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![Introduction 7
how key companies and technologies are driving this development. These include
both media and communications hardware, such as the smartphone and digital
infrastructure in general, and the major services for online communication,
navigation, and web searches. Throughout the twenty-first century, a major issue
facing the industry is the demand for sustainable development, particularly in
terms of electronic waste, recycling, and carbon emissions.
Coupled with deregulation, privatization, and commercialization, a key
process both driving and resulting from the transformations within the global
media and communications landscape is convergence (Castells, 2013; Iosifidis,
2011; International Telecommunication Union [ITU], 2021; Thussu, 2010;
Thussu and Nordenstreng, 2021). The smartphone is at the center of global
media and communications in the twenty-first century. It has revolutionized
how we consume media and communicate, but increasingly, how we access
other services within the fields of finance, health, and education. In fact, the
smartphone should be seen as a key driving force in the processes associated
with convergence. While Western smartphone producers used to dominate sales
globally, Chinese producers have now taken the lead.
The global popularization of the online environment is much due to the
sophisticated and extensive monetizing of online users and the general growth
in digital advertising, reaching over 50 percent of all global advertising in 2020
(McStay, 2016; Sinclair, 2012; Spurgeon, 2008; Turow, 2011). Here, localization
is key to the unprecedented expansion of online media companies in national
and local contexts, and the catering for and monetization of individual
users (Chalaby, 2009; Mjøs, 2012). Still, localization has not enabled US and
Western media and communications companies to enter China’s enormous
domestic media and communications sector and the online market, with
the most internet users in the world and Chinese-owned search engines,
social media, and streaming and cloud services (Thussu, 2018; Thussu and
Nordenstreng, 2021; Zhu and Keane, 2021). Global media and communications
are also characterized by dominance, as a handful of companies and services,
such as Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft, have achieved
superior positions. Increasingly, private, corporate, public, and civic life is
dependent on—and influenced by—a few online platforms, and we see the
emergence of platformization in society. The platform economy is mainly
driven by these US companies, and only Chinese companies such as Baidu,
Alibaba, and Tencent can compete with their own platforms, although mainly
within China’s domestic market (van Dijck et al., 2018; de Kloet et al., 2019;
Poell et al., 2019).](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/25109417-250511035833-ac6772cc/75/An-Introduction-To-Global-Media-For-The-Twentyfirst-Century-Ole-J-Mjs-24-2048.jpg)
![Introduction 9
can contribute to development. The chapter details key theoretical concepts and
perspectives that have shaped this tradition within global media, often broadly
referred to as “development communication.”
Beginning with the early influential “top-down” modernization theory
tradition (e.g., Lerner, [1958] 1962; Schramm, 1964), the chapter moves on to
the emergence of the more “bottom-up,” participatory approach in development
communication which followed as a reaction (e.g., Beltran, 1975; Freire, [1970]
2000). The technology-focused approach termed “telecommunication for
development” then emerged, which was a forerunner to the current, highly
influential “information communication technologies for development”
paradigm.Scholars,politicians,andorganizationsemphasizehowICTanddigital
media and communications clearly play a significant role in development (e.g.,
ITU, 2003; Thussu and Nordenstreng, 2021; World Bank, 2016; World Economic
Forum, 2020). However, many also emphasize that there remain major global
digital divides and gaps in connectivity in the world, and, importantly, a number
of factors other than access to ICT are crucial for successfully closing the digital
divide and achieving development (e.g., van Dijk, 2005; ITU, 2018; 2021; Norris,
2001; Ragnedda and Muschert, 2013; Wessels, 2013). Critics also draw attention
to how the world’s largest ICT companies originated in the West, mostly in the
United States, or developed and industrialized Eastern countries such as Japan
and Korea and, increasingly, China. These global technology companies and
digital media and communications companies (e.g., Apple, Huawei, Samsung,
Google, and Facebook) have enormous market power and can be accused of
seeing development as mainly market opportunities. In fact, some argue that it
is the companies and governments of the developed world that benefit from the
expansion of ICT in the developing world (Mosco, 2009; Unwin, 2017). The rise
of China has created geopolitical tension and competition for influence with
Western countries, and the United States in particular, as Chinese authorities
havelaunchedanumberofmajortechnologyanddigitalinfrastructureinitiatives
and partnerships with developing countries across the world (Hillman, 2021;
Lisinge, 2020; Thussu, 2018; Thussu and Nordenstreng, 2021).
Chapter 6: The corporatization and commercialization of the global digital
media and communications landscape, and worldwide expansion of US
companies, fronted by Google’s and Facebook’s dominant positions in search
and social media markets, and Netflix’s and other streaming services’ rapid
growth worldwide, raise concerns among scholars, the public, policy makers,
and regulators. There is a concern about dominance, competition for the national
media audiences and advertising market, exploitation of user data, and reduced](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/25109417-250511035833-ac6772cc/75/An-Introduction-To-Global-Media-For-The-Twentyfirst-Century-Ole-J-Mjs-26-2048.jpg)
![Global Media for the Twenty-First Century
10
national autonomy regarding regulation, privacy of citizens, and the public
sphere. The rise of China also leads to geopolitical tensions and new competition
for power and influence across the global media and communications
landscape. However, several of these current concerns mirror those of the past.
The distribution of US films, television programming, and cultural products
and the parallel international growth of media companies triggered and
motivated the emergence of a theoretical tradition concerned with the uneven
structural power and asymmetry in influence within these processes and the
consequences of this development. While the development of communication
approaches viewed media and communications as a force for societal change
and improvement, the new tradition was concerned with the harmful effects of
imported media and foreign media companies’ activities. In the 1960s, 1970s,
and 1980s, a number of concepts and terms, such as “cultural imperialism”
(Schiller, [1976] 2018), “media imperialism” (Boyd Barret, 1977), and “cultural
synchronization” (Hamelink, 1983), were introduced to support this argument
and became central to this tradition. Several of these terms achieved prominence
in academia and were also adopted in politics and in public. This chapter first
traces the emergence of this tradition and its concepts and discusses the presence
of similar concerns today. The continuing preoccupation with, for example, the
term “imperialism,” through recent concepts such as “platform imperialism” (Jin,
2015) and “regional imperialism” (Boyd-Barret, 2015), along with terms such
as “digital colonialism” (Kwet, 2019), “data colonialism” (Couldry and Mejias,
2019), “algorithmic injustice” (Birhane, 2021; Birhane and Cummins, 2019),
“micro-targeting propaganda” (Boyd Barrett, 2020), and “global personalization”
clearly shows that concerns of uneven power, exploitation, and dominance
remain strong throughout the twenty-first century. This chapter will therefore
trace the manifestations of such critical thinking and theories throughout the
history of international communication and global media.
Chapter 7: Throughout the twenty-first century, the worldwide adoption
of the internet, and the popularization of smartphones and other digital
devices and services, have given unprecedented opportunities for media users
to communicate, consume, and distribute media products across the world.
Scholarly interest in digital media audiences and users has increased significantly.
However, the preoccupation with understanding the media audience and user
is not new. The previous chapter shows how the critical political economy
tradition—concerned with asymmetric power relations, exploitation of user data,
and dominance—stretches from the 1960s up until today. However, already in
the 1970s, scholars began criticizing this tradition for having major weaknesses.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/25109417-250511035833-ac6772cc/75/An-Introduction-To-Global-Media-For-The-Twentyfirst-Century-Ole-J-Mjs-27-2048.jpg)
![Introduction 15
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![Introduction 17
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![From the Telegraph to the Internet 23
news agencies in return for a service of national news and payment of a
subscription fee by the national agencies. In general [...] the national agencies
had exclusive rights to the distribution of cartel news in their territories, and
the cartel had exclusive rights to the national agency news services.
(Boyd Barrett, 1998: 27)
While the members of the cartel were established as national news agencies,
their international operations made them “the first significant form of global
media” (Herman and McChesney, 1997: 12). The cartel was later reorganized
when the American Associated Press (AP) and United Press (UP) news agencies
became part of it, and the members divided global markets for news (Boyd
Barrett, 1998: 27; Winseck and Pike, 2007: xvi). As some argue, these Western
news agencies “were, in effect, the global media until well into the twentieth
century, and even after the dawn of broadcasting their importance for global
journalism was unsurpassed” (Herman and McChesney, 1997: 12).
In the late 1920s, after the introduction of commercial radio in the United
States and the launch of radio by the British public service broadcaster
BBC (1922), shortwave bands enabled radio broadcasting worldwide. The
US commercial broadcasters NBC and CBS, and the BBC rebroadcast their
national programming for an international audience, and the former two
saw it as an opportunity to enter national radio markets with US commercial
advertising, and Latin America in particular (Woods, 1992: 1). However, these
early commercial approaches overseas proved unsuccessful. Instead, it was the
political opportunities international radio broadcasts created that were to have
major significance. The start of the Second World War “brought about the first
explosion of international propaganda broadcasting; it was a powerful weapon
of war for all participants” (Woods, 1992: 2). Parallel to the development of
national and local markets populated by both commercial and public radio
stations, the role of radio continued to be a major means of international
propaganda throughout the Cold War as radio stations transmitted from
the Western and Eastern blocs; each “demonstrated commitment to their
respective ideologies” (Somerville, 2012; Woods, 1992). From the West, the
US-backed Voice of America, Radio Liberty, and Radio Free Europe, the
latter two funded by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), broadcast into
the Eastern European states and the Soviet Union. From the East, the Soviet
Union’s Radio Moscow transmitted both domestically and internationally
(Somerville, 2012: 56).](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/25109417-250511035833-ac6772cc/75/An-Introduction-To-Global-Media-For-The-Twentyfirst-Century-Ole-J-Mjs-40-2048.jpg)
![Global Media for the Twenty-First Century
24
The Emergence of Film and Television in a Global Context:
Programming Export, Television Systems, and Cable and
Satellite Television
In the beginning of the twentieth century—prior to the First World War—US
films were only dominant in Germany and Britain. In 1911, the main producers
of US films had a presence in the UK, and US films had a 50 to 60 percent
market share between 1910 and 1914. In contrast, Italian, French, and British
film was popular throughout the European market. For example, around 1913,
around one-third of films released in Germany were US produced, slightly less
were from Italy, and around 20 percent of films in the German market were split
between the UK and Germany (Segrave, 1997: 4). However, this was to change:
When World War I began in August 1914, the U.S. Industry received the final
impetus and advantage necessary to take control of the world film market.
[...] [N]ew production was drastically receded throughout Europe. Shipping
problems from Europe to other areas played havoc with what little product
remained. Yet, exhibitors around the world needed product to fill their screens.
(Segrave, 1997: 12)
In fact, between 1915 and 1916 the export of US films increased from 36 million
feet of film to 159 million, while film imports to the United States was more
than halved: from 16 million to 7 million feet by the mid-1920s. At the time,
Hollywood took advantage of the increased popularity of the feature film format
and exported to Asia and Latin America. As a consequence, US films were
“almost wiping out Brazilian productions” (Miller and Maxwell, 2006: 36). The
international expansion became institutionalized, so from 1919 income from
foreign markets was included in the budget of Hollywood productions (Miller
and Maxwell, 2006: 36). At the start of the 1920s, US films had conquered the
world’s cinemas, as national markets were destroyed by war:
American movies clearly and totally dominated the world film market. There
was nobody close enough to even be in the running for number two. All the
former serious rivals had been decimated by the war. Such nations did not
return to normal the day after hostilities ceased. Many more years were needed
to reconstruct their societies; filmmaking was rarely a top priority.
(Segrave, 1997: 18)
In the wake of the Second World War, as national cinema markets around the
world were demolished or at least dramatically reduced, US film reestablished
their dominance in world markets. By the late 1940s, US films had a dominant](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/25109417-250511035833-ac6772cc/75/An-Introduction-To-Global-Media-For-The-Twentyfirst-Century-Ole-J-Mjs-41-2048.jpg)
![From the Telegraph to the Internet 35
Health, Investigation Discovery—reached hundreds of millions of viewers
across the world.
Discovery Channel has had a pioneering role in cable and satellite
narrowcasting of popularized factual television themes such as science,
engineering, technology, archeology, and wildlife. Since its launch, the television
channel has targeted a segment of the television audience—adults aged twenty-
five to fifty-four, and particularly men—while other Discovery-owned television
channels have targeted different viewer segments such as females and children
(Discovery, 2015). In the 2000s, Discovery Channel began to distribute originally
produced series that soon became popular across the world: MythBusters, River
Monsters, Gold Rush, American Chopper, and Deadliest Catch. Furthermore,
Discovery and BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of BBC, have through the
largest factual television deal in history spanning fifteen years—1998–2013—
introduced the blockbuster logic to the factual genre by creating global factual
cross-media brands such as the Walking with ... media brands, and the natural
history series Blue Planet, Planet Earth, and Frozen Planet. At the time of the
rapid international expansion of Discovery, the founder of Discovery Channel,
John Hendricks, stated:
[A] principle is to think globally and to act locally. The new technologies
give us the chance to span the world and tie it together in ways never before
imagined. The goal is not to export one culture in an effort to dominate and
denigrate others. It is to showcase a mosaic of influences—to venerate the best
of many cultures in hopes of forming a truly global culture. (Hendricks, 1996)
What does Discovery consider as “the best” and “global culture” since its
worldwide expansion? One must assume that “the best” and “global culture” are
chosen according to the Discovery Channel’s program policy and its targeted
audience. The company has described itself in the following way: “Discovery
produces content that appeals to a global audience, working across dozens of
languages and cultures. We augment our global content with local productions
and customized programming to increase relevancy and reach” (Discovery, 2015).
Although Discovery Channel emerged as a major global provider of factual
information, the programs’ accounts of the real world have a defined focus. This
has also included a notion of “government-friendliness” (Hendricks, quoted in
Thal Larsen, 2003: 8), and a certain limit of critical portrayal of the real world
in many programs. However, this gives the global television channel a crucial
ability to cross cultural, political, and religious boundaries unhindered. There
is a certain presence of entertainment in Discovery Channel’s programming
represented by the spectacular: the biggest, the most dangerous, the heaviest,
and so on. This indicates that—on one level—“the best of many cultures in](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/25109417-250511035833-ac6772cc/75/An-Introduction-To-Global-Media-For-The-Twentyfirst-Century-Ole-J-Mjs-52-2048.jpg)
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An Introduction To Global Media For The Twentyfirst Century Ole J Mjs
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- 8. An Introduction toGlobal Media for the Twenty-First Century Ole J. Mjøs
- 9. BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC Bloomsbury PublishingInc 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP , UK 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA 29 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, Ireland BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in Great Britain 2023 Copyright © Ole J. Mjøs, 2023 Ole J. Mjøs has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work For legal purposes the Acknowledgments on p. xii constitute an extension of this copyright page. Cover design: Eleanor Rose Cover image © Getty Images All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Bloomsbury Publishing Inc does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Mjos, Ole J., 1970- author. Title: An introduction to global media / Ole J. Mjøs. Description: New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “A student-friendly book that assesses how such trends as marketization, conglomeration, digital convergence, personalization and competition, are transforming the global media landscape”– Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2022015445 (print) | LCCN 2022015446 (ebook) | ISBN 9781350348714 (hardback) | ISBN 9781350348707 (paperback) | ISBN 9781350348745 (epub) | ISBN 9781350348738 (pdf) | ISBN 9781350348721 Subjects: LCSH: Mass media and globalization. | Communication, International. Classification: LCC P94.6 M5455 2022 (print) | LCC P94.6 (ebook) | DDC 302.2–dc23/eng/20220804 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022015445 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022015446 ISBN: HB: 978-1-3503-4871-4 PB: 978-1-3503-4870-7 ePDF: 978-1-3503-4873-8 eBook: 978-1-3503-4874-5 Typeset by Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd. To find out more about our authors and books visit www.bloomsbury.com and sign up for our newsletters.
