1. Globalization induced changes in
Nepali Media*
Indra Dhoj Kshetri
Department of Mass Communication and Journalism
Madan Bhandari Memorial College
October 11, 2012
*A Presentation made at Martin Chautari on Media Discussion Series on Oct 11, 2012
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2. Session Plan
• Defining Globalization
• Impacts of Globalization: Economic, Cultural and Political
• Historical Perspectives in Globalization
• Globalization in Nepal
• Meaning of Media Globalization
• Impacts on Nepali Media
• Conclusion
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3. Defining Globalization
Tomlinson (1999): globalization refers to the rapidly
developing and ever-densening network of
interconnections and interdependences that
characterize modem social life.
McGrew (1992): Nowadays, goods, capital, people,
knowledge, images, crime, pollutants, drugs,
fashions and beliefs all readily flow across
territorial boundaries. Transnational networks,
social movements and relationships are extensive
in virtually all areas from the academic to the
sexual.
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4. Defining Globalization
• It is a complex concept
• It can be defined in three ways:
Economic
Cultural
Political
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5. Economic perspective
• Free transnational flow of currency/capital,
investment, technology, labor and goods
where individual nations have less sovereignty
in restricting these movements and imposing
barriers including taxation.
• Championed by WTO and other Trade/finance
organizations i.e. IMF, World Bank, Asian
Development Bank, etc.
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6. Political perspective
• The loss of sovereignty and the influence of
foreign nations in the political
decisions/developments of the recipient
country
• Through supra-national political institutions
like UN/EU/SAARC*
*Saarc was initiated to resist the Globalization but as most of its member nations lost
the relevance for that resistance, it turned out to be the pawn.
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7. Cultural perspective
• Creation of Global hegemonic Culture and the
subordination of local cultures
• Creation and penetration of popular culture
through globalized media
• Cultural Imperialism
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8. Agents/institutions of Globalization
• Migration for work
• Tourism
• Means of transportation and interconnectedness
• Communication Technologies
• Education or academic institutions
• Political parties
• Regional and global organizations
• I/NGOs
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9. Historical Perspectives in
Globalization
• It started with mercantile capitalism
• Paced up with industrial capitalism
• Accelerated and received larger legitimacy
with modernization and financial capitalism
• In addition to the development of the fastest
means of transportation and
interconnectedness, media aided as a primary
factor in this latest development.
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10. Globalization in Nepal
• Globalization in Nepal started after Sugauli
treaty in 1816 AD
• Movement towards India started with Nepali
youths’ recruitment in the British army
• They brought goods, technologies and new
culture.
• The subordination of local culture started
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11. Role of Ranas in Globalization in Nepal
• Ranas were keen to imitate the British culture.
• This established the importance of speaking
English, eating and clothing like the Britons
and was thought to be superior to the mass.
• They provided a large number of Nepali
recruits to the British army, who in return
brought the goods and culture as well as
technologies.
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12. Meaning of Media Globalization
• Media as the means of Globalization
• Media as consequence of Globalization
• Free transnational flow of investment,
technologies (hardware), contents and
formats (software), human resources
• Free transnational reception of global media
technologies and contents
• Media also as a strong agent of political and
economic globalization
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13. Impacts in Nepali Media
Impacts in Nepali media also have to be seen
from the following four perspectives:
• Investment,
• technologies (hardware) of transmission and
reception,
• human resources
• content (software) production and reception
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14. Impact on Structure/Organization
(Investment and human resources)
• Conglomeration
• Corporatization
• Foreign Investment
• Competition with Foreign channels
• Training journalists/media workers with the knowledge
compatible with their interests (Thomson Reuters’ business reporting
course is the best example)
• Journalist exchanges and tours
• Scholarships for University education
• Superiority of English language press/media (a big
problem in India which may soon plague Nepal too)
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15. Impact on Structure/Organization:
Technologies of transmission and reception
• Development of newest technologies and making
it mandatory for the developing countries to
adapt to them
• Dependency
• Profit to the producer companies which mostly in
the West
• Audiences forced to continuously upgrade their
reception devices and technologies to be
compatible with the newest technologies of
transmission
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16. Impact on Content
• Tabloidization
• Rise of Infotainment
• Show-biz
• Dominance of international news in
entertainment, sports and business news
• Pro-liberal and pro-capitalist bias
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17. Impact on Content
• Huge dependence of local/national media on
foreign media products (news agencies,
feature syndicates, TV networks, movie
studios etc.)
• Use of TV program formats developed by the
Western media companies
• Hybrid media contents
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18. Impact on Audience reception
• Consumption of foreign media products
• Trans-border reception of foreign channels
• Reception/consumption of International
media products
• Continuous adaptation to new technology
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19. Conclusion
• Even though Globalization is at pace now, it
started in Nepal immediately after Sugauli
Sandhi. So studies on Globalization in Nepal
should not only be studied after the period of
modernization.
• Globalization in Nepal paced up with
modernization in 1950s which also coincided with
the establishment of democratic system in Nepal
and with some hiccups during Panchayat,
accelerated after 1990s
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20. Conclusion contd.
• Globalization has impacted not only media contents but
also the structures.
• Study about the impact of Globalization in Nepali media
should not only be limited to the cultural aspects, it
should consider organizational, human resource and
technological changes in national media organizations
too.
• Media should not only be studied as carrier of
globalization but also a field of it.
• Media as the agent of political and economic
globalization: Some [political] economists and
sociologists have studied the political and economic
aspect but they have overlooked the role of media.
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