Transnational Media and Third World Development

The study first addresses the political issues and media theories that culminated in the demand for the NWIO, and the ongoing debate among scholars, policymakers, and diplomats concerning reforms in communications. Through a comparative analysis of Western and Third World media practices, Meyer examines the relationship between the understanding of the term news and two conflicting theories of communication and development. The structuralist theoretical alternative is tested in empirical, quantitative studies on the following topics: imbalances in the structure of international information flows; cultural change in less-developed countries produced by media inputs from the West; and Western news and information flows as factors contributing to political instability and violence in the Third World. Based on an examination of economic, social, and cultural indicators in twenty-four less developed countries, the author critically assesses charges relating to neocolonialist features of news and information management, as well as cultural imperialism and political unrest. The final chapter summarizes these empirical tests as they relate to stuctural communications theory. Bridging the gap between general theories of mass media and empirical examination of media relationships, Meyer's book is a major contribution to our understanding of the global ramifications of the Information Revolution.