- 10. To Mari andFrida.
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- 12. List of CaseStudies viii List of Tables ix About the Author xi Acknowledgments xii 1 Introduction 1 Part 1 Key Developments: Industry, Infrastructure, Content, and Audiences 2 The Emergence of a Global Media and Communications Landscape: From the Telegraph to the Internet 21 3 The Popularization and Consolidation of the Global Online Environment: The Internet, Social Media, and Search Engines 47 4 Media Companies, Content, and Branding in the Global Digital Age: Platforms, Distribution, and Production 89 Part 2 Key Theoretical Traditions: The Continuity of Themes and Concerns 5 The Role of Media and Communications in Development: Modernization, Progress, and Social Change 123 6 The Power of Media and Communications: Imperialism, Influence, and Dominance 151 7 The Power of Media Audiences and Users: Empowerment and Autonomy 187 8 The Dimensions of Globalization in the Context of Media and Communications 213 Index 244 Contents
- 13. 2.1 Television Advertisingin a Global Context 31 2.2 The Discovery Channel and the Factual Television Genre 34 2.3 Cookies—Connecting Users, Advertising, and Online Services 40 3.1 The Rise and Fall of Nokia—Once the World’s Largest Mobile Phone Producer 52 3.2 Digital Media and Technology, E-Waste, and Sustainability 53 3.3 The Facebook “Like” Button—More Revealing than You Think 68 4.1 Global Television Formats 94 4.2 Netflix and Global Streaming 99 4.3 Popcorn Time and Online Video Piracy 105 5.1 The “Digital Silk Road” and the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) 140 5.2 Facebook, Google, and Development 141 6.1 Cambridge Analytica, Facebook, and Global Personalization 173 6.2 “Fake News” and Global Platforms 176 7.1 Music, Digitization, and the Creative Media User 196 8.1 Hyper-Localization and Global Personalization in the Digital Era 221 8.2 TikTok: Globalizing and Localizing Chinese Social Media in the United States 230 Case Studies
- 14. Tables 3.1 Global PopulationCoverage by Mobile Network, 2021 49 3.2 Global Mobile Phone Producers—Market Share 50 3.3 Global Mobile Phone Producers—Sales 51 3.4 Worldwide Smartphone Sales by Region, 2020–1 51 3.5 Major Acquisitions and Investments in Social Media Companies 58 3.6 Global Distribution of Advertising Spending Worldwide in 2020, by Medium 60 3.7 Facebook—Daily Active Users, December 31, 2020 64 3.8 Facebook’s Global Revenue 64 3.9 Facebook’s Average Revenue per User (ARPU), December 2020 66 3.10 Facebook’s Revenue by Geography, 2018–20 66 3.11 Google Revenues 71 3.12 Global Market Share of Search Engines 72 3.13 Share of Desktop Search Traffic Originating from Google in Selected Countries as of October 2020 72 3.14 Google’s Revenues by Geography 73 3.15 Global Social Networks Ranked by Number of Monthly Active Users, 2021 76 3.16 Top Cloud Services Global Market Share 79 4.1 Netflix Global Revenue by Region, 2020 90 4.2 The Major Streaming Services’ Programming Budget, 2020 91 4.3 Major Acquisitions of Media Companies in 2018–21 92 4.4 SVOD Revenues by Top Five Countries 99 4.5 Netflix Global Subscriptions 99 4.6 Netflix Subscribers by Region, 2021 100 4.7 Local Programming Standouts, Country of Origin, and Viewers in the First Four Weeks of Release, Q1 2021 101 4.8 Top Three OTT SVOD Services in European Countries, 2020 103 4.9 Media and Technology Companies in the Top 100 Best Global Brands, 2020 112 5.1 ICT Development Index 2017: The Twenty Top and Bottom Countries 132
- 15. Table x 6.1 Disney Channel:Global Expansion in Selected Countries 157 6.2 Disney Branded Children’s Television Channels—Estimated Subscribers, September 2020 158 6.3 Disney+ Global Subscribers, 2019–21 159 6.4 The Top Ten Leading 150 Global Licensors, 2020 160 6.5 Public Service Broadcasting: Public Funding per Head of Population, 2020 163 6.6 National Public Service Broadcasters’ Children’s Television Channels in Europe, 2021 164
- 16. About the Author OleJ. Mjøs is Professor in Media Studies at the Department of Information Science and Media Studies, University of Bergen, Norway. He specializes in the fields of international communication and global media. He is co-author of The Media Welfare State: Nordic Media in the Digital Era (2014) and author of Music, Social Media and Global Mobility: MySpace, Facebook, YouTube (2012) and Media Globalization and the Discovery Channel Networks (2010). He has been a visiting scholar at the Center for Global Communication Studies, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, USA, and visiting researcher at the Centre for Mobilities Research, Lancaster University, UK. He holds a PhD from the University of Westminster, UK.
- 17. This book drawson my work and research in the field, including previously published material. The main concept of the book first appeared in my article “Internationalcommunicationandglobalmedia:Continuityofcriticalconcerns” (2015; Communication Research and Practice, 1, 3: 267–74). The book specifically uses previously published material from two of my books, Media Globalization and the Discovery Channel Networks (2010; London: Routledge) and Music, Social Media and Global Mobility: MySpace, Facebook, YouTube (2012; London: Routledge). Pages 28–31, 33, 34, 108, 109, 111–13, 156, and 157 are previously published in Media Globalization and Discovery Channel Networks. Pages 23, 24, 38–41, 56–9, 60–2, 63, 64, and 74–6 are previously published in Music, Social Media and Global Mobility: MySpace, Facebook, YouTube. Permission to reuse the material has been obtained from the publisher, and I thank them for giving such permission. Where possible, URLs from the previous edition text have been updated to ensure that they still work. However, some instances of URLs from the previous edition no longer work, and cannot be restored. These have been left as they are, for transparency. This book cites data from statista.com, and provides the original URLs to the articles on their website. However, statista.com is continually updated, meaning that the exact data cited in this book is no longer easily displayed. For clarity, the dates on which these links were initially accessed have been included. Many thanks to Hallvard Moe, Trine Syvertsen, Vilde S. Sundet, Gunn Enli, and Espen Ytreberg for fruitful discussions and valuable feedback during the very early stages of the development of the book’s concept. I am grateful for the financial support from The Norwegian Non-fiction Fund for this book project. I also wish to thank Katie Gallof, Stephanie Grace-Petinos, and Jonathan Nash at Bloomsbury Academic, and Judy Napper for her copy-editing of the manuscript. Acknowledgments
- 18. The global digitalshift is accelerating throughout the twenty-first century. We adopt global digital media and communications services, devices, and products at unprecedented speed, for all purposes: communication, entertainment, education, health, civic, and lifestyle. Digitization of society, geopolitical shifts, constant technological innovation, and a global pandemic have speeded up this process and are shaping global media and communications in unforeseen ways. This book will present and explain the key changes taking place, but will also show how the field of global media is shaped by a continuity of themes and critical concerns throughout its history up until today. This phrase refers to the aims of the book: to draw attention to the massive changes, but also the continuity of scholarly and theoretical perspectives, themes, and concerns within the field. The book thus first introduces the emergence and consolidation of an international and global media and communications industry and landscape. It then discusses key theoretical traditions and concepts of the field and aims to explain these developments and their consequences. The book shows how the field of international communication and global media consists of several theoretical traditions and concepts that emerged at certain historical periods then became the focus of discourses and defined the field. These traditions consist of the perspectives, themes, and concerns that emerged which were considered by many to accurately theorize major developments in global media and communications and society. They correspond with historical theoretical developments and shifts within the wider media studies discipline. However, a focus on historical periods may lead to a certain compartmentalization, and the omission of perspectives, thoughts, and concepts for understanding the present. This is not to say that this book suggests we move back to the future, so to speak, nor does it take a revisionist approach, but the point is to also explore the existence of a certain continuity of themes and scholarly concerns from when these themes emerged up until the present time. 1 Introduction
- 19. Global Media forthe Twenty-First Century 2 Before we move on to look at the content and approach of the chapters in the book, we need to keep a few important points in mind when dealing with perspectives and concepts that make up theoretical traditions. This will help explain how theories evolve, become adopted and criticized, and sometimes fade, within a chosen field or discipline. First, theories do not emerge out of nowhere. Whether we talk about historical or current theoretical approaches, we need to understand the context in which they appear. Theories or concepts do not appear in a vacuum but reflect and addresstheconcernsofthetime.Theyemergeasscholarsattempttocomprehend and explain developments in society. We should consider definitions of theoretical concepts in relation to a context as it “reflects a historical moment, a cultural setting, a geographical location” (Scholte, 2005: 53). The point is neither to search for a “universally endorsable definition” nor expect all to agree on “a single view,” but to develop perspectives that can be shared and discussed with others (2005: 53). Second, it follows from this that definitions are not absolute. The production of knowledge is an ongoing activity, with new discoveries and the constant testing and reevaluation of existing explanations and meanings. As such, a definition is “in motion rather than fixed,” and our task is to encourage debates and analyses that lead to new insights and new definitions (2005: 53). Third, the book introduces several concepts and terms that are presented, defined, and applied in the relevant parts and discussions of the chapters. As definitions may change over time, this book’s historical approach attempts to address these issues throughout the book. Two fundamental terms of the book are “international” and “global.” While they refer to similar developments, they can be distinguished. The term “international” has a longer history within the field and refers to the various forms of links, flows, ownership structures, and collaborations between parties from two or more national media and communications players, companies, and their audiences, or regulatory bodies. The term “global” has increasingly become part of the field’s terminology over the past decades, much in response to the global expansion of the online infrastructure and media and communications companies, services, and organizations increasingly aiming to attract and reach audiences and users across the world (Mjøs, 2015). However, the focus on the “the global” has been increasing exponentially since the 1960s, although for much of this period “global” was conflated or confused with “international” (Robertson, 2020). During the 1990s, “the global” became more and more visible and “noticeable in virtually any sphere—in economics,
- 20. Introduction 3 finance, advertising,media as well as in culture, politics and social movements” (Nederveen Pieterse, 2021: 4). While the term “global” is not new in any of these spheres, the term’s “salience is new” (Nederveen Pieterse, 2021: 4), and has become far more prominent. For example, we are witnessing a growing “global awareness” of global challenges and problems, such as climate change, epidemics, terrorism, poverty, and financial challenges (Nederveen Pieterse, 2021: 4). Media and communications are central in fostering such global awareness across these different spheres and sectors, and at the same time, it is also an industry that is becoming increasingly more global. The concept of “connectivity” is central to our understanding of the evolvement and characteristics of the global media landscape. Communication wire cables across the Atlantic and throughout the world; global trade in media and cultural products; cable and satellite distribution of television and communication in the twentieth century; the worldwide take-up of the internet as the global digital shift accelerates throughout the twenty-first century; digital technology and globally expanding online services and products that have become central in everyday media use: these developments have all increased connectedness across the world (e.g., Chalaby, 2020; van Dijck, 2013; Flew, 2020; Flew et al., 2016; Mjøs, 2010; 2012; 2015; Nederveen Pieterse, 2021; Thussu, 2006; 2010; Thussu and Nordenstreng, 2021; Winseck and Pike, 2007). This book argues that we need to understand how this global connectedness is created and its characteristics: who constructs, shapes and benefits from it, and what are its limits, and for whom? There is a need for a “critical awareness of the politics of connectivity” in the digital era, not least in relation to Facebook and other major online players (van Dijck, 2011: 173). The use of “global” regarding the media and communications industry and companies can be criticized both because of the traditional US skew of products and revenue of many of them, and their total number of subscribers, audience, and users. Even Netflix, one of the most “global” companies, still has just over 220 million subscribers worldwide, and national broadcasters and media outlets and their products continue to attract large shares of audiences. While the term “global” can refer to scale, for example, to a media company with a presence in over 100 territories, or Facebook with around 3 billion users, it can also refer to increased “interdependence” in the sector, as companies increasingly interact across borders and rely on one another for the design, manufacture, distribution, and marketing of a product (Chalaby, 2016: 36). Since the 1980s, global production and value networks and global supply chains
- 21. Global Media forthe Twenty-First Century 4 have proliferated in retailing and other industries (Nederveen Pieterse, 2021: 3). This is also increasingly the case within the media and communications industry. “Global” can therefore also refer to the way that media production and distribution is increasingly organized across the world: “A handful of global firms and products do not make a system global,” but the global value chains do as they link together national markets and companies, institutions, places and networks (Chalaby, 2020: 382). Furthermore, competition in the media and communications industry is becoming global, as local, regional, national, and the major globally expanding media and communications companies move online (e.g., recently Disney+), facing the internet-based giants, and as geopolitical shifts lead to the expansion of regional companies and networks (e.g., those in China). In terms of the relationship between the global, regional, national, and local, the role of the nation-state is a key part of the discussion. While some argue its position is diminishing in the face of the global (Castells, 2013; Chalaby, 2009; 2020), others emphasize its sustainability, persistence, and adaptability (Flew, 2020; Flew and Waisbord, 2015; Syvertsen et al., 2014) and its key role in negotiating and coordinating these complex relationships in the industry (Flew, 2020). In fact, some point out how the process of “glocalization,” the way the global and local connect and interact (e.g., Facebook and its individual users, or the climate crisis and sustainability and individual citizens across the world), is key to understanding the current state of world society (Robertson, 2020). The book introduces central industry developments and trends together with key theoretical traditions of the field of international communication and global media. It thereby aims to actualize and mobilize the empirical and theoretical history of the field to help explain how the global media and communications landscape is shaped by significant change, but also continuity. The concept of the global coexists with the regional, national, local, and individual media users, and this book aims to contribute to our understanding of their relationships, not least in terms of power, autonomy, influence, and democratic and sustainable development, in the context of media and communications. Part One of the book consists of three chapters that focus on key historical phases and developments of the internationalizing and globalizing media and communications landscape. With a focus on industry developments, and through examples and case studies, it first focuses on the twentieth century, giving an introduction to the early development of an international telegraph and cable infrastructure, and the emergence of Western-based international news agencies utilizing the new possibilities for cross-national communication.
