Block-4 International Communication

UNIT INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION
AGENCIES AND ORGANISATIONS

Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Nature and Functions of News Agencies
1.3 Global News Agencies
1.3.1 Alternative to the "GLOBALS"
1.4 , International Broadcasting
British Broadcasting Corporation
Voice of America
Visnews
1.5 International Organisations
1.5.1 United Nations Educational Scientific and Culhal Organisation (UNESCO)
1.5.2 International TelecommunicationsUnion (ITU)
1.6 Inter-governmental Agencies
1.7 Orher International Organisations
1.8 Let Us Sum Up
1.9 Further Reading
1.10 Check Your Progress: Model Answers
After going through this unit, you should bc able to:

a define the nature and role of the international information agencies,
a list various uansnational andmultinational information agencies,
describe the functions of information agencies, and
a describe the role of the inter-governmental internatid organisations.
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Have you ever thought as to how the radio, the television, and the newspapet get all the
information, facts and figures from far flung comers of the World? How could aJl the
newspapers, in a very short span of time, gather the infomation? I am sure, you must have
thought about i t And you know how the whole system of news gathering and dissemination
activities operates. You may not have a deep howledge about their operations. But don't
worry, you will learn about them as we move ahead in this u ~ t .
Production and distribution of infomation has become a very complicated and competitive
business. News agencies have performed this role for many years. Since the marerial is
distributed and used by many media establishments, there is a concern about the power of
these agencies. This unit, will ejrplain the natllre and role of the international information
agencies and the functioning of the trans-national news agencies. We shall also discuss the
role of inter-governmental international infomation organisatim.
Significantchanges in communications have occurred in the recent past These changes
have implications for both national and international communication flows. These flows
' have advantages as well as disadvantages. They have also raised a number of issues
concerning politics, economy, and culture in different countries; and ptompted them to
evolve a framework of communication of their own in keeping with their own needs. It is,
@erefore,necessary to understand the nature and content of commmicationflows between
ad nations and
alll~\g the organisations that are involved in these tasks.
There are hundreds of agencies, which am in the business of supplying infamalion to the
mass media These agencies are referred to as news agencies, feature services, and
syndicates. The news agencies supply ma$md to suit thq print as well as the audio-visual
A ma rm
thPaPn o p n h p - ~ we read and see is suite si@fiat,
International Communication Therefore, an essential pre-requisite for a student of communication is to understand the
background of some of these agencies. Since our focus, in this unit, is on the international
information and news agencies, we shall'confme ourselves to the international sphere only.
Activity 1 i,
Before we proceed, we shall engage ourselves in a short activity.

Take any newspaper tbat you can lay your hands on. Open the first (or cover) page,
and list all the names of the news agencies attached with eachnews item. For example,
"Diana3 stepmother to remarry (London, Reuter); here Reuter is the news agency.
News Items News Agencies I
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I .v.,.
1.2 NATURE AND FUNCTIONS OF NEWS AGENCIES

A news agency g e n d l y deals with news coverage. It combines spot coverage with
interpretation of the imporcant political and economic events. Although its emphdis'is
limited, the news agency plays a very imporGmt role in shaping public opinion on crucial
national and international affairs. The news agency does not deal directly with the public. It
works through the intermediary of the other means of mass communication, namely the
press, radio and television. Essentially, it plays the role of a wholesale supplier of news.
The media depend on material supplied by the news agencies mainly out of economic
necessity. In order to have a wide coverage, which the readers of any standard publication
expect the newspaper has to maintain a costly network of staff reporters, correspondents,
offices, bureaus and telecommunication equipments on a world-wide scale. But we are
aware that many newspapers of our country, and for that matter, most of the newspapers of
the Third World countries cannot even maintain a proper network of c0fz-dent.s within
their own country of operation. Only a few newspapers can afford this investment and
recurring expenditure. For a majority of the news media, the news agencies are a major
source of news supply. The subscribers to the news agencies include the daily newspapers,
the radio and TV stations, the local newspapers, magazines, offices and institutions,
particularly govemment agencies, large coprations in the private and public sector, banks,
and commercial establishments.
The proliferation of the news agencies began with the World War 11, especially after many
countries gained their independence. When you compare the contents of the newspapers,
you will notice, especially in international news that there is a high degree of similarity. The
reason is that almost all the newspapers subscribe to common sources for their foreign
madrial. Any one of the several global or, as they are better known, transnational news
agencies can be regarded as a commonmume. In our c h t r y , the two leading news
agencies, the United N e b hf India (UNI) and the Press Trust of India (PTI), have
contractuq, agreexhenp with these global news agencies.
Certain studies reveal that there are about 1200 news agencies operating in the world
However, the five large transnational agencies, Renters, Agence France Presse (AFP),
Sovetskavo Soyusa (TASS) put out around 35 million words per day, and claim to provide Inknational Information
Ageneles and Organisations
ninetenths of the total foreign news output of th, world media. In addition, there are other
major agencies, like the Deutsche Press Agentem @PA) of Gemany, Kyodo of Japan,
and Xinhua of China.
Several regional or alternativenews agencies have developed on a co-operarive basis among

