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Global Village Theory and the News

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Global Village Theory and the News McLuhan (in E. Griffin, 2012) coined the term ‘global village’ to describe how cultures are brought together through technology. He states that electronic media enables us to communicate with everyone, everywhere, whenever we want to and states that closed human systems do not exist in a world where electronic media is the front and centre. McLuhan’s view of electronic technology essentially states that technology has become somewhat of an extension of senses; sight, sound and hearing with the invention of television, radio and computer, phone, cellphones etc. Through this media we are increasingly linked to others across the world, we are now able to see and hear of events that occur within our local area as well as the ability to react to global issues. McLuhan’s theory is directed at nearly all sources of electronic media; TV’s, Facebook, Twitter, the Internet etc. but for the context of this course, I will focus only on the theory as it relates to international television news programs such as CNN and CBC etc. Communication can change a society; when one is given the opportunity to exchange information and ideas, they have power over influencing not only others, but also their decisions. I would argue, though, that communication is powerful now, and it always has been, what has changed is the way we communicate on a large scale. Thanks to international news programs we have a wealth of information about things happening all over the world which allows us a tremendous amount of power, and also a sense of increased responsibility. The effect of a global village, McLuhan suggests, is a new ability to experience almost instantly the effects of our actions on a global scale. Subsequently he concludes that we are forced to become aware of responsibility on a global level rather than concerning ourselves solely with our own smaller communities (Bareviciute, 2010). My essay assumes that McLuhan’s global village analogy is a large part of cultural globalization and a sense of global, social responsibility. News programs such as CNN provide the watcher with breaking news coverage, on a global scale – of course, most news programs cover international news, but CNN is probably the most well-known. It is important to distinguish between the meanings of “village”; in one sense the village represents simply the notion of a small space in which people can communicate quickly and know of every event that takes place, such as local news programs. In a broader and more ideal sense the village represents community and the idea that we can all have a role in shaping our global society (Bareviciute, 2010), essentially stating that we are ‘one being’. The idea of 'one being’ is that we are all connected by an electric nervous system of sorts within which the actions of one part will affect the whole. Therefore, international news programs allow for a broader village. With the global village theory, comes an increased sense of responsibility for those cultures that are developed and thriving; if we see less fortunate people due to the technology that is available now (which CNN often presents), we can no longer ignore them; there is an increased sense of accountability to support and offer assistance. With an amplified sense of responsibility to support impoverished/war-torn countries comes the consideration that perhaps a higher system of interconnectedness between countries will lead to global peace.

I strongly believe that international news programs are not created simply for the education of the viewer, but also to encourage assistance, and social responsibility to help. Many news programs have a runner under the program itself with phone numbers and websites to help or get involved. As well, the news crews often tell the viewer of websites and hone numbers to visit to get more information and offer assistance. If the news was simply a force to educate and inform, websites and phone numbers would not be needed. There are problems with the theory though, McLuhan’s theory assumes that the population of the globe is “plugged in” and that everyone can see or hear any event at any time, which is perhaps the weakest part of his theory. Given the issues we have within our own societies, there is a sense that we can only actually know a small number of people really well…how can we possibly feel sense of community with all the millions of us on this earth? I believe the news, as it relates to McLuhan’s theory is correct, watching the news causes us to have an increased sense of global responsibility.

References

Bareviciute, J. (2010). The locality of the “global village” in the aspect of communication: Pro et contra M. McLuhan. Limes 3(2) pp. 184-193. Department of Philosophy and Political Theory. Vilnius Gediminas Technical University
McLuhan, M. (2012) In E. Griffin (Eds.) A First Look at Communication Theory, 8th ed. Boston: McGraw–Hill, 2012

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