- 22. Introduction 5 The developmentof US film exports as a major force is then discussed, with the establishment of television, a culturally and politically powerful medium in the national context, yet also of particular significance in the internationalization process, both in terms of distribution of foreign programming and advertising, and the expansion of cable and satellite television worldwide, and the early phase ofdigitizationandanemerginginternet.ThisleadstothesecondpartofPartOne: the twenty-first century. The global digital shift accelerates the digitization of the global media and communications sector, in particular through the expansion, commercialization, and popularization of the internet and digital infrastructure and connected devices, of which the smartphone is key. The consolidation of global online media and services such as social media, search engines, and streaming entities has increasingly shaped and contributed to redefining the media and communications sector. Technology companies entering the sector as content acquirers and distributors, and geopolitical developments characterized by the expansion of non-Western companies, contribute to reconfiguring the sector in the digital age in unforeseen ways. Part Two of the book consists of four chapters that focus on key theoretical traditions of the field of international and global media. In line with the book’s rationale of drawing attention to the continuity of themes and concerns within the field, this part traces the emergence of theoretical traditions that have shaped and continue to shape the field. The book focuses on four such traditions that all aim to explain the internationalizing and globalizing media landscape and key consequences of these developments up until today. The first tradition focuses on the recurring theme of the role of media and communications in modernizing, developing, and fostering social change across the world. The second tradition is about the power of media in an international and global context. This tradition is concerned with the uneven distribution of cultural, political, and financial influence and how major companies and the media and communications industry of certain Western and developed countries dominate and wield influence across the world, and how user data is collected and exploited by such players. The third tradition is preoccupied with the media audience and users’ perspective and how they experience empowerment and influence within the media and communications landscape, and how they contribute to shaping it. The fourth tradition focuses on how the term “globalization” emerged and became prominent within the field. This tradition consists of and reflects different concerns and diverse opinions as to how globalization unfolds, its intensity and its possible consequences.
- 23. Global Media forthe Twenty-First Century 6 Part One: Key Developments: Industry, Infrastructure, Content, and Audiences Chapter 2: This chapter traces the development of an international and global media landscape in the mid-nineteenth century up until the beginning of the twenty-first century. A key starting point is the emergence of the telegraph and undersea cables, creating the first international communications infrastructure, and the subsequent establishment of the first international, or according to some global, media companies, namely the Western news agencies, that exploited this new infrastructure (Boyd Barrett, 1998; Winseck and Pike, 2007: 16). The chapter then draws attention to the growing export of film from the first half of the twentieth century. The US industry was from the beginning a driver in this process, leading to its strong position across the world today (Miller and Maxwell, 2006; Miller et al., 2005; Segrave, 1997). The next part looks at the establishment of television across the world in the mid-twentieth century, and how the export of television and film programming, with the United States as the leading player, became a key driving force in shaping the world’s media and communications sectors (Nordenstreng and Varis, 1974; Straubhaar, 2007). At the same time, national and regional media sectors were maturing, and in many ways represent a counterforce to US imports through domestic production and distribution, as well as increased flows within and between regional media centers in both the South and North (Mellor et al., 2011; Sinclair et al., 1996; Straubhaar,2007;Syvertsenetal.,2014;Thussu,2006).TheexpansionofUScable and satellite television channels across the world, beginning in the last decades of the twentieth century, is a further key development in the internationalization of this landscape (Chalaby, 2002; 2009; Mjøs, 2010). Toward the end of the twentieth century, digitization, and the emergence of the internet as a new cross- national media and communications infrastructure, impacting on the media and communications industry, and speculative investments drove the value of internet-based companies and services. The financial collapse in the value of these entities at the turn of the twentieth and into the twenty-first century did not end the development of the internet. The expansion and popularity of the internet was ensured, and its central position in the international and global media landscape became increasingly evident. Chapter 3: This chapter looks at the emergence and consolidation of a global online environment and the expansion of key online companies and services dominating this landscape in the twenty-first century. The chapter explains how this environment functions through advertising and monetization of users, and
- 24. Introduction 7 how keycompanies and technologies are driving this development. These include both media and communications hardware, such as the smartphone and digital infrastructure in general, and the major services for online communication, navigation, and web searches. Throughout the twenty-first century, a major issue facing the industry is the demand for sustainable development, particularly in terms of electronic waste, recycling, and carbon emissions. Coupled with deregulation, privatization, and commercialization, a key process both driving and resulting from the transformations within the global media and communications landscape is convergence (Castells, 2013; Iosifidis, 2011; International Telecommunication Union [ITU], 2021; Thussu, 2010; Thussu and Nordenstreng, 2021). The smartphone is at the center of global media and communications in the twenty-first century. It has revolutionized how we consume media and communicate, but increasingly, how we access other services within the fields of finance, health, and education. In fact, the smartphone should be seen as a key driving force in the processes associated with convergence. While Western smartphone producers used to dominate sales globally, Chinese producers have now taken the lead. The global popularization of the online environment is much due to the sophisticated and extensive monetizing of online users and the general growth in digital advertising, reaching over 50 percent of all global advertising in 2020 (McStay, 2016; Sinclair, 2012; Spurgeon, 2008; Turow, 2011). Here, localization is key to the unprecedented expansion of online media companies in national and local contexts, and the catering for and monetization of individual users (Chalaby, 2009; Mjøs, 2012). Still, localization has not enabled US and Western media and communications companies to enter China’s enormous domestic media and communications sector and the online market, with the most internet users in the world and Chinese-owned search engines, social media, and streaming and cloud services (Thussu, 2018; Thussu and Nordenstreng, 2021; Zhu and Keane, 2021). Global media and communications are also characterized by dominance, as a handful of companies and services, such as Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft, have achieved superior positions. Increasingly, private, corporate, public, and civic life is dependent on—and influenced by—a few online platforms, and we see the emergence of platformization in society. The platform economy is mainly driven by these US companies, and only Chinese companies such as Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent can compete with their own platforms, although mainly within China’s domestic market (van Dijck et al., 2018; de Kloet et al., 2019; Poell et al., 2019).
- 25. Global Media forthe Twenty-First Century 8 Chapter 4: This chapter focuses on media companies in a global digital context in the twenty-first century. Digitization, convergence, and the worldwide popularization of the internet have had a major impact on these companies. It explores the global media players, how audiovisual content is produced and distributed, and the role of media branding. While the traditional export of television, film, and media content to national media outlets continues to grow, the globally expanding legal and illegal streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Popcorn Time, are redefining the audiovisual media sector. The arrival of new players from outside the media sector ispromptingmajormergersandacquisitions.Thenewglobalonlinemediacontent players are making inroads into national audiences across the world and thereby represent fierce competition for traditional national media and broadcasters, who seek to adapt. Global value chains for media production and distribution interlink companies, institutions, and services across the world. China, with an enormous domestic market with the world’s largest internet population, but also the other BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries, are emerging on the global scene. Together, these developments represent major drivers of change (Chalaby, 2016; 2020; Chalaby and Plunkett, 2020; Cunningham and Silver, 2013; vanDijcketal.,2018;Lobato,2019;ThussuandNordenstreng,2021).Inthedigital era, where global, national, and local media outlets proliferate and compete, and media content is distributed across borders at unprecedented pace and scale, the need to be noticed and attract audiences is more challenging than ever. Therefore, media branding has become a key phenomenon throughout the global media and communications sector. The chapter discusses the significance of media branding and how such strategies are employed in relation to media outlets, content, and services (Arvidsson, 2006; Chalaby, 2002; 2009; Lopera-Mármol et al., 2021; McStay, 2016; Sinclair, 2012). Part Two: Key Theoretical Traditions: The Continuity of Themes and Concerns Chapter 5: Throughout the twenty-first century, public, private, and civic stakeholders increasingly agree on ICT (information and communications technology) and digital media and communications as among the most significant factors for achieving development and social change in the world. This chapter discusses how scholars, policy makers, and practitioners have for decades explored and debated how media, communications, and technology
- 26. Introduction 9 can contributeto development. The chapter details key theoretical concepts and perspectives that have shaped this tradition within global media, often broadly referred to as “development communication.” Beginning with the early influential “top-down” modernization theory tradition (e.g., Lerner, [1958] 1962; Schramm, 1964), the chapter moves on to the emergence of the more “bottom-up,” participatory approach in development communication which followed as a reaction (e.g., Beltran, 1975; Freire, [1970] 2000). The technology-focused approach termed “telecommunication for development” then emerged, which was a forerunner to the current, highly influential “information communication technologies for development” paradigm.Scholars,politicians,andorganizationsemphasizehowICTanddigital media and communications clearly play a significant role in development (e.g., ITU, 2003; Thussu and Nordenstreng, 2021; World Bank, 2016; World Economic Forum, 2020). However, many also emphasize that there remain major global digital divides and gaps in connectivity in the world, and, importantly, a number of factors other than access to ICT are crucial for successfully closing the digital divide and achieving development (e.g., van Dijk, 2005; ITU, 2018; 2021; Norris, 2001; Ragnedda and Muschert, 2013; Wessels, 2013). Critics also draw attention to how the world’s largest ICT companies originated in the West, mostly in the United States, or developed and industrialized Eastern countries such as Japan and Korea and, increasingly, China. These global technology companies and digital media and communications companies (e.g., Apple, Huawei, Samsung, Google, and Facebook) have enormous market power and can be accused of seeing development as mainly market opportunities. In fact, some argue that it is the companies and governments of the developed world that benefit from the expansion of ICT in the developing world (Mosco, 2009; Unwin, 2017). The rise of China has created geopolitical tension and competition for influence with Western countries, and the United States in particular, as Chinese authorities havelaunchedanumberofmajortechnologyanddigitalinfrastructureinitiatives and partnerships with developing countries across the world (Hillman, 2021; Lisinge, 2020; Thussu, 2018; Thussu and Nordenstreng, 2021). Chapter 6: The corporatization and commercialization of the global digital media and communications landscape, and worldwide expansion of US companies, fronted by Google’s and Facebook’s dominant positions in search and social media markets, and Netflix’s and other streaming services’ rapid growth worldwide, raise concerns among scholars, the public, policy makers, and regulators. There is a concern about dominance, competition for the national media audiences and advertising market, exploitation of user data, and reduced
- 27. Global Media forthe Twenty-First Century 10 national autonomy regarding regulation, privacy of citizens, and the public sphere. The rise of China also leads to geopolitical tensions and new competition for power and influence across the global media and communications landscape. However, several of these current concerns mirror those of the past. The distribution of US films, television programming, and cultural products and the parallel international growth of media companies triggered and motivated the emergence of a theoretical tradition concerned with the uneven structural power and asymmetry in influence within these processes and the consequences of this development. While the development of communication approaches viewed media and communications as a force for societal change and improvement, the new tradition was concerned with the harmful effects of imported media and foreign media companies’ activities. In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, a number of concepts and terms, such as “cultural imperialism” (Schiller, [1976] 2018), “media imperialism” (Boyd Barret, 1977), and “cultural synchronization” (Hamelink, 1983), were introduced to support this argument and became central to this tradition. Several of these terms achieved prominence in academia and were also adopted in politics and in public. This chapter first traces the emergence of this tradition and its concepts and discusses the presence of similar concerns today. The continuing preoccupation with, for example, the term “imperialism,” through recent concepts such as “platform imperialism” (Jin, 2015) and “regional imperialism” (Boyd-Barret, 2015), along with terms such as “digital colonialism” (Kwet, 2019), “data colonialism” (Couldry and Mejias, 2019), “algorithmic injustice” (Birhane, 2021; Birhane and Cummins, 2019), “micro-targeting propaganda” (Boyd Barrett, 2020), and “global personalization” clearly shows that concerns of uneven power, exploitation, and dominance remain strong throughout the twenty-first century. This chapter will therefore trace the manifestations of such critical thinking and theories throughout the history of international communication and global media. Chapter 7: Throughout the twenty-first century, the worldwide adoption of the internet, and the popularization of smartphones and other digital devices and services, have given unprecedented opportunities for media users to communicate, consume, and distribute media products across the world. Scholarly interest in digital media audiences and users has increased significantly. However, the preoccupation with understanding the media audience and user is not new. The previous chapter shows how the critical political economy tradition—concerned with asymmetric power relations, exploitation of user data, and dominance—stretches from the 1960s up until today. However, already in the 1970s, scholars began criticizing this tradition for having major weaknesses.
- 28. Introduction 11 It didnot give attention to the media audiences. It did not explore how audiences actually engage with media content nor ask the audiences of their opinion of media content they had watched. A tradition emerged that aimed to explore these questions, and it argued that the media audience was far from passive and powerless, but active, interpretive, and selective in their media use. Scholars within the field of cultural studies pioneered such studies of the media audience: “If, for much of the 1970s, the audience was largely ignored by many media theorists in favour of the analysis of textual and economic structures which were presumed to impose their effects on the audience, the 1980s, conversely, saw a sudden flourishing of ‘audience’ (or ‘reception’) studies” (Morley, 1991: 2). As scholars explored media audiences across the world and their ability to interpret and make choices according to their background and cultural and linguistic preferences, theoretical concepts focusing on unequal media flows and structural inequalities were increasingly “criticized as overly simplistic” (Straubhaar, 1991: 39). This chapter first traces the emergence of this audience-centered tradition and moves on to discuss how today’s audience is conceptualized, studied, and understood in the context of digital global media and communications. The recent emergence of numerous media audience- and user-centered approaches and concepts such as “participatory culture” (Jenkins, 2006), “produsage” (Bruns, 2008), “creator power” (Cunningham and Craig, 2019), “mass-self communication” (Castells, 2013), “global mobility” (Mjøs, 2012; Urry, 2007), “co-creation” (Kornberger, 2010), and “crowdsourcing” (Howe, 2006) clearly underline the continuing preoccupation with the media audience and user throughout the twenty-first century. This chapter will therefore trace the manifestations of such audience-centered thinking and theories throughout the history of international communication and global media. Chapter 8: In recent decades, globalization has been one of the most popular, discussed, and influential terms and concepts in general, and particularly in relation to media and communications. The term “globalization” was soon incorporated into the field of international communication and global media and many scholars central in shaping the field consider globalization to be a key concept. Despite the widespread adoption and use of the term, the meaning, significance, and nature of globalization are fiercely contested by these scholars. This chapter does not aim to find an all-encompassing definition of the term. Instead, it narrows its inquiry with the aim to theoretically explore the diverse views and understandings of how we can understand globalization in the context of media and communications.
