
immaterial through their technologies, and they sale these immaterial products on third world
countries with high profit. Dependency theory is based on a Marxist view of the world, which
need equal distribution of the wealth in the society.

The dominant view of dependency theorists is that there is a dominant world capitalist system
that want to maintain their dominancy on the third world country. the dependency theory
assumed that the dominancy of the developed countries is impossible without the exploitation of
the third world country.

Therefore, Dependency Theory holds that developing nations are entirely dependent on advanced
nations, and this limits them from becoming developed. the third world country cannot be
developed until they exploited by advance nations. the advanced nations took over new
territories through the help of military, technological and political influences in order to take
control of the resources of the new regions. this process is known as colonialism.
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5) Structural Imperialism (Galtung, 1971: 83).

Structural Imperialism theory is presented by Johan Galtung, in 1971: 83. He argues that the
world consists of developed 'centre' states and underdeveloped 'periphery' states. In turn, each
centre and periphery state possesses a 'core', and periphery'. He defines structural imperialism as
a 'sophisticated type of dominance relation which cuts across nations basing itself on a
bridgehead which the centre of the centre nation establishes in the centre of the periphery nation
for the joint benefit of both', there is a harmony of interest between the core of the centre nation
and the centre in the periphery nation; less harmony of interest within the periphery nation than
within the centre nation and a disharmony of interest between the periphery of the centre nation
and the periphery of the periphery nation.

This core not only provides a bridgehead by which the center nation can maintain its economic
and political domination over the periphery nation, but is also supported by the center in
maintaining its dominance over its own periphery. In terms of values and attitudes, the elite
group is closer to other elites in the developed world than with groups in their own country.
Galtung defines five types of imperialism that depend upon the type of exchange between center
and periphery nations:

1) Economic, 2) Political, 3) Military, 4) Communication, 5) Cultural

The five types form a syndrome of imperialism, and interact, through different channels, to
reinforce the dominance relationship of centre over periphery. Communication imperialism is
intimately related to cultural imperialism and news is a combination of cultural and
communication exchange. Periphery-centre relationships are maintained and reinforced by
information flows and through the reproduction of economic activities.

According to Galtung, the basic mechanism of structural imperialism revolves around two forms
of interaction, 'vertical' and 'feudal'. The 'vertical' interaction principle maintains that
relationships are unbalanced; that the flow of power is from the more developed state to the less
developed state, while the benefits of the system flow upwards from the less developed states to
the centre states.

The feudal interaction structure reinforces the inequalities produced by the vertical interaction
structures. Communication and information flow from the centre to the periphery and back
again: Galtung's theory maintains that communication imperialism is based on the feudal
interaction structure in which the periphery states are tied to the centre in particular ways.
Information flows from different core states in different proportions, determined by capital and
trade flows, as well as historical, colonial ties.

The theory argues that if the core actors are defining news according to the criteria and demand
for news in the developed world market, then the demand for and criteria of news will be similar
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in the centre of the peripheral nation. This has been called the 'agenda-setting function' of the
international media. The identity of interests between the centre of the core, and the centre of the
periphery greatly influences the acceptance of an international agenda and thus Galtung's theory
is particularly relevant in understanding global news flow. A striking similarity can be found in
Galtung's theory of structural imperialism

with Schiller's definition of cultural imperialism. Both maintain that the structure of political and
economic domination exercised by the centre over the periphery results in the re-creation of
certain aspects of the centre's value system in the periphery.

Another concern for scholars working within the political economy approach has been to analyze
the close relationship between media and foreign policy. The role of the mass media as an
instrument of propaganda for corporate and state power. US media system passes through several
'filters', including the size, concentrated ownership and profit orientation of media firms; their
heavy reliance on advertising and dependence on business and governmental sources for
information; and the overall dominant ideology within which they operate.

6) Hegemony:
The concept of hegemony presented by politician and Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci in
1971. He assumed that the dominancy of one group over another, often supported
by legitimating norms and ideas is called Hegemony. The term hegemony is today often used as
shorthand to describe the relatively dominant position of a particular set of ideas and their
associated tendency to become commonsensical and intuitive, thereby inhibiting the
dissemination or even the articulation of alternative ideas. The associated term hegemon is used
to identify the actor, group, class, or state that exercises hegemonic power or that is responsible
for the dissemination of hegemonic ideas.

By arguing that the propaganda model succeeds because there is no significant force from the
state, Herman and Chomsky, in some ways, were following the European analyses of the role of
ideology and state

Gramsci's ideas became a major influence in the Anglo-Saxon world. Gramsci's conception of
hegemony is rooted in the notion that the dominant social group in a society has the capacity to
exercise intellectual and moral direction over society at large and to build a new system of social
alliances to support its aims. Gramsci argued that military force was not necessarily the best
instrument to retain power for the ruling classes, but that a more effective way of wielding power
was to build an acceptance by ideological control of cultural production and distribution.
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According to Gramsci, such a system exists when a dominant social class apply moral and
intellectual leadership - through its control of such institutions as schools, religious bodies and
the mass media.

One of the most important functions of the state, Gramsci wrote in his Prison Notebooks, 'is to
raise the great mass of the population to a particular cultural and moral level, a level (or type)
which corresponds to the needs of the productive forces for development, and hence to the
interests of the ruling classes'. Schools, courts and a multitude of 'initiatives and activities ...
form the apparatus of the political and cultural hegemony of the ruling classes'.

This, he argued, was in contrast with a situation in which the dominant class merely rules, that is,
coercively imposes its will on subordinate classes. This consent thus manufactured, however,
cannot simply be assumed or guaranteed and has to be renewed, indicating that hegemony is
more of a process - which is to be continually reproduced, secured and lost - rather than an
achieved state of affairs. In international communication, the notion of hegemony is widely used
to conceptualize political functions of the mass media, as a key player in propagating and
maintaining the dominant ideology and also to explain the process of media and communication
production, with dominant ideology shaping production of news and entertainment (Hallin,
1994). Thus, though the media are notionally free from direct government control, yet they act as
agents of legitimization of the dominant ideology.

7) One Question will be about coding sheet (5 marks). The course

teacher will be putted a story about the fuel price rising. The
students will be draw a graph as we draw in MS Excel for the
assignment.

Nadir Saeed Sarhadi

M.Phil. Mass Comm MULL