RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

AND NOW A GLOBAL SYSTEM OF UNIFORMISTIC COMMUNICATION? It seems clear that aemocratization and commercialization аге incompatible , even if the latter involves deregulation . 6 ) So are decentralization and internationalization . Commercialization favors decentralization as a way of tailoring the message to territorial defined groups of consumers , but this is ostensible decentralization ("deconcentration" might be a better term) in terms of the actual siting of stations , but not real "localization" of broadcasting in terms of its contents (cf. Nothing Loca! About It ..., 1983). Internationalization militates against specialization as well. Commercialization favors specialization , as a way of reaching clearly identifiable segments of the audience 7 ), but not true diversity and pluralism of content. In short, the two tendencies, if allowed to operate without hindrance , might result in the emergence in the West of a globa!ly monocentric or at best oligopolistic system of funđamentally unif ormistic communication . "Globally monocentric ог oligopoiistic" means in practice that the production and distribution of most media content would be controlled , as is happening already today , s ) by a small number of transnational corporations . They would be the real "senders and national međia would to a large extent be their distribution channels . The model wou!d theref ore def ine the national media's place not only in relation to the social forces in the particular country , but also to the core countries and transnational corporations of the world system . 9 ) Anđ this would be ”funđamentally uniformistic" communication in that for all the differences of content, style, genre and means of expression , its underlying message would be one of ”world -system legitimation” (Mosco, 198 E). True , all this is much more of a realistic threat in the case of television rather than radio, though here, too, much of the "needle-time" (i.e. air time devoted to the playing of records , which itself taKes up a great deal of total air time ) is controlleđ by transnational corporations , or devoted to music produced at home for the international market and therefore "decultured" or "denationalized" (cf. Wallis , Malm , 1986). The terms of competition between the public and commercial sectors of broadcasting will be set , and the result largely determlned , by the communication poiicy of Western governments As we will argue below, another major factor here will, of course , be the attitude and behavlor of the audience .