- 29. Global Media forthe Twenty-First Century 12 The chapter emphasizes how the concept of connectivity, or interconnectivity, is central to the wider understanding of the term “globalization” (e.g., van Dijck, 2013; Mjøs, 2012; 2015; Nederveen Pieterse, 2021; Robertson, 2016; Thussu and Nordenstreng, 2021; Tomlinson, 1999). In fact, Robertson, suggests, “I would speculate that about 80 percent or even more of writings or pronouncements on globalization have defined it as centered upon the phenomenon of connectivity (interconnectedness)” (Robertson, 2016: 16). Global trade in media and cultural products, cable and satellite distribution of television and communication in the twentieth century, and the global digital shift accelerating across the world throughout the twenty-first century, with the popularization of the internet and the emergence of online-based services and companies and the general digitization and maturing of the industry across the world, have created increased connectedness across the world. Theterm“globalization”inthecontextofmediaandcommunicationsattempts to capture, conceptualize, and explain this connectedness. This increased connectedness has contributed to triggering and motivating the development of theoretical concepts and approaches associated with globalization, and the term itself over the past few decades. Therefore, this chapter explains key concepts and terms that help define and describe the nuances and contested nature of the concept of globalization—how it unfolds and its consequences—in relation to media and communications. On the one hand, some argue that globalization is not necessarily something new, but rather more of the same. In fact, media scholar McChesney (1999) argues that globalization should be viewed as stronger and more totalizing than the earlier concepts of media and cultural imperialism. While the global and local or national were considered to be in opposition, now, globally expanding media localize their operations and collaborate with local media (McChesney, 1999). Furthermore, if definitions of globalization lack a critical stance they “pose a threat to constructing mythologies that only see positive sides of globalization and ignore the negative consequences of contemporary globalization processes” (Fuchs, 2011: 164). We should therefore pay attention to aspects of continuity in terms of power and influence, as old concepts like imperialism and capitalist empire continue to be of significance and relevance, Fuchs argues: “the notions of imperialismandcapitalistempirehavegainedimportanceincriticalglobalization studies” (2011: 165). A key recent example is “platform imperialism,” exemplified by the US-based global digital platforms, fronted by Facebook and Google: “In the 21st century, again, there is a distinct connection between platforms,
- 30. Introduction 13 globalization, andcapitalist imperialism” (Jin, 2013: 167; 2020). A handful of platforms “dominate the global order” and this has led to the accumulation and concentration of capital: “This is far from a globalization model in which power is infinitely dispersed” (2013: 161). On the other hand, many argue that globalization is something new and constantly evolving. Globalization is a much more unpredictable, “far less coherent or culturally directed process” in society compared with the earlier concept of “cultural imperialism” (Tomlinson, 1991: 175). This process is again made up of a range of interrelated processes, developments, and concepts. One key concept signifying change is the process of “cultural hybridization”— the mixing of media genres and cultural forms across borders. Some consider it the very logic of globalization (Kraidy, 2005; Nederveen Pieterse, 2004; 2021). The related terms “glocalization” and “localization” are also considered key terms in the globalization discourse as they signify how the global and local are connected in myriad ways (Robertson, 1992; 1995). In fact, Robertson argues, the “glocal turn” characterizes the current state of globalization analysis (Robertson, 2020). Others point to how globalization is characterized by the related process of “counter-flow” of media and cultural products from non-Western regions to the West (Thussu, 2006; 2010). Some emphasize how the process of globalization of media and communications leads to increased autonomy and power for the digital media users (e.g., Cunningham and Craig, 2019; Jenkins, 2006). Others emphasize the process of “deterritorialization”: how cross-national electronic media challenges conventional connections between the territorial, and culture and social life (Morley and Robins, 1995). The process of “deterritorialization” is, among others, present in transnational television, global streaming services, and global competition and production in the media sector (Chalaby, 2003; 2020; Lodz, 2020). A related concept is that globalization entails time and space compression (Robertson, 1995), a process mainly created by the global expansion of media and communications, with consequences for our perception of the world and how we live our lives. Others argue how globalization is increasingly being shaped by geopolitical shiftsandthismayleadtothesplittingupandreconfigurationoftheglobalmedia and communications landscape. The rise of China and India, and also the BRICS constellation as a whole and individually, may lead to the “de-Americanization” and even “Sino-globalization” of global media and communications. This may have fundamental consequences for our understanding of globalization (Thussu, 2021; Thussu and Nordenstreng, 2021).
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- 36. Part One Key Developments: Industry,Infrastructure, Content, and Audiences
- 37.
- 38. 2 The Emergence ofa Global Media and Communications Landscape From the Telegraph to the Internet This chapter traces the development of an international and global media landscape from the mid-nineteenth century up until the beginning of the twenty-first century. A key starting point is the emergence of the telegraph and undersea cables—creating the first international communications infrastructure—and the following establishment of the first international or, according to some, global media companies, namely the Western news agencies, which exploited this new infrastructure. The chapter then draws attention to the growing export of film from the first half of the twentieth century. The US industry was from the beginning a driver in this process, leading to its strong position across the world today. The next part of the chapter looks at the establishment of television across the world in the mid- twentieth century, and how the export of television and film programming, with the US industry as the dominant player, became a key driving force in shaping the world’s media and communications sectors. However, the national and regional media sectors began maturing, and represented a counterforce to US imports through domestic production and distribution. The expansion of US cable and satellite television channels across the world, beginning in the last decades of the twentieth century, is a further key development in internationalizing this landscape. Toward the end of the twentieth century, digitization and the emergence of the internet as a new cross-national media and communications infrastructure began to develop and gradually impact on the media and communications industry. Speculative investments drove the value of internet-based companies and services, yet the collapse in the value of these entities at the turn of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries only delayed the popularization of the internet.
- 39. Global Media forthe Twenty-First Century 22 Wiring the World: Telegraph, Cables, and News Agencies The creation of an international communications infrastructure beginning in the mid-nineteenth century was a key formative development: “Nearly a century and a half before the World Wide Web and a glut of fiber-optic cables were weaved around the planet, another global communication infrastructure was being put into place” (Winseck and Pike, 2007: 16). Telegraph and cable revolutionized communication internationally as they enabled for the first time the distribution of information more rapid than the speed of people travelling. This also led to growth in trade and the commercial value of information and news (Herman and McChesney, 1997: 12). The first large communications companies were formed in this phase. These achieved powerful positions and their services influenced world politics and power: After printing, the next revolution came with the invention of the telegraph: the wire age (1844–1900) culminated in the establishment of the first international and multinational communication companies. The international cable telegraph companies were now possessors of power. This new medium enabled the powerful nations like Great Britain to maintain contact with their far-flung colonies. Then came wireless telegraphy (1901–1926). (Woods, 1992: 1) Some draw parallels to contemporary powerful media and communications corporations, claiming that the “British-based Eastern Telegraph Company was the Microsoft of its age.” As late as 1929, it represented half of the cable networks of the world (Winseck and Pike, 2007: 4). A handful of news agencies came to exploit these new technologies and thereby pioneer international media expansion from the second half of the nineteenth century to the first third of the twentieth century: This was an oligopolistic and hierarchical structure of the global news market controlled by Reuters, Havas, and Wolff at the top tier, in partnership with an ever-increasing number of national agencies. Each member of the triumvirate had the right to distribute its news service, incorporating news of the cartel, to its ascribed territories: these territories were determined by periodic, formal agreements. With some exceptions, the members of the triumvirate were prohibited from selling their news to clients in the others’ territories, although they could gather news independently from those territories if they wished. The triumvirate of Reuters, Havas and Wolff supplied world news to national
- 40. From the Telegraphto the Internet 23 news agencies in return for a service of national news and payment of a subscription fee by the national agencies. In general [...] the national agencies had exclusive rights to the distribution of cartel news in their territories, and the cartel had exclusive rights to the national agency news services. (Boyd Barrett, 1998: 27) While the members of the cartel were established as national news agencies, their international operations made them “the first significant form of global media” (Herman and McChesney, 1997: 12). The cartel was later reorganized when the American Associated Press (AP) and United Press (UP) news agencies became part of it, and the members divided global markets for news (Boyd Barrett, 1998: 27; Winseck and Pike, 2007: xvi). As some argue, these Western news agencies “were, in effect, the global media until well into the twentieth century, and even after the dawn of broadcasting their importance for global journalism was unsurpassed” (Herman and McChesney, 1997: 12). In the late 1920s, after the introduction of commercial radio in the United States and the launch of radio by the British public service broadcaster BBC (1922), shortwave bands enabled radio broadcasting worldwide. The US commercial broadcasters NBC and CBS, and the BBC rebroadcast their national programming for an international audience, and the former two saw it as an opportunity to enter national radio markets with US commercial advertising, and Latin America in particular (Woods, 1992: 1). However, these early commercial approaches overseas proved unsuccessful. Instead, it was the political opportunities international radio broadcasts created that were to have major significance. The start of the Second World War “brought about the first explosion of international propaganda broadcasting; it was a powerful weapon of war for all participants” (Woods, 1992: 2). Parallel to the development of national and local markets populated by both commercial and public radio stations, the role of radio continued to be a major means of international propaganda throughout the Cold War as radio stations transmitted from the Western and Eastern blocs; each “demonstrated commitment to their respective ideologies” (Somerville, 2012; Woods, 1992). From the West, the US-backed Voice of America, Radio Liberty, and Radio Free Europe, the latter two funded by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), broadcast into the Eastern European states and the Soviet Union. From the East, the Soviet Union’s Radio Moscow transmitted both domestically and internationally (Somerville, 2012: 56).
- 41. Global Media forthe Twenty-First Century 24 The Emergence of Film and Television in a Global Context: Programming Export, Television Systems, and Cable and Satellite Television In the beginning of the twentieth century—prior to the First World War—US films were only dominant in Germany and Britain. In 1911, the main producers of US films had a presence in the UK, and US films had a 50 to 60 percent market share between 1910 and 1914. In contrast, Italian, French, and British film was popular throughout the European market. For example, around 1913, around one-third of films released in Germany were US produced, slightly less were from Italy, and around 20 percent of films in the German market were split between the UK and Germany (Segrave, 1997: 4). However, this was to change: When World War I began in August 1914, the U.S. Industry received the final impetus and advantage necessary to take control of the world film market. [...] [N]ew production was drastically receded throughout Europe. Shipping problems from Europe to other areas played havoc with what little product remained. Yet, exhibitors around the world needed product to fill their screens. (Segrave, 1997: 12) In fact, between 1915 and 1916 the export of US films increased from 36 million feet of film to 159 million, while film imports to the United States was more than halved: from 16 million to 7 million feet by the mid-1920s. At the time, Hollywood took advantage of the increased popularity of the feature film format and exported to Asia and Latin America. As a consequence, US films were “almost wiping out Brazilian productions” (Miller and Maxwell, 2006: 36). The international expansion became institutionalized, so from 1919 income from foreign markets was included in the budget of Hollywood productions (Miller and Maxwell, 2006: 36). At the start of the 1920s, US films had conquered the world’s cinemas, as national markets were destroyed by war: American movies clearly and totally dominated the world film market. There was nobody close enough to even be in the running for number two. All the former serious rivals had been decimated by the war. Such nations did not return to normal the day after hostilities ceased. Many more years were needed to reconstruct their societies; filmmaking was rarely a top priority. (Segrave, 1997: 18) In the wake of the Second World War, as national cinema markets around the world were demolished or at least dramatically reduced, US film reestablished their dominance in world markets. By the late 1940s, US films had a dominant
- 42. From the Telegraphto the Internet 25 market share globally, and in 1949, they had over half the market share of the European and the Middle Eastern film market, nearly two-thirds of the South American film market, and as much as three-quarters of the Pacific, and Mexican and Central American film markets (Schatz, 1997: 303, referred to in Miller and Maxwell, 2006: 37). The US film industry exploited the impact of the two World Wars on national film markets and the demand for film after these wars. However, the organization of the US film sector was also a major reason for the global presence of US films. Since the 1920s, the major film studios had been organized in cartels, and although these cartels were reorganized in subsequent decades, the industry is characterized by stability and an oligopolistic structure. In addition, the vertically integrated industrial organization and the size of the US market, along with various forms of support from US authorities and strong industry bodies, were key to cementing the historical and contemporary dominant position of the US film industry (Miller and Maxwell, 2006; Miller et al., 2005; Segrave, 1997). Television was a “national-bound medium in its organization and regulation,” and “each country developed its own national broadcasting structure” (Sinclair, 2012: 27). From the outset, there were three main television systems. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, European countries established television services as part of existing public service regimes—either “directly or indirectly state-controlled” (2012: 27). The license fee–funded British public service broadcaster, BBC, and the Scandinavian public service broadcasters, for example, introduced television with no advertising, while the public service broadcasters in, for example, Spain and Finland supplemented public funding with advertising (Sinclair, 2012: 64; Syvertsen et al., 2014). In most of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, television was launched by the state as “governments acted to ensure its role in controlling a powerful medium” (Straubhaar, 2007: 64). Only a few countries, such as Taiwan and South Korea, permitted private television channels, but these were co-owned and controlled by the state (Straubhaar, 2007: 64). In the United States, commercial television emerged out of the commercial media model already established. The majority of Latin American countries “adopted the US’s commercial model of broadcasting at an early stage, as distinct from the public service model instituted in most European countries” (Sinclair and Straubhaar, 2013: 1), many with technical assistance and television programming from US television operators (Sinclair, 2012: 27). The introduction of television in the media system is of key significance for media’s role in society: “Television has differed crucially from music, film, radio, newspapers, and newer media in several crucial ways, some of which focus on the interest and
- 43. Global Media forthe Twenty-First Century 26 the power of many nation-states to control or even own and operate television to ensure or at least pursue several key national goals” (Straubhaar, 2007: 61). As newspapers and books were in the nineteenth century, and later radio, televisionwas“acrucialmediumtounifygeographicallyandethnicallydispersed and diverse peoples into a sense of nationhood” (Straubhaar, 2007: 61). The national nature of broadcasting is in the case of public service broadcasters tied to their role of “nation-building,” particularly in European countries. They were major media policy instruments that aimed to uphold cultural and linguistic diversity, while at the same time fostering a national arena for debate and the national distribution of culture and information outside of the influence of market forces (Straubhaar, 2007; Syvertsen et al., 2014). The political aim was therefore to utilize television to tie the nation’s population together in “imagined communities” (Anderson, 1992). As such, since its inception, television has been regulated or controlled by national authorities in most parts of the world, in line with their political and ideological systems and goals. US versus National: Production and Distribution of Television and Film Programming Despite the differences in broadcasting systems, one key dynamic characterizes these systems and thereby the history of television across the world. This is the dichotomy between the national and the foreign, or more specifically, the export and distribution of US television programming globally, and the national and domestic production and distribution of television programming. International television export began in the 1950s, between the UK and France, and prior to this, British films were shown in the United States. However, as within the film industry, the United States soon also became the key player within television programming. While the number of television sets in the United States outnumbered the rest of the world until 1962, that year there were more television sets outside the United States—53 million compared with 50 million in the United States. This development represents a shift in television history that propelled export of US programming: The need for imported programmes in the new television countries was more or less an artificial one, a product of the technology itself. Having introduced TV and made a large capital investment, countries felt obliged to make use of this equipment, which in turn created the need for foreign imported programmes. Limited funds and inexperience usually kept local production very low while
- 44. From the Telegraphto the Internet 27 the more experienced and wealthy American producers took advantage of this opportunity to penetrate into foreign television. (Nordenstreng and Varis, 1974: 31) The export of US television and film programming intensified, as these imports were far less costly compared with domestically produced programming. In fact, toward the end of the 1960s and into the beginning of the 1970s, most countries imported the majority of television programming that were distributed domestically from the United States (Nordenstreng and Varis, 1974) Still,whiletheUnitedStates’exportincreasedthroughoutthe1970s,atthesame time “a nationalization of programming swept a number of regions” (Straubhaar, 2007: 162). For example, from 1962 to 1972 in Latin America, nationally produced programs in prime time increased from 70 to 86 percent, and in Mexico from 63 to 68 percent. In the same period, both in Australia and the UK the share increased from 26 to 38 percent. In Hong Kong, the share increased from 23 to 64 percent, in South Korea from 73 to 80 percent, and in Japan from 81 to 95 percent. Still, the development was uneven: in Chile, for example, the share went from 63 to 54 percent, and in Italy from 99 to 79 percent (Straubhaar, 2007: 261). In Brazil, from 1962 to 1972, the share of US-produced programs in prime time was reduced from 30 to 14 percent, while its total broadcast day share increased from 31 to 44 percent. In this period in Mexico, the US programming share in the total output was reduced from 38 to 26 percent and in the UK it increased from 13 to 14 percent. In Hong Kong, it was reduced from as much as 69 to 28 percent and in Taiwan from 36 to 21 percent, while in Japan it increased from 7 to 9 percent, and in Lebanon it increased from 23 to 41 percent. While it was far cheaper to acquire imported television programming, especially for newly launched television channels, the point made here is that by the 1980s “studies began to show an increase in national productions in several partsoftheworld”(Straubhaar,2007:61).Inaddition,inmanymarkets,“regional imports” were favored compared with American television programming. This was the case in Brazil, where television programming from within the region was scheduled in prime time. Still, at the time, the regionalization was not as strong in other regions. In several East Asian countries, after four decades of television, the import of US programming showed a “small but noticeable decrease,” and increasingly came to include expensive television and film productions. In some African countries and in Europe, there was an increase in national television programming, particularly in prime time, but US imports “were still used heavily in key genres that were not widely produced nationally” (Straubhaar, 2007: 179).
