The Myth of Media Globalization

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.

Review

“This book carefully picks asunder some of the key assumptions embedded in the accepted debate about globalization. The radical contribution of this fine book is its meticulous examination of evidence used in the mainstream globalization debate. Hafez insists, convincingly, that this myth is riddled with perceptual errors, ideological projections and political interests. This book is a well-argued, much-needed intervention that pleads for better scholarship to illuminate the ‘necessary myth’ of globalization.” Prof. Farrell Corcoran, Dublin City University in: Global Media and Communication “The book offers a good combination of theoretical and empirical response to the mainstream debate about globalization challenges the easy assumption that the advance of globalization is inevitably taking over the world with enormous influence on different societies in terms of national politics, cultures and economy. What Hafez manages to achieve in this book is to affirm that there are no truly transnational media, and that the ultimate power in media regulation remains in national hands. We are yet to see the emergence of a global public sphere. Along with this interesting and useful argument that is not so ‘conventional’, this book offers a thorough review of the mainstream debate over globalization and its influence over the world, which I feel will be very useful. A major virtue of this book is that it does not only look into the cultural dimension of globalization, but also into the economic implications and impacts upon national politics, media policies and news and information.” Dr. Lian Zhu, Bournemouth University in: European Journal of Communication “Hafez definitely succeeds at what he sets out to do: to critically summarize and assess the available empirical evidence of the various dimensions of media globalization using a system theory framework. The emphasis on actual empirical evidence for key statements in globalization scholarship is refreshing, and this book is an important contribution to the ongoing debate about media globalization. Recommended.” Dr. Henrik Örnebring, University of Oxford in: Hot Topics in Journalism and Mass Communication “Given the scope and clarity, I would not hesitate to assign the book in upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses. Hafez delivers an airtight argument to respond to declarations about the new role of the ‘global media’ in a post-everything era.” Prof. Silvio Waisbord, George Washington University, Washington, D.C. in: British Journal of Sociology “To his immense credit,