(Buhbing, 2005)
there is nothing bad about sharing a truth across the world
but well... THE TRUTH?! WHO DEFINES IT?
The advance Internet and communication technologies have granted media with the power of global influence. Not only do global readers get to access to the news report from any media almost-readily via the Internet, various media ‘superpowers’ are known to have ‘invaded’ into local news, creating a prevalent worrying phenomenon of the Globalisation of news. We, the global audiences, acquire similar, if not the same, information from these media giant, and are likely be influenced the same way, thereby turning the world into a global village.
Due to increasing competition from various relatively new news media channels, in particularly through the online mode, as well as the increasing commercialization of media environment, many smaller news organisation or ‘forced’, in one way or another, to work with transnational media ‘superpowers’ (Breit, 2001). Yet, despite arguments and debates over the need for a diversity of news so as to provide a more comprehensive and multi-perception of news reports, the impact of globalization of news might not be gravely negative, at the very least, we are given the privilege of knowing more about the world.
Especially for relatively smaller media corporations like Singapore Press Holdings, as compared to large western media giants, it is practically impossible for the organisation to send its correspondent to every single part of the world, and hence with global news agency, it allows a greater part of the world to be covered in the papers (Thussu, 2006). Moreover, in the field of, say, entertainment industry, highly dominated by the US, a globalised network of news media allows a more ‘credible’ and more coverage of these news of interest to be transmitted to all parts of the world at amazing speed (of a click).
Yet, the need for localisation of news cannot be neglected. Large global news resources may have overtaken the efficiency of foreign correspondents of local news corporation, yet, foreign correspondents is still significant – to look at an international event in the eyes of the local and to bring out issues that may not be seen as important in the eyes of the other nationalities but are deem as public interest to the locals.
Just like the famous SpiderMan quote, ‘With great power comes great responsibility’. Journalists, in this age of journalism being increasingly shaped by the globalisation of media, now have to account for larger and more complex global responsibilities. The Internet, being one of the greatest sources of news for journalist, may have lessened the tasks f journalists, yet the true challenge of journalism in the present society is the responsible and effective use of such global news resources.
Reference
Breit, R. 2001, ‘Journalism in the Global Village’, in S Tapsall & C Varley (eds), Journalism: Theory in Practice, pp.213- 231, Oxford University Press, New York.
Buhbing. (2011, April 25). Globalized News Project [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGNTMtEZ970
MediaChannel. 2008. Ultraconcentrated Media. [Image] Available from: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGK7zofkAoRtq-ONoxCng2qRZ76QDpD8QNkJqNMd6fnXtKuP53ioufTSXPZXoFmotxaH_GcGytURYD3-NsHnrrQpxt_LBWRBEb9ZEHt1HYUWPi35kYGBUpA3Ws80TL3SOmc_55PDwpMZvE/s1600/mediamoguls.jpg [Accessed 29 May 2011].
Thussu, D. K. 2006, International Communication: Continuity and Change, Hodder Arnold, London.
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