- 45. Global Media forthe Twenty-First Century 28 The United States has dominated global sales of television, with an estimated 75 percent share by the end of the 1980s, and this continued throughout the 1990s within all television genres (DCMS, 1998: 41). Their dominant position in the global television programming market is explained by several competitive advantages: ● ● the multiplication of channels outside the United States, which greatly increases the demand for programming ● ● first-mover advantages in program development and marketing, abetted by the polyglot US audiences, which requires common-denominator programming readily acceptable in most foreign markets ● ● the worldwide trend toward an increased demand for the escapist fiction of the type long associated with the United States (Hoskins and McFadyen, 1991) ● ● the advantages of having a large home market ● ● the advantage of English as first language and production language ● ● the geographical clustering of production in Hollywood (Flew, 2013; Hoskins et al., 1997). Historically, the dominant position of the United States within television export, then, has also to do with the increased demand for programming as television systems in many parts of the world went from being a “national, protected industry” to more deregulated and competitive television systems that were opened to “flows of capital and programming” (Waisbord, 2004: 360). The launch of globally expanding cable and satellite television channels was to further increase the demand for television programming. Cable and Satellite Television in a Global Context By the mid-1980s, cable and satellite channels began to challenge the terrestrial broadcasters, as: “Part of the Reagan administration’s agenda was to de-regulate businesses and the media were no exception” (Croteau and Hoynes, 2001: 43). A number of technological, political and economic factors contributed to the changing of the media and communications sector. The traditional broadcasting networks’ position gradually weakened as the expansion of cable, new video- deliverytechnology,aswellasrapidVCRpenetrationincreasedthefragmentation of the American media audience (Owers and Wildman, 1992: 196; Litman, 1998: 137; Crandall, 1992: 211). These developments had a radical impact as
- 46. From the Telegraphto the Internet 29 American broadcast networks saw their audience share slide from 90 percent to under 50 percent in the period from 1978 to 1997 (Owers et al., 1998: 35). In the early 2000s, the “big four” broadcasting networks, ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox, had an audience share of less than 50 percent, and were experiencing continuing decline (Croteau and Hoynes, 2006: 131). The US-originated cable and satellite channels and their owners had the “capital, corporate ethos, expertise and content library,” needed to expand outside the US (Chalaby, 2002: 187). In the 1980s and 1990s, national deregulation, privatization, and liberalization of cross border activity and ownership rules were the dominating trends in the European broadcast industry (Curran, 2002; Dahlgren, 2000; Tunstall and Machin, 1999). These developments opened up for an influx of US-originated cable and satellite television channels, as well as pan-European operators. Still, although cable and satellite technology did challenge the national terrestrial television systems all over the world, it proved difficult for the early pan- European and pan-Asian television services alike to become profitable (Sinclair, 2012). While the television operators, and global advertisers and advertising agencies saw the potential, they were faced with difficulties. In Europe, the cultural and linguistic diversity of the European television audience proved to be problematic for the early commercial pan-European operators. The pioneering pan-European satellite television channels Super Channel and Sky Channel in the 1980s experienced major difficulties in generating large enough advertising revenues (Collins, 1990). A key technological development was the splitting of video signals that allowed for the targeting of national markets within larger culturally and linguistically diverse regions. In Europe, pan-European television channels could increasingly insert programing and advertising for specific countries, in contrast to the whole European territory. This had consequences for both the media and the advertising industry that restructured to exploit opportunities for transnational advertising campaigns (Chalaby, 2009: 83). The emergence of cable and satellite television channels throughout the 1980s and 1990s contributed to the transformation of the targeting of the television audience across the world regions. In contrast to mass advertising through national broadcasting, narrowcasting became a vehicle for reaching segments of the television audience. The cable and satellite television channels pioneered the targeting of global or pan-European and pan-regional segments of the national television audiences through localization (Chalaby, 2009). Furthermore, in for example the Nordic region, they also contributed to the liberalization of television and the abolishing of the public service broadcaster monopolies and the subsequent establishment of national commercial television channels funded
- 47. Global Media forthe Twenty-First Century 30 mainly by advertising (Syvertsen et al. 2014). One of the consequences of the privatization and deregulation of television across the world was the dramatic increase in television channels and the subsequent strengthening of television’s reliance on advertising funding (see Case Study 2.1). In the 1990s, most of Latin American countries began to deregulate their economies. This came as a result of trade pacts such as NAFTA and MERCOSUR andincludedagradualliberalizationofrestrictionsoncableandsatellitetelevision and foreign ownership of media. Several major American media enterprises expanded into Latin America, either by collaborating with large local Latin Americanmediacompanies,orthroughacquisitionsoflocalmediaplayers.News Corporation’s pan-regional satellite network Sky became allied with Televisa in Mexico and Globo in Brazil. The US-based satellite platform DirectTV bought local companies in both countries (Straubhaar and Duarte, 2005: 225; Sinclair, 2005: 201). In the early 2000s, the American media conglomerates Time Warner, Discovery Communications, News Corp, Viacom, and Disney had rolled out many of their global television channels in Latin America. However, despite the American presence, the large Latin American media groups such as Globo (Brazil), Televisa (Mexico), and Cisneros (Venezuela) offered competition. Their television channels offered a large amount of local programing, and television channels created by ‘local and national cable systems’ represented competition to the American players (Straubhaar and Duarte, 2005: 241–2). In 1991, Indian television consisted of one channel, Doordarshan. A combination of the emergence of satellite distribution technology, a growing national economy, and gradual integration into the global market, coupled with an expanding middle class with money to spend, made India a particularly large and attractive market also for US-originated satellite television channels. In 1998, almost 70 cable and satellite television channels had been launched in India. Among these were the large media and television operators STAR, BBC, Discovery, MTV, Sony, and Disney (Thussu, 1999). In the early 2000s, India had become one of the largest television markets in the world and Discovery’s television channels formed part of the total of the more than 300 digital channels operating in India (Thussu, 2006). Several of these channels were part of joint ventures and collaborations between Indian and large global and international media conglomerates. One of the significant partnerships was formed in 2002 when Sony Entertainment Television and Discovery formalized “The One Alliance”—amajortelevisionjointventurefordistributionoftelevisionchannels. The television industry in Asian countries has been subject to similar transformations in the form of deregulation and privatization as seen in Latin
- 48. From the Telegraphto the Internet 31 America and Europe. In the early 2000s, transnational corporations expanded into these new markets through collaborations and joint ventures with national and regional media companies (Jin, 2007: 193). Although global television channels have entered and consolidated their presence in most countries in South East Asia, mainland China has proved a more difficult territory to enter. News Corporation’s Star TV entered China in 1996 via investments in the joint venture Phoenix TV. Since then, Star TV has expanded, and launched a 24-hour television entertainment channel, Xing Kong Wei Shi, in Guangdong. This was made possible partly due to News Corporation’s distribution of China Central Television’s English-language channel, CCTV 9, on Fox Cable Network in the USA (Chan, 2005: 181–2). Chinese authorities gradually reduced control over the media system: International satellite channels are, to a certain degree, allowed to broadcast into China, and international media enterprises can invest in the Chinese media industry under certain conditions (Jin, 2007). However, Shi points out that at the time “the direct, legalized access to global media like CNN or MTV is restricted either to some peripheral ‘experimental zones’ (Guangdong province) or to privileged locations (such as five-star hotels)” (Shi, 2005: 34). In general, transnational television received less attention in Europe than elsewhere in the world. In the Middle East, satellite channels such as Al- Arabya (formerly MCB), contributed to improving news journalism and the independent Al-Jazeera “unsettled governments.” In South Asia, the satellite television operations Zee TV and Star TV represented players that contributed to “sweeping cultural change and radical transformations in the television industry” (Chalaby, 2009: 43). Case Study 2.1 Television Advertising in a Global Context The relationship between media and communications and advertising and commercialization is key in driving the global expansion of the consumer goods and service industries, but also the media and communications industries themselves. Advertisers pay media and communications companies to bring advertisingtotheirmediaaudiences—thatis,potentialcustomers.Theadvertising revenue funds media operations and profit creation for the media companies, including a large share of their media content and services (Sinclair, 2012). The selling of media audiences to advertisers has been a central activity since print media in the 1920s not only offered “circulation guarantees or
- 49. Global Media forthe Twenty-First Century 32 willingly submitting to circulation audits, but were actively devising ways to sell themselves to advertisers” (Leiss et al., 2005: 127). In the 1940s, commercial television was introduced in the United States, but in contrast to newspaper advertising, the adoption of commercial television across the world was far more uneven. Still, television was to become the key media vehicle for internationalizing advertising in media. Of the three different television systems internationally—public service broadcasting, state-controlled broadcasting, and commercial television—the latter was, by the 1980s and 1990s, the most popular form of television around the world, regardless of the initial television system (Sinclair, 2012; Syvertsen et al., 2014). A key development of the commercialization of television as well as other advertising-carrying media was the expansion of US-based advertising agencies. As American companies expanded internationally, so too did advertising agencies such as McCann Erickson and J. Walter Thompson. In response to the corporate expansion, these agencies created international networks of affiliates (Bamossy and Johansson, 2009: 374). In the 1980s and 1990s, both the media and advertising industry experienced major consolidation and mergers. Global media conglomerates were formed, and within the advertising companies “Holding companies with multiple subsidiaries were created by merging previously independent agencies, many with their own already established global networks” (Bamossy and Johansson, 2009: 376). This gave rise to the establishment of global media buying and media planning agencies, the former responsible for coordinating where advertising campaigns appears, and the latter for negotiating the cost of placing advertisements with media companies, that is, broadcasters and publishers (Chalaby, 2009: 87). In an international media context, the emergence of cable and satellite television channels from the 1980s and 1990s and onwards played a key role in transforming the targeting of the television audience first in the United States and then in other world regions, and the internationalization of advertising. In contrast to mass advertising through national broadcasting, narrowcasting became a vehicle for reaching international segments of the national television audience (Chalaby, 2002; 2009; Mjøs, 2010). Narrowcasters used specific television program genres and relied on language localization of the television programming to reach the preferred audience. While Disney Channel attracts the youngest television audience segments of national audiences through animation programming, it adapted and reshaped the factual television genre to attract a male audience aged twenty-five to forty- five years across the world (Mjøs, 2010). Errol Pretorius, director of advertising sales at the News Corp–controlled factual television outlet National Geographic Channel, highlights the logic of narrowcasting: “Don’t count the people you talk
- 50. From the Telegraphto the Internet 33 Global Television Genres The US export of fiction television programing and films increased parallel to the proliferation of commercial television channels in Western Europe throughout the 1980s. The imported programing was cheaper to buy for these new channels than domestically produced programing. However, domestic programing has had a growing presence especially in prime time on broadcasters throughout Europe, as in other regions of the world. This shift is amongst others due to the development of stronger domestic production communities: “as markets have matured, mainstream channels have sought to raise their profile and ratings with domestically produced drama or entertainment formats in peak time” (Iosifidis, et al., 2005; Steemers, 2004: 150). However, despite the reduced presence of US television fiction on European television channels, it still represented the largest quantity of acquired fiction programming across the world. The imported US fiction genre was still cheaper than domestic production and continues to perform financially for the television channels also outside prime time (Iosifidis et al., 2005: 138). Furthermore, the US’s capability to finance program series increases the possibility for sales overseas, as they can be scheduled on television networks throughout the week (Steemers, 2004: 43). Another underlying economic factor that helps explain the American dominance of the exports of television programing is Hollywood’s ability to sell the bulk of television programing on the back of films. If television distributors or channels want to buy the most sought-after feature films, they may have to buy television to, talk to the people who count. I’d rather talk to a thousand people who can afford to buy a new Volvo, than talk to a million people who can’t” (Pretorius, quoted in Chalaby, 2002: 201). The advertising industry adapted to pan- regional television and began “to offer flexible local advertising windows and integrated communication solutions involving cross-format and cross-platform opportunities for advertisers” (Chalaby, 2008). In the early twenty-first century, television advertising continues to represent a major part of the global advertising market in the twenty-first century. However, the following chapters show how the advertising models of television have been increasingly challenged and recently overtaken by, the new advertising strategies of the online environment, which represents new forms of targeted advertising.
