Negative Imperialism In The Foreign Media And The Western Media

In the current global order, people are bombarded with foreign media, from television programs, news, films, and music among others. The massive media conglomerates that operate across the world are changing perceptions and promoting foreign culture at the global stage. Until recently, the western media, with big media houses such as the Cable News Network (CNN), British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and Reuters among other Europe-based media houses dominating the world scene, dominated the world (Chalaby 37). With the rise of the Qatar based Aljazeera Network and Chinese CCCTV, the global audience can now sample different tastes. Perhaps due to its long dominance, the Western media still commands the largest audience across the world. This

According to Doyle, the global domination by mainly western media companies has contributed to the weakening of local cultures, retardation of development as well as promotion of capitalist values (Doyle 143). In essence, the concept of medial imperialism in the world today is the root cause of homogenization of culture in the sense that the western media has largely promoted the democratic hybridization of various cultures. In other words, the values of the imported media have played a significant role in countering the traditional models of media imperialism. While a number of people and ethnic societies underestimate the key aspects of medial imperialism, especially with regard to western media, they fail to understand the obvious long-term implications of the media on the local audiences. Essentially, what the local audiences interpret or perceive after watching foreign media end up influencing their political, social, and economic

While the western media may indeed have influenced many cultures, there is little doubt that some cultures are bent on retaining their identity. In order words, some western societies such as the Chinese and the Arabs cultures have relatively retained their cultural identities in the wake of growing western influence. Notably, they have retained their cultural identities amid the changing forces affecting many parts of the word. In essence, the concept of media imperialism may not necessarily erode cultural