Discussion post: Freedom of expression and cultural concerns

Read or view all the articles/videos linked below for use in the discussion assignment. Select the item(s) you find most interesting and respond to the question(s).

You must use this template for your posts: (please check on the bottom)

Post is based upon/is a response to:
Two Concepts Used: [list both]
Text of Post:

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Global Communication

Discussion post: Freedom of expression and cultural concerns

Read or view all the articles/videos linked below for use in the discussion assignment. Select the item(s) you find most interesting and respond to the question(s).

You must use this template for your posts:
(please check on the bottom)

Post is based upon/is a response to:
Two Concepts Used: [list both]
Text of Post:

First paragraph
Second paragraph

ESSENTIAL READINGS:

Sinclair, J., E. Lacka, , and S. Cunningham. Peripheral Vision 
Tomilson, J. Cultural Imperialism

ADDITIONAL READINGS
:

Huffman, John et al. Global Communication Law In: Kamalipour’s Global Communication, – pp. 79-104

MATERIALS FOR DISCUSSION:

1). Interactive Freedom of the press around the world.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/freedom-of-the-press-around-the-world/article4104340/

Were you surprised by any change of the scores on the press freedom interactive map?
2). Governments using filters to censor Internet, survey finds.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/17/technology/17iht-censor.4.5758546.html

What are some of the territorial differences in government censorship of the Internet?
3). Dane Defends Press Freedom as Muslims Protest Cartoons.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/01/international/europe/01danish.html (Links to an external site.)

How do you feel about Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s position on press freedom in his country as he responded to the newspaper’s decision to publish the drawings? Please explain your response using references to the linked article and make strong connections to at least two concepts mentioned in the readings.
4). Danish Daily Apologizes for Muhammad Cartoons.

Danish daily appologises for Muhammad cartoons

What do you think of Flemming Rose’s response to the newspaper’s apology? Please explain your response using references to the linked YouTube video and make strong connections to at least two concepts mentioned in the readings.
5). ECHELON: Total Information Awareness NSA.
What is your attitude to the Echelon program? Please explain your response using the articles linked below:

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/echelon04.htm (Links to an external site.)

http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/03/uncovering-echelon-the-top-secret-nsa-program-that-has-been-watching-you-your-entire-life/#.pvuxkm:Y1QE (Links to an external site.)

6). Press Freedom vs. State Security: Israel’s Anat Kam Faces Jail for Leaking Army Files.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/0408/Press-freedom-vs.-state-security-Israel-s-Anat-Kam-faces-jail-for-leaking-army-files

Do you feel that Kam endangered Israel or its citizens?
7). The Americanization of Mental Illness.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/magazine/10psyche-t.html

Do you feel Americanizing the world’s understanding of mental health and illness can be called ‘a grand project’?

TEMPLATE FOR YOUR DISCUSSION POST:

Based on the materials for this week, I will touch up on the following concepts:

Propaganda and its role.

What is it, what it means to us and how is it connected to globalization are the questions I was asking myself while reading the article on the interview with Edward Herman and Noam Chonsky about the propaganda model after 20 years.  Propaganda is described to be the spreading of ideas, information or rumors.  It always has a purpose, politically, economically, in a military sphere or other spheres.  Propaganda to the author of this article is connected to power, it is useful for understanding the issues and forecasting.  I believe that information is power, and information communicated to the world is limitless.  I started thinking of commercial (TV, radio, internet) structure, especially when the article mentioned ownership, advertising and sourcing.  These are three out of five filters that I found most relevant to my interests.  Ownership is mostly dealing with markets, cross-border integration and definitely communication more and more nowadays that play by specific rules and market share limits.  Advertising is becoming a bigger force and developing more rapidly because of the increased competition domestically and internationally, especially with the increase of the internet and media use.  Sourcing.  What is considered by that?  Public relations offerings press release and dependence on wire sources are ways propaganda gets spread around the world.  It gathers data and analyzes the demographics, weaknesses and the particular interests of a certain areas, time or situation that requires the most attention.  While reading this article I was trying to understand for myself if propaganda is ever directed towards establishing the truth.  It seems like it is usually used to push some kind of agenda and is disciplined in its processes.  The article mentioned that propaganda model clearly does not rest on any conspiracy assumption, and media is the main mechanism that enables it to work.   

Globalization and media.

I found the video provided for this week very powerful.  It was on the globalization of trade.  Information delivery and dissemination process according to it is one sided and misrepresented.  Media.  Do we ever think of what it is?  I sure don’t.  It’s a part of our everyday routine, something that is always around; we are so used to it, that we don’t even notice it as a separate entity.  When I thought of media, in my eyes it appeared cool, entertaining, pretty great even … until I watched this video.  I looked at media from a completely different perspective.  I think that was the purpose of the video, to bring awareness to us, to remind us to always question and look at things from different directions.  It talked about news reporting, companies doing it being commercially funded.  Media is descried to make a world a smaller place.  Is that even possible?  What does it mean exactly?  Well, making world a smaller place by narrowing the range of discourse.  We see on TV, we hear on the news only what is being allowed for us to see.  We only see it from the side being supported by the powerful layer.  In order for us to get the full picture, we absolutely have to question things we see, there is always another side to everything.  Did I ever question things I saw on TV (news, for instance)?  No, absolutely not.  We watch the news, we turn to a different television program and keep going with our lives.  Do we ever question if what we saw was true?  Do we ever seek the truth?  Do we even care?  The video was powerful to me, I realized that the real power lays in questioning the product delivered.  Demonstrations and street rally bring up the real issues and concerns of the community.  We only see them if they were recorded by the members of those movements and shared via internet to reach a wider audience.  If covered by the mass media, it is usually very compressed and made seem of no value.  The issues and concerns are not being covered, analyzed, discussed and dealt with.  Instead, we see more of something that is important in politics circles, or in the economy.  We struggle to make a difference, globalization makes so many things possible, but what about media?  Good or bad agent?  Positive or negative influence?  Media sides with powerful and against the powerless.  And this is the first time I saw it that way after watching a simple 20-minute video for this class, which made a huge difference in the way I saw and see it now.