Press Freedom and Globalisation - International Press Institute

Press Freedom and Globalisation
versions of press freedom. Finally are claims that concepts of press freedom are among
tools of neo-colonialism.
In claiming that press freedom is a Western concept, critics point out that in the
North, liberal authorities tend to protect citizens at the expense of the community, while in
the South, people tend to be victims of activities that the authorities in the North protect.
Hence, this Northern liberalism, including mass media, is not an appropriate model for the
South. 153 UNESCO, in a worldwide comparative study of media councils and codes of
conduct, concluded that Western ideas are not necessarily the basis for press freedom:
“Because the pattern and philosophy of mass communication in Third
World countries are not the same as that in many of the developed countries,
the media councils in those countries cannot and should not be just carbon
copies of those in the developed world.” 154
This perception was reinforced in a 2002 study by Jennifer Ostini and Anthony Y.
H. Fung that concluded that Western concepts and values such as a free press were not
transferable. Ostini and Fung stated that these values do not work the same way in other
cultures. 155 Western press systems implemented in Africa are even accused of damaging
traditional community societies. Because mass media and information systems were used
for control, power imbalances emerged. 156
The Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan argued that communication
technology tied the world together in globalisation and that technology was not neutral to
values. Changes in communication changed values and that there were underlying forces
of media dominance than the content in the media. 157 It was the underlying forces that
African leaders, in newly independent states, felt used the media to control them. That
153 Ochilo, Polycarp Omolo, “Africa : Perspectives for Editorial Independence” in UNESCO, Public Service
Broadcasting and Editorial Independence: Strengthening Democratic Voices (Helsinki, Finland: The
Finnish National Commission for UNESCO, 1998), p. 47.
154 Jones, J. Clement, Mass Media Codes of Ethics and Councils : A comparative international study on
professional standards (Paris: UNESCO Press, 1980), p. 56.
155 Brislin, Tom, “Empowerment as a Universal Ethic in Global Journalism” in Journal of Mass Media Ethics
(New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004) volume 19, number 2-2004, p. 132.
156 Makali (ed.), Media Law and Practice, pp. 41-45 and 60-64; and Merrill, Global Journalism, p. 213.
157 Altschull, From Milton to McLuhan, pp. 339-343.
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