The Myth of Media Globalization (PDF)

The ongoing interconnection of the world through modern mass media
is generally considered to be one of the major developments
underpinning globalization. This important book considers anew the
globalization phenomenon in the media sphere.

Rather than heralding globalization or warning of its dangers,
as in many other books, Kai Hafez analyses the degree to which
media globalization is really taking place. Do we have enough
evidence to show that there is a linear and accelerated move
towards transnationalization in the media?

All too often the empirical data presented seems rather more
anecdotal than representative. Many transborder media phenomena are
overestimated and taken out of the context of locally and
nationally oriented mainstream media processes all over the world.
The inherent danger is that a central paradigm of the social
sciences, rather than bearing scholarly substance, will turn out to
be a myth and even a sometimes dangerously ideological tool.

Based on a theoretical debate of media globalization, the work
discusses most major fields of media development, including foreign
reporting, satellite TV, film, internet, foreign broadcasting,
media and migration, media policy and media economy. As an
important new contribution to timely debates, The Myth of Media
Globalization will be essential and provocative reading for
students and scholars alike.