- 51. Global Media forthe Twenty-First Century 34 programing that they are not necessarily interested in from the Hollywood studio or distributor. Throughout the 1990s “output deals” became more and more common. These deals involve a contractual agreement over several years between Hollywood studios and buyers to take all programing produced over a particular period, as well as older programing (Havens, 2006: 29). Although fiction is historically the most exported genre, animation and factual television represented a significant part of the global program market. Animation programing travels particularly well across borders, as it is very visual and less dependent on language or culture. Animation television programing is expensive to produce, but the genre can be easily localized to different territories and television markets by dubbing animation characters (Artz, 2005: 80). There are several explanations for the export of the factual television genre and its ability to cross borders. First, the increase in the global sales of both animation and the factual television genre was due to the growth of thematic cable and satellite television channels, and the two genres are “seen as uniquely suited for global trade because replacing the speech of animated characters or voice-over narrators causes less of a disturbance for viewers than dubbing or subtitling live actors” (Havens, 2006: 44). Second, while most of the factual television is produced for local distribution, certain forms of factual television programs have more potential for cross-national distribution than others: historically “Ageless ‘uncontroversial’ programmes dealing with natural history, wildlife and science are in most demand internationally” (Iosifidis et al., 2005: 142). Third, in contrast to television fiction, it may be difficult to identify which country some of these programs are made in, and this makes them more attractive internationally (Iosifidis et al., 2005: 143; see also Case Study 2.2). Case Study 2.2 The Discovery Channel and the Factual Television Genre Discovery Communications’ first cable television channel, the Discovery Channel, was launched in the United States in 1985, offering documentary programming to 156,000 subscribers. In 1993, the founder and chairman of the company, John Hendricks, pronounced, “We hope to blanket the world by late 1995 or early 1996” (Hendricks, quoted in Brown, 1993: 38). Fronted by the Discovery Channel, the company began to expand worldwide, and into the 2000s its tier of factual television channels and media brands—for example, Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery Kids, Discovery Home
- 52. From the Telegraphto the Internet 35 Health, Investigation Discovery—reached hundreds of millions of viewers across the world. Discovery Channel has had a pioneering role in cable and satellite narrowcasting of popularized factual television themes such as science, engineering, technology, archeology, and wildlife. Since its launch, the television channel has targeted a segment of the television audience—adults aged twenty- five to fifty-four, and particularly men—while other Discovery-owned television channels have targeted different viewer segments such as females and children (Discovery, 2015). In the 2000s, Discovery Channel began to distribute originally produced series that soon became popular across the world: MythBusters, River Monsters, Gold Rush, American Chopper, and Deadliest Catch. Furthermore, Discovery and BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of BBC, have through the largest factual television deal in history spanning fifteen years—1998–2013— introduced the blockbuster logic to the factual genre by creating global factual cross-media brands such as the Walking with ... media brands, and the natural history series Blue Planet, Planet Earth, and Frozen Planet. At the time of the rapid international expansion of Discovery, the founder of Discovery Channel, John Hendricks, stated: [A] principle is to think globally and to act locally. The new technologies give us the chance to span the world and tie it together in ways never before imagined. The goal is not to export one culture in an effort to dominate and denigrate others. It is to showcase a mosaic of influences—to venerate the best of many cultures in hopes of forming a truly global culture. (Hendricks, 1996) What does Discovery consider as “the best” and “global culture” since its worldwide expansion? One must assume that “the best” and “global culture” are chosen according to the Discovery Channel’s program policy and its targeted audience. The company has described itself in the following way: “Discovery produces content that appeals to a global audience, working across dozens of languages and cultures. We augment our global content with local productions and customized programming to increase relevancy and reach” (Discovery, 2015). Although Discovery Channel emerged as a major global provider of factual information, the programs’ accounts of the real world have a defined focus. This has also included a notion of “government-friendliness” (Hendricks, quoted in Thal Larsen, 2003: 8), and a certain limit of critical portrayal of the real world in many programs. However, this gives the global television channel a crucial ability to cross cultural, political, and religious boundaries unhindered. There is a certain presence of entertainment in Discovery Channel’s programming represented by the spectacular: the biggest, the most dangerous, the heaviest, and so on. This indicates that—on one level—“the best of many cultures in
- 53. Global Media forthe Twenty-First Century 36 Geocultural Markets, Diaspora, and Contra-flows While the United States dominated television programming export, a number of countries, such as Brazil, Mexico, China, Hong Kong, and South Korea, became centers of production and regional distribution strongholds with a presence in the global television market. For example, Japan became a considerable exporter of animation, Hong Kong made its mark within the action-adventure genre, and China, the UK, Japan, and Hong Kong produce various forms of historical drama. Australia is a significant producer and exporter of serial dramas (soap operas) (Straubhaar, 2007: 180; Flew, 2013). In the mid-1990s, Sinclair et al., (1996) pointed out how the regionalization of television production and distribution through “geocultural” or “geolinguistic” markets can in many ways be seen as a counterweight to the influx of US export. Such geocultural markets had production centers such as Mexico and Brazil for Latin America, Hong Kong for the Chinese-speaking parts of the populations throughout Asia, Egypt for the Arab world, and India for the Indian populations in Africa and Asia (Hesmondhalgh, 2019: 383–4; Sinclair et al., 1996). There was an increased awareness of how cultural, linguistic, and societal commonalities developed over time: “define cultural markets, to which television responds. Populations defined by these kinds of characteristics tend to seek out cultural products, such as television programs or music, that are most similar or proximate to them” (Straubhaar, 2007: 43). Sinclair et al. pointed out how “satellite distribution has opened up regional and transcontinental geolinguistic markets” that also secured “distribution of television products to diasporic communities, notably those of Chinese, Arab, and Indian origin” (1996: 23). These are ethnic communities that are spread throughout the world. As such, these geocultural and geolinguistic hopes of forming a truly global culture” involves the worldwide search for the spectacular stories and themes in various forms and contexts, although within a certain scope of the real world. Therehasbeenatendencyforthespectaculartoserveasaconnectionbetween the local and the global. The television channel has attempted to target a global audience segment, in which the local in this context represents a segment of the national television audience. The Discovery Channel have thereby attempted to appeal to the preferences of a local and global audience through its form of factual television (Mjøs, 2010).
- 54. From the Telegraphto the Internet 37 markets extend across the world and consist of geographically dispersed people (Hesmondhalgh, 2019: 383–4). In the early 1990s, the concept of “contra-flow” aimed to further show the nuances and explain the complexities of the global media and communications landscape (Boyd Barrett and Thussu, 1992; Thussu, 2006). It referred to how a deregulated television industry, digital technology, and increasingly affordable satellite television distribution facilitated flows of media content from the South to the West and other parts of the world. As such, the global media landscape is not just characterized by the dominant flows from the West and the United States in particular. The media industries in China, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, and India are key contributors to these contra-flows (Thussu, 2006: 23). Still, by 2007, as much as 76 percent of the global market for “ready-to-air” programming was made by US producers, with the UK following with 7 percent (Steemers, 2014). However, we see how both cultural and financial factors have influenced the attractiveness of the various television genres within the global television program market. Buyers and television channel executives will consider the appeal and costs of an imported program in comparison to the appeal and costs of a program produced domestically (Havens, 2006: 44). While the global trade and distribution of television programming was long characterized by “ready-to-air” programming, from the late 1990s a genre that had existed in the margins of the television trade since the 1950s began to revolutionize the television industry. Big Brother, Idols, Survivor, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? were the “super-formats” that drove the popularity of the television format (Chalaby, 2012: 37). The programming form is in essence “a show based in the format rights of an existing show, that is, a remake produced under licence” (Chalaby, 2016: 8). What distinguishes television formats from traditional ready-made television programming is their ability to insert local or national cultural content into a defined and copyrighted concept: “Domestic producers can incorporate local color and global audiences can paradoxically feel at home when watching them. Locality needs to be evicted so it can be reintroduced as long as it does not alter the basic concept” (Waisbord, 2004: 378). The impact of television formats on the television industry was considerable due to their ability to travel across the world both through standardizing and localizing. Their characteristics and logic are of particular interest in a global perspective (see Case Study 4.1). As we move further into the twenty-first century, we see increased internationalization as media economies are maturing, and an increase in television production and distribution within and between world regions and
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- 59. The Project GutenbergeBook of Koneiden ääressä: Romaani
- 60. This ebook isfor the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: Koneiden ääressä: Romaani Author: Mikko Tervas Release date: November 22, 2017 [eBook #56030] Language: Finnish Credits: E-text prepared by Juhani Kärkkäinen and Tapio Riikonen *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KONEIDEN ÄÄRESSÄ: ROMAANI ***
- 61. E-text prepared byJuhani Kärkkäinen and Tapio Riikonen KONEIDEN ÄÄRESSÄ Romaani Kirj. MIKKO TERVAS Hämeenlinnassa, Arvi A. Karisto Oy, 1917.
- 62.
- 63. I. Niemelän torpan navetassasyödä rouskutteli Perjakka heinävihkoa, jonka sen emäntä oli juuri sille antanut. Hyvältä se maistui nähtävästi, sillä ei se joutanut sivuillensa vilkuilemaan, ei edes vasikkaansa, joka oli siinä vieressä ovensuuparressa; tämän eteen oli mökin mies naulannut muutamia riukuja poikittain, joten oli muodostunut karsina. Vasikka ynisi, katsoa töllisteli riukujen välistä ja seurasi tarkoin emäntänsä kaikkia liikkeitä. No, mitä Mansikka ynisee? Eikö ole tytön suuhun pistettykään vielä mitään? Eivätkö ole pistäneetkään kultarahin suuhun edes leivänpalaa? Emäntä kynsiskeli Mansikan otsaa ja kaulaa. Vasikka pujautteli päätänsä ja pyrki nuoleskelemaan karkealla kielellänsä. Vai jo se unehutti tupusen. Mutta onpas toki vielä pikkunen jytynen Mansikan varalle, onhan mokomalle kuolaantunut kokkare. Katsoppas, kun on peukalon kokonen palanen! Joko tuntee sierain tuoksun, koskapa niin rupesi tuhahtelemaan, joko tuntee… tunteeko punanen sierain leivän tuoksun…? Kos, kos… kos, kos… — No, anna nyt jo, äläkä kiusaa!
- 64. Emäntä taputteli vielävasikkaa, hyväili Perjakkaakin ja puheli: Toista olisi teidänkin pureskella suuressa navetassa isossa karjassa. Olisi valoa ja lämmintä. Tässä pöksässä ette jaksa pitää kunnon lämmintä. Joka kohta vuotaa, ja kiinteän akkunajään läpi ei pääse valo sisälle. Mutta antaapa kesän tulla, niin on laidun kohta pellon aidan takana, on ontta ilman alla, valoa ja lämmintä niin kuin talollistenkin karjalla. Toivotaan kesää, ämmyseni, odotetaan, tyttöseni! Pankaa nyt levolle! Emäntä pujahti kiireesti ulos ja painoi kiinni paksujäisen oven, siirsi sitten olkilyhteen oven eteen, otti maahan laskemansa juottoämpärin ja meni polkua myöten tupaan. Kummapa, kun ei sieltä isääkään vielä kuulu, sanoi hän rukin takana istuvalle tytölleen Annalle. Tekase siinä nyt vielä muutamia punasia käämejä ja lähde sitten vastaan. Olisit loppumatkalla edes vähänkään apuna kuormaa työntämässä. Miten sinne tarkenee lähteä tuollaiseen pyryyn? sanoi Anna vähän vastenmielisesti ja polkaisi rukkinsa käyntiin. Kaikkeapa nyt puhuu nuori ihminen! Vedä tuosta minun huovikkaani kenkiesi päälle ja ota turkkikauhtana seinältä! Koeta nyt joutua, että olisit edes pitkällä kujalla kinoksista auttamassa! Anna-Kaisa asettui kangaspuille ja ryhtyi kutomaan. Rivakasti lenteli sukkula kädestä käteen loimien läpi. Säännöllisesti kuin harva- astuntainen seinäkello nurkassa kangaspuiden takana kävi kaide. Siinä välillä polkimet hiljalleen solahtelivat.
- 65. — On sekummaa, — ajatteli hän Annan vihdoin lähdettyä, — kuinka tuolle tytölle on vastenmielistä kaikki tuollainen. Ei tarvinnut Katrille koskaan edes vihjauttaakaan, itse hän tuollaiset huomasi. Tämä on kuin kivireki, aina vastahakonen ja sellainen vetelys. Mutta olispahan lähtö kirkonkylälle, niin ei jalka paljoa painaisi. Janne, talon lapsista nuorin, makasi sängyssä. Hän oli heikonpuoleinen, makasi usein ja valitteli päätänsä kipeäksi. Tänäänkin oli ollut koko päivän sisällä ja pyrkinyt vaan vuoteeseen. Nukkuuko Janne? kysyi Anna-Kaisa, ja kun ei kuulunut vastausta, kohousi hän, kääräisi raanua paremmin poikansa ympäri ja katsoi häntä pitkään. Katsoipa ulos akkunastakin, näkyisikö jo isää ja Annaa tulevaksi. Tuuli juoksutti lunta poikki lakeuden, jonka reunassa metsän latvat lainehtivat. Ryöpyt ajoivat toisiaan, ja koko maan pinta näytti kuin savuavan. Ei näkynyt tulijoita vielä, mutta siitä huolimatta sytytti Anna-Kaisa tulen takkaan, pani padan tulelle ja siihen äsken kellarista noutamansa perunat, ja istui sitten työhönsä jälleen. Mirri, torpan kissa, joka tavallisesti vietti aikansa takan otsapykälällä, kohottausi asemiltaan, köyristi selkänsä, haukotteli leveästi, marahti, otti uuden asennon kahvimyllyn ja -astian vieressä, laskeutui käpäliensä varaan ja alkoi taas kehrätä. Silmien viiru pieneni, vuoroin rakousi suuremmaksi, milloin kuului joku risahdus, paukka pesässä rasahti tai sattui Janne käännähtämään vuoteellaan. — Saispa kuulla, onko Jaakko tavannut heinännoutomatkallaan uutta isäntää ja mitä varten hän oli niin erikoisesti tahtonut häntä
- 66. puhutella mökin asioissa,— ajatteli Anna-Kaisa itsekseen. — Olisikohan… Mutta tämä päivä nyt niin muistutti mieleen kauvan sitten ohi menneitä aikoja, alkuvaiheita tässä mökissä, kun oli Jaakon kanssa muuttanut tänne. He olivat molemmat palvelleet nimismiehellä. Mutta sitten oli kuollut Jaakon isä — äidin oli jo aikaisemmin tuoni temmannut — ja niin oli päätetty lähteä kotitorppaan. Oikein se häntä oli huimannut, kun Jaakko kerran syyskesän iltana, kun istuivat yhdessä putaan ahteella, ruispellon pientareella, oli ottanut asian puheeksi. Hän hengähti: Kaikkeapa tässä nyt! — Mutta eipä hän voinutkaan haihduttaa mielestään kuvaa tuosta illasta. Ajatus sukeltausi samoille paikoille. — Mistä lieneekin poika saanut vihiä, että siellä istuin ja häntä ajattelin; siinä vaan yhtäkkiä seisoi vierelläni, suitset olan yli heitettynä. Oli vienyt hevosen hakaan yöksi ja poikennut täältä kautta muka katsomaan, oliko ruis lakoutunut. Kyllä kai se luonto veti yhteen, olipa maailmassa ruista tai ohraa! — Siinä oli sitten istuttu, kunnes aurinko katosi iltalempeään taivaanrantaan ja kaste laskeusi heinään sekä viljaan. Marraskuulla oli päätetty asettua omaan mökkiin Herran huomaan. — Kyllähän se ensi talvi oli sellaista hiljaista tuhertamista, — jatkoi Anna-Kaisa muistelujaan. — Ei ollut päiväkausiin muita kuin kissa kumppanina, tämän esiäitejä tässä. Mutta lehmä oli navetassa, joskus kaksikin. Sadat kyynärät hän oli kutonut kangasta nimismiehen ja apteekkarin rouville ja monelle muulle kirkonkylällä. Jaakko oli hakannut halkoja talollisille tai huitonut heidän niityillänsä ja leikkopelloillaan. Siinä olivat lapset kasvaneet. Kykenivät jo
- 67. auttamaan. Mitenkähän siellämahtaa Katri voida kaupungissa, kun ei ole kirjettäkään tullut isoon aikaan. Hän pysähtyi muistelemaan, mitä sieltä oli tytär kirjoittanut olostaan ja toimistaan, ja päätteli Katrin hyvän osan valinneen, kun oli siirtynyt paremmille ansiomaille ihmisten ilmoille. Anna-Kaisa nousi kangaspuiltansa, kohensi tulta, koetti olivatko perunat jo kypsyneet ja katsoi ulos akkunasta. Sieltä lumipyryn seasta näkyivät jo tulevan. Olipa siinä vetämistä. Aivan nenälleen tuuskahtamaisillaan kiskoi Jaakko, jutko yli olan, vapaa käsi heiluen edessä tai kelkan kinokseen töksähtäessä tarttuen taakse köyteen kiinni. Kun käänsivät pihaan ja menivät ladon eteen, niin jo ilmestyi kuorman takaa Annakin tiukasti ponnistellen. Pian he saapuivat tupaankin. Jaakolla oli kainalossa pärepölkky, jonka laski takkavalkean ääreen sulamaan. Kovin olivat lumessa sekä isä että tytär. Jaakko sulaili jääpuikkoja irti parrastaan, asetti kintaansa uunin syrjälle ja istui kappaleen aikaa äänettömänä takkakivellä. Kyllä se kiskotti, sanoi viimein. Senhän arvaa, kun on tuollainen Jumalan ilma. Näyt olevan aivan uupunut, kiirehti Anna-Kaisa vastaamaan. Kylläpä alkaa uuvuttaa…, sanoi Jaakko ja painausi kyynäspäittensä varaan. Anna-Kaisa katsoi pitkään kumarassa istuvaa miestänsä. Hän näki kohta, että Jaakolla oli jotakin ikävää mielessänsä.
- 68. Pistetäänpä tässä pannuporoon, puheli Anna-Kaisa lempeästi niin kuin olisi tahtonut jokaisella sanalla hellästi koskettaa työn uuvuttamaa puolisoaan. Tuossa se kiehuu samoilla tulilla ja virkistää sinua. Hyvinkö niitä on vielä heiniä Höytyän ladossa vai joko alkavat loppua? Onhan niitä vielä, mikäpä ne kesken lopettaisi, sanoi Jaakko. Ja kyllä kai tässä olisi meille itsekullekin se vähä mikä tästä on opittu saamaan. Hän haki tahkokiven nurkkahyllyltä ja ryhtyi hiomaan veistänsä. — Eivät asiat ole niin kuin ovat olleet, — ajatteli Anna-Kaisa itsekseen. — Nyt on jotakin tapahtunut. Maannutko se on Jannekin koko ajan? Maannut on, nukkunut. Mikä hänenkin elämästään tullee. Kyenneekö itseään elättämään koko elämänsä ikänä. Herra tietää, mutta hänen aikeitansa meidän on mahdoton arvata. Muka tarvitsee näitä torpan tiluksia, puheli Jaakko kappaleen ajan kuluttua kuin itsekseen. Eikö hänellä nyt ole maata kuokkia ja kyntää muuallakin, ettei juuri toisen torppaan tarvitsisi käydä käsiksi. Herranen aika, mitä sinä puhut? sanoi Anna-Kaisa hätääntyneenä ja keskeytti perunain kuppiin ammentamisen. Meidänkö torppaan?
- 69. Meidänpä, meidän. Tämäkö uusiisäntä? Tämä juuri. Sen takiako hän sinut oli kutsuttanut luoksensa? Sen. Kuuluu vuokra-aika loppuneen. Mihinkä me poloset nyt joudumme? sanoi Anna-Kaisa purskahtaen itkuun. No, ei kai tämä nyt ainoa paikka maailmassa liene, jossa mekin voimme toimeen tulla. Tuotako se nyt merkitsi, kun minä äsken juuri muistelin, kuinka tähän muutettiin ja yhteiselämää alotettiin. Jaakko katsoi Anna-Kaisaa, ja hetkeksi lauhtui ilme hänen otsallansa. Nytkö ovat sitten turhaan menneet kaikki aherruksemme? Eivät tietenkään ne turhaan ole menneet. Voimmehan saada jonkunlaisen korvauksen työllemme — muutenhan olisivat lait ja oikeudet päin männikköä. Mutta saada entisillä ehdoilla tuntui olevan mahdottomuus. Ja pääasiallisesti hän tuntui olevan sitä mieltä, että tästä on muutettava pois. Paikasta, jossa olemme nuoruutemme voimat uhranneet, kasvattaneet lapsemme ja… - Anna-Kaisan leuka värähti jälleen ja silmiin tulvivat uudet kyyneleet.
- 70. Niitäkös ne ajattelevat.Muka tarvitsee tätä maata, sanoi hän minulle. Kyllä niitä on tässäkin manttaalissa korpia kuokkia, mutta mieli tekee päästä valmiille apajalle. Sinä iltana oli Niemelän torpan asukkaiden mieli lamauksissa. Jaakko oli nuoruudessaan palvellut myöskin Pietolassa, joka ei ollut hänen torpastansa kaukana. Tiukassa kohdassa oli hän aina turvautunut Pietolan isälliseen neuvoon ja lähti nytkin illan hämärtäessä hänen mielipidettään kuulemaan. Onpa kummaa käsittää Kuljun menettelyä, sanoi Pietola Jaakon asian kuultuansa. Mistä syystä hän sinua siitä pois häätää? Parantunuthan maa on sinulla ollessa. Niin minustakin, sillä olenhan siellä penkonut kuin sonni kannikossa. Niinpä vain. Ja maa työntää heinää ja viljaa, että rutisee. Mutta sellaisessa asemassahan me torppari-rukat olemme: kun olemme raataneet nuoruudenvoimamme loppuun, niin tuleepa toinen ja sanoo: 'Nyt sitä saa muuttaa.' Siitä jo suuttuu suunnan mieskin! Pietola istui äänettömänä. Jos minä nyt saan tästä Kuljulta korkeintaan 2000 markkaa ja maksan sillä 1500 markkaa velkaa, joka minulla nyt on tämän mökin takia, niin mihin minä panen tämän 500 markkaa, joka jää? Maahan uudestaan, sanoi Pietola.
- 71. Maahan! hengähti Jaakko.— Hän oikein hämmästeli katkeraa ääntänsä, mutta tunsi samassa kuin varmistuvansa asiassa. — Sitten kun olen kyllin taasen tapellut jonkun suon reunassa hallan kanssa, ojittanut, kuokkinut ja puskenut siellä ja minun poikani jatkaa työtäni niin kuin minä nyt olen tehnyt, niin saattaapa jonakin päivänä tulla tieto, että vuokra-aika on loppuun kulunut eikä uusita! Ajatelkaapa asiaa minun kohdaltani! Eihän tuo niin epätoivoisesti aina käyne. Ehkä eivät kaikki menettelisi Kuljun tavalla. En minä usko, että te esimerkiksi menettelisitte, mutta taidammeko yksikään katsoa vuosikymmeniä eteenpäin, miten silloin menetellään. Laita asiat paremmalle perustukselle! Osta palstatilaksi, eikä kukaan voi sinulta omaasi koskaan hätyyttää! En tuota tiedä! Kyllästyttää koko elämä. Kuljullahan on täysi oikeus menetellä niin kuin haluaa, mutta minusta tuntuu niin kuin tapahtuisi verinen vääryys. Ei se ole kumma, jos olet katkeroittunut, — olisin minäkin. Mutta sillä ei nyt asia korjaudu. Mitäs mietit siitä palstatilasta? Jaakko imi äänettömänä piippuaan, ja katse piirteli synkkänä pitkin lattian saumaa, päättyen aina kellarin luukun puuhun upotettuun messinkirenkaaseen. Hän ei jaksanut päästä eroon tuskallisesta ja apeasta mielialasta. En tiedä…, sanoi ja istui jälleen yhtä äänettömänä. Vai oletko jotakin muuta suunnitellut?
- 72. Enpä paljoa. Jos vuokrallakinasettuu asumaan, niin pikku rahat ovat pian tirkenneet siihen. Ainakin näin maalla, missä päiväpalkka on niukka. Vuokrat ovat tietysti myöskin, mutta oma katto kun olisi pään päällä, niin silloin… Jaksaneeko tuota enää saada. Eikö liene parempi lähteä parempia ansioita etsimään. Mihin sitten? Ajattelin kaupunkiin. Mitä? — Pietola otti piipun suustansa ja katsoi hämmästyneenä Jaakkoa. Vai kaupunkiin! Olen sinua tähän saakka pitänyt järkevänä miehenä. Entäs perhe? Sinne mukaan. Siellä jo vanhin tyttö on. Tuossa on toinen juuri aikuiseksi saapunut ja kykenee jo työhön. Siinä se kostuisi poikakin… Niin, kyllähän se näin tuntuu selvältä, mutta en minä sittenkään sinuna lähtisi. Siihen on niin monta syytä. Et sinä osaa arvata, mitä sekin mukanansa tuo. Enhän minä sano enkä toivo, miten sinulle ja lapsillesi käy, mutta tiedäthän sinä yhtä hyvin kuin minäkin, miten on käynyt Nurkkalan Heikille ja monelle muulle. Mitä on tullut heidän
- 73. lapsistaan siellä. Kylläminusta tuntuu, että vaikka täällä kuin ahtaalta tuntuisi elämä, niin joka suhteessa sittenkin 'maa on vakasin ja Jumala totisin'. * * * * * Jaakon mielestä ei kuitenkaan haihtunut katkeruus. Minun puolestani saa riittää talollisille raataminen, sanoi hän eräänä päivänä taasen Anna-Kaisalle. Jos Kulju olisi uusinut sopimuksen entisillä ehdoilla, niin olisin möyrinyt tällä tilkulla kuin myyrä ja minä takaan, etteivät täällä olisi kasvaneet sammalta kedot eikä pajupehkoja ojat. Mutta saakoon tahtonsa läpi! Käykööt maan yli arviomiehet ja puskekoon uusi isäntä rahaa. Me poistumme, vaikka kirveleekin sydäntämme. Juuri näihin aikoihin tuli Katrilta kirje, jossa hän kertoi voivansa hyvin. Hän oli aivan äsken saanut pienen palkankorotuksen, joten saattoi nyt päivässä ansaita joitakin kymmeniä pennejä enemmän kuin tähän saakka. Ja tietysti se siitä on aina kohoamaan päin, mikäpäs siinä olisi, päätteli Jaakko. Ei, kyllä tästä on sinne meidänkin lähdettävä. — Eikä suinkaan tässä muuta keinoa olekaan, — jatkoi hän ajatusta itsekseen. — Tuossa on perhe, joka tarvitsee hoitoa, Jannekin, kivuloinen raukka tässä. Jotakin nyt on yritettävä, eikä suinkaan auta kädet ristissä jahkailla. Voin minä näyttää Kuljulle senkin, ettei tarvitse kahta kertaa käskeä. Hänestä alkoi vähitellen tuntua niin kuin hän irtautuisi näistä entisistä työn tantereista. Anna-Kaisa vaan pyrki sekoittamaan koko asian… siinä itkeä siirasi. Mihin sitä itkulla? Jopa kai tässä nyt!
- 74. Kuitenkin hän tunsiitsensä rauhattomaksi joka kerta, kun näki vaimonsa itkeskelevän; hän tunsi kadottavansa varmuuden asiassa. Mutta eräänä päivänä sanoi Anna-Kaisa: Mikä tuon tiennee mikä onni se sielläkin sentään kohtaisi. Saattaisi olla onneksi Jannellekin. Tuossa hän nuuruu päivästä toiseen eikä näy parantuvan. Jos jaksaisi siellä saada lääkärin hoitoon. Siellähän ne ovat lähellä lääkärit jos lääkkeetkin, muutaman kivenheiton päässä, ehkä toisella puolella katua, ilostui Jaakkokin, kun kuuli Anna-Kaisan puolelta näin matkaluvaksi myöntyvän. Ja on siellä yhtä ja toista valopuoltakin, jos lienee varjojakin. Eläväthän siellä muutkin ihmiset, myönteli Anna-Kaisa. Elävätpä hyvinkin! Asia pidettiin kummaltakin puolelta päätettynä, vaikkei sitä vielä toisilleen vakuuteltu.
- 75. II. Nyt he olivatmatkalla kaupunkiin. Raskaana lepäsi taivas heidän yllänsä, vihmoen lunta. Luonnon voimat olivatkin aivan kuin suunniltaan tänä talvena: pyryä ja pakkasta loppumattomiin. Kotimökki jäi sinne lumisen kyläaukeaman laitaan. Matalana se melkein peittyi ankarain kinosten sisään. Pietolan riihirakennuksen luona vielä pysähtyi Anna-Kaisa, ja samoin tekivät toisetkin. Tahtoivat he vielä nähdä kotoiset tienoot, ja siinä muutamien silmänräpäyksien aikana heräsi muisto toisensa jälkeen, päättyen aina viime päiväin tapahtumiin, huutokauppaan ja ihmishälinään. Tuntuu aivan niin kuin meiltä olisi ryöstetty kaikki ja ajettu pois kotoamme, sanoi Anna-Kaisa. Eikö sitten niin juuri ole tapahtunut? täydensi Jaakko. Niin, siellä se oli nyt se vähäinen hökkeli, jossa oli eletty monta ilon jos koettelemuksenkin hetkeä. Tuskin muuta siitä näkyi enää kuin vähän päätyä ja kylmä, savuton, toiselta laidalta vähän lohennut savupiippu katolla…
- 76. Jo kouristi entistäenemmän Anna-Kaisan sydämestä, ja häneltä puhkesi valtava itku. Itkivät lapsetkin, eikä Jaakko tahtonut saada mieltänsä sonnustetuksi entiseen kuntoon. Hänetkin valtasi hetkeksi jonkunlainen turvattomuuden tunne, vaikkakin hän oli varma, että kyllä he kaupungissakin tulevat toimeen, kun Katrikin oli nyt jo vähän sen asian takia puuhannut siellä. Junamatkalla tuli jo vaihtelua. Koko vaunuosasto oli väkeä täynnä. Heille tuskin löytyi paikkaa. Kaikilla oli omia asioitaan. Miehet puhuivat suuriäänisesti hevosistaan ja polttivat hirmuisesti tupakkaa. Eräs paksu mies, jolla oli pitkävartiset porosäpikkäät jalassa ja turpeissa kasvoissa sinisiä pilkkuja, niin kuin olisi ihoon uponneita hauleja kuultanut orvaskeden läpi, oli lasten mielestä hupainen ukkeli. Hän puhui karjan ostosta, teurastamisesta ja hirmuisista lihalähetyksistä rautateitse, lyödä läimäyttäen välillä tukkivahvaa reittänsä. Toiselle puolelle, aivan lähelle heitä, sattui joku talon emäntä, joka sanoi asuvansa likellä kaupunkia. Anna-Kaisasta tuntui hyvin lohduttavalta hänen osanottonsa, neuvonsa ja ohjauksensa. Niin mentiin asemanväli toisen jälkeen ettei huomattukaan. Kas niin, nyt ollaan perillä, sanoi emäntä yhtäkkiä. Juna tulla jyrisi juuri silloin asemapihalle. Vaunu paiskautui ensin vasempaan, sitten taasen oikeaan. Paikoiltansa nousseet ja matkatavaransa ottaneet matkustajat asettuivat jonoon käytävälle. Edellä kulkevat menivät jo vaunun sillalle. Avatusta ovesta kuului vaununpyörien kolina ja syöksähti savua sisälle vaunuun. Asemapihan pitkien vaunurivien välitse vieri juna kiivasta vauhtia aina asemahuoneen eteen, johon melkein yhtäkkiä pysähtyi. Koko asemahuoneen edusta kiehui mustanaan ihmisiä. Niemelän väki ei tiennyt, mihin mennä. He pysähtyivät hetkeksi ja kerkesi
- 77. Anna-Kaisa sivumennen nähdäerään nuorenpuoleisen naisen, joka kantoi sairaan näköistä lasta käsivarrellaan. Lapsi oli käärittynä ison huivin sisälle, ainoastaan kalpeat kasvot vähän näkyivät. Molemmilla puolilla riippui hameessa vähän vanhempi lapsi, puutteellisesti puettuna ja kylmästä väristen. Kun sinä nyt koettasit sieltä meitä muistaa, puhui nainen itkien ylös vaunusillalla seisovalle puolisolleen. Tiedäthän sinä, ettei meille jäänyt juuri mitään kotiin… Enempää ei Anna-Kaisa kuullut. He kantausivat väkijoukon mukana kauvas vaunun porrasten luota. Pois tieltä! huusivat jo toiset. Ja samassa jyrisi ohi kuorma matkatavaroita. Asemahuoneen ovi oli kuin joku nielukohta, minkä kautta koko elämän piti virrata. Siihen nyt pyrkivät Niemelätkin, sysäytyen ja paiskautuen kuin myllyssä. Takana soivat junailijain pillit, kiljuivat veturit, kitisivät pyörät kuraisilla kiskoilla, kolisivat vaunujen puskimet ja kytkyet. Ovesta virtasi hikinen, märkien vaatteiden ja kenkien löyhkän turmelema ilma. Pitkin odotushuoneen lavitsoita istui junia odottelevia matkustajia, äideillä sylilapset käsivarsillaan, vähän isommat lavitsoilla puolinukuksissa viruen. Pöydillä, istuimilla ja lattialla siellä täällä, missä suinkin riitti tilaa, oli kaikellaista matkatavaraa sikin sokin. Kaikista uteliainna, joka hetki aina jotakin uutta huomaten, salaisesti mielessään riemuiten, kulki Anna. Asemahuoneen portailta hän näki ensi kerran kaupungin, sen ihmisvilinän, liikkeen kaduilla, kuormien kulun ristiin rastiin, korskeat ajoneuvot, pyhävaatteiset ihmiset — aivan kuin olisi täällä jossakin vietetty suuren suuria häitä
- 78. tai hautajaisia. Naisetolivat merkillisissä puvuissa, nahkoja käsissä ja kaulassa, päässä kummalliset töyhtöniekkalakit. Ja mikä tuossa ajoi ohi hännättömällä hevosella peilikirkkaassa reessä? Joku korkea virkamies varmaan, koska oli kiiltonapit. Reen perällä hänen takanaan istui joku rouva. Hatun töyhtö hulmuili vähän alas lasketun kuomun syrjän yli. Siinä hetkessä oli reki ohi, ja toisia tuli jäljessä. Väkijoukon mukana he kulkeusivat keskemmälle kaupunkia leveää puistokatua, jonka molemmin puolin upeili kauppaliikkeiden lasiseinäiset rakennukset, seiniin maalatut tai ulkoneviin kilpiin kirjaillut moninaiset liikeilmoitukset. Toisissa liikkeissä paloivat lamput keskellä päivää. Ihmisiä kuhisi myömäpöytien ääressä kuin markkina-aikana maakauppiasten puodeissa. Mistä riittikin väkeä joka paikkaan, työhön ja touhuun tai joutilaana, ilman mitään tarkoitusta vetelehtien kulkemaan lämpymissä vaatteissaan pitkin katuja? Tuolla huudeltiin, tässä väiteltiin, tuossa meni ihmisiä kiinnittämättä huomiotansa edes siihen, että joku pieni tyttönen loukkautui. Ihmiset riensivät myymälöihin, kahviloihin, ja sieltä taasen ulos yhtämittaa, keskeytymättä. Katri oli kirjoittanut, ettei hän luultavasti pääse asemalle saakka vastaan, ja oli neuvonut kadut, joita myöten heidän oli tultava. Sen opastuksen mukaan he nyt kulkivat, kunnes tulivat Läntiselle Pitkällekadulle. Siitä he kääntyivät oikealle ja tulivat suureen puistoon. Täällä liike jo vähän rauhottui, mutta samalla he tunsivat yhä enemmän kuin hukkuvansa monilokeroiseen kaupunkiin. Oikein tuntui turvalliselta, kun he näkivät puistokäytävällä jonkun vanhanpuoleisen naishenkilön lakaisevan. He eivät olleet uskaltaneet vielä kenellekään puhua mitään. Mutta Anna-Kaisa pysähtyi nyt ja rupesi kyselemään, missä Katri mahdollisesti asuisi.
- 79. Voi hyvät ihmiset,sanoi vanhus ja puistautti päätänsä, voisiko täällä tietää, missä joku asuu? Tuossa minä näen tuhansia kävelevän päiväkauden. Ei kukaan minua huomaa enkä minä erikoisesti ketään. Mutta missä he mikin asuvat, sitä ei osaa sanoa. Tuossa nelikerroksisessa rakennuksessa asuu satoja, tuossa samoin, asuu vinttikerroksessa, tuolla joiden pienet akkunat ovat katolla, asuu kellareissa, joihin valo pääsee katukäytävän paksusta lasista. Mutta kuka heistä missäkin asuu, se on mahdotonta tietää. Missä se on työssä, jota te haette? Hänen pitäisi olla kai jossakin tehtaassa, sanoi Anna-Kaisa. Hakekaa sitten kellareista tai ylikerroksista! Siellä ovat heidän asuntonsa. Tai pahasista puuvajoista vanhassa kaupunginosassa, joka on tässä edessänne. Vanhaa kaupunginosaa se pitäisi olla. Eikö se ollut niin kirjeessäkin? Tuossa se sitten on. Menkäähän sinne ja kysykää poliisilta, joka seisoo nurkassa. Jos teillä vielä on osote, niin kyllä te perille osaatte. Vanhus jatkoi edelleen lakaisemistaan. Hitaasti kävi luuta ja toisinaan pysähtyi kokonaan, milloin tuli yskänkohtaus. Huopatossut latostivat lakaistuun käytävään kaksi tolaa, joita myöten vanhus hivutteli eteenpäin muutamia sentimetrejä joka askeleella. Pakastiainen viivähti oksalla hänen luonansa, hioi nokkaansa kuuraiseen oksaan, pyrähti lentoon, ja härmä satoi puhtaan valkoisena puun alla vaeltavan vanhuksen hartioille…
- 80. III. Vihdoin he löysivätKatrin asunnon. Hän oli koko kaupungissa oloaikansa asunut tehtaan lähellä olevassa puutalossa eräässä perheessä, jossa mies ja vaimo myöskin olivat tehtaalaisia. Perheen vanhimmat lapset kävivät koulua ja saivat päiväkaudet tulla toimeen omin voiminsa, hakea ruuakseen, mitä löysivät, sillä vasta illalliseksi jouti perheen äiti keittämään, ja silloin oli perheen varsinainen ruokailuaika vähää ennen nukkumaan menoa. Nuorimmat vei äiti aamulla ani varahin työhön mennessään lastenseimeen ja toi illalla palatessaan. Mikäpä auttoi. Kun he olivat työkuntoisia kumpainenkin, niin täytyi ahertaa henkensä pitimiksi. Vai Katrin vanhemmat! sanoi Saarniska, kun illalla kotiin tultuaan löysi Niemelän väen kotoansa. Tervetuloa! — Noo, älkää olko huolissanne asunnosta. Kyllähän se hyvä sopu sijaa antaa, jollei muuten niin tappelemalla. Annaa huvitti kovasti pystynenäinen, kompia laskeva Saarnin emäntä. Kyllähän te näette minkälaista meillä tässä on, sanoi Saarniska, leväytti kätensä ja antoi niiden sieltä pudota lanteillensa. Tässä me
- 81. tohisemme lapsinemme. Katsokaapas,tässä on tällainen kamari kuin salkkari. Onko tämä nyt kahtakaan metriä joka suuntaan? Keittiö on tässä. Ja kun me keräännymme tähän iltasella, niin kylläpä tässä ovat paikat täynnä. Ei ole ollut leveästi tilaa meilläkään, yritti Anna-Kaisa väliin. Köyhillä ihmisillä! tarttui Saarniska puheeseen. Mistä sitä on? Onhan täällä maailmassa avaraa ilman alla, mutta pitääpäs siitä huolimatta löytyä tällaista ahtautta. Katrikin tässä vielä… Katri on kuin talon ihmisiä, niin kuin vanhin tyttö konsanaankin. Me olemme häätyneet pitämään aina jonkun vuokralaisen, milloin olemme onnistuneet saamaan sellaisen, joka voi sietää lasten kirkunaa. Pitää koettaa silläkin tavalla saada vuokran lyhennystä. Ajatelkaa: kaksikymmentäviisi markkaa kuussa on näistä kömmänöistä! Saarniska puuhaili tulta uuniin ja ryhtyi laittamaan illallista. Oletteko syöneet jo? — Niin, missäpä olisi vielä kerjennyt, kun juuri olette saapuneet. Lyödäänpä tuosta perunoita pata täyteen, niin jää vieraillekin, että pääsette siunattuun alkuun tässä. Huomennapa sitten saattaa sijotella ja järjestellä. Ei nyt pitäisi meidän takia vaivata…, yritti Anna-Kaisa. Mikäpäs tässä, tulihan näitä kuumentaa, ja yhteisiähän ne ovat uskovaisten tavarat. No, mikä kaiskina siellä kamarissa on? Siivolla, sikiöt, ja Jussi myös!
- 82. Vähitellen päästiin illastelemaan,ja ihmeellisesti taisi Saarniska järjestää perheensä ja vieraansa pieneen huoneustoonsa yöksi. Jaakko pääsi työhön Blombergin suureen nahkatehtaaseen. Eipä hänellä suinkaan mitään ammattitaitoa ollut, mutta suuressa työpaikassa löytyy aina sellaistakin puuhaa, missä kokonaan harjaantumaton menee niiden mukana ja kehittyy vähitellen. Jaakko oli vahvarakenteinen mies, ja mestari kohta suunnitteli, mihin sellaista työvoimaa käyttäisi. Anna taasen onnistui pääsemään paperitehtaaseen lumppujen repijäksi. Tuossa kurjassa työssä hän raastoi päiväkaudet, ansaiten tuskin ruuan ja vaatteet itsellensä. Mutta hän oli siitä huolimatta iloinen, sillä hän oli nyt päässyt kaupunkiin, jonne oli salaisesti ja kauvan halunnut. Hän oli aivan pienuudesta pitäen ollut aivan eri luontoinen kuin Katri. Katrin koko toiminta oli aina suunnattuna kotiin päin, Annan kodista pois. Hän olisi ollut valmis lähtemään koska hyvänsä outoon kaupunkiin. Ei sillä tytöllä olisi päätä palellut. Aina hän siitä puhui. Kun sitten joskus syrjäiselle kotikylälle sattui kulkemaan joku kaupunkilainen, oli hän kuin ilmestys Annan mielestä. Hänen vaatetustaan, käytöstään ja puhettaan hän ihaili sanomattomasti. Hänestä hän puhui ja uneksi sekä hänet yhdisti leikkeihinsä. Niemelän tuvan loukko oli aivan täynnä kaupunkilaista. Siinä oli leikkelyksiä kuvalehdistä, joita Anna oli saanut kirkonkylän kauppiaalta ja apteekin lapsilta. Entäs sitä höpsötystä sitten! Anna- Kaisan oli täytynyt oikein pysäyttää kaiteensa toisinaan kuunnellakseen tyttönsä touhuamista. Hänellä oli aivan ihmeellinen vaisto kuvitella, minkälaista on kaupungissa.
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