the developing countries. They are the ASIN of Latin America, the Caribbean News
Exchange Pool, and the Non-aligned News Agencies Pool (NANAP).
One reason for us to focus on a few agencies (AP, UPI, R e u m , AFP, and TASS), in this
unit, is that, as described earlier, their output is quantitatively very high. Furtber they have
been able to maintain their dominance with their vast scale of operations. Consequently,
other agencies are effectively blocked from setting up rival services. Another reason is that
the history of these news agencies is closely linked to the consolidation of colonial empires
in the nineteenth century.
For a very long time, the communication of information depended on the physical
movement of people. You must be knowing that in the good old days the kings and
emperors would have messengers, who would move from one place to another carrying
messages on hone back. Eventually, submarine cables along sea routes and cables across
land outpaced the physical movement of information through people.
The news agencies utilised this system, and thereby established a wide netwok. It was in
this context that the first news agency was founded by a Frenchman, Charles Havas, in
1835. Havas is historically very significant because he laid the foundation for the French
(AFP), UK (Reuters) and German @PA) news agencies. We shall now briefly look into
the background of the five global news agencies.
Activity 2
Notes: Use the space below for your answer. 4
1) We have just discussed how the news agencies f u n c h . Please present the flow of
news in a flow-chart.
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International Communlcatlon
1.3 GLOBAL NEWS AGENCIES
Reuters: This news agency takes its name after its founder, Paul Julius Reuter. As an
employee of the Havas agency and through his friendship with a well-known physicist of his
time, Carl Fredrich Gauses, he came to know the advantage of the electric telegraph.
Around 1850, he set up a carrier pigeon service. When he moved to the UK, in 185 1, he
opened a telegraph office near the London Stock Exchange. Initially, his services were
confined to commercial information. When he was able to persuade more newspapers to
subscribe to his service, he diversified into other areas. Historians suggest that his first
major breakthrough came in 1859, when he sent a despatch for shadowing a war in Italy. '
Since then the agency has expanded, and is regarded as a global news agency.
Reuten supplies news to its media clients such as other news agencies, newspapers, the
radio and television stations under various categories. These include general and economic
news, news pictutes and the TV news. Information is collected from around 160 exchanges
and markets.' It has a network of about 1200 journalists, photographers and cameramen,
who operate through 100 bureaus in different parts of the world.
Under its present form of ownership, a public company, Reuters claims that it can ensure
that no particular interest group or faction can have control. Consequently, it hopes to
preserve its integrity and freedom from bias. These claims afe questioned by many Third
World countries.
Associated Preas (AP): The impetus to provide speedy transmission of news was given by
the telegraph invented by Samuel F.B. Morse, in 1844. The telegraph enables many small
town newspapers in the US to get their news. It is in this context that the meeting of the
leading New York publishers, in 1848, gains significance. Although a decision was made to
start a news agency, the name, Associated Press, was not used till about 1860. It is said that
the newspapers, which formed the Associated Press, were able to demonstrate their
enterprise during the Mexican War.
Associated Press has since expanded its operations to include economic and financial
international news service called AP-DJ @ow Jones). This service is run in conjunction
with Dow Jones Inc., publisher of the Wall Street Journal and with Telerate a major US
computer based financial data service.
Associated Press took a concrete form, in 1900, as a modern news gathering association. In
1848, six leading newspapers of New York city launched a cooperative effort through the
creation of the Associated Press of New York. It was founded by the newspapers to share
the cost of telegraphing the news brought by ship to different ports in the US. Competition
and rivalry was very much evident in the formative years, which was overcome by AP. Yet
AP was unhappy that its news exchange contracts of 1893 with European news agencies had
restricted its entry into the British Empire area. Reuters was controlling the area, with Havas
(French Agency) and Wolf (German) controlling other areas. Although it was able to
establish foreign bureaus before World War I, it could not sell news abroad. The long
suuggle, which ended in 1934, resulted in the creation of the AP World service, in 1946.
Kent Cooper, as the AP traffic chief, is credited with establishing AP as a world service. The
struggle by AP to establish its base and the restrictions the rivals placed on it is often cited
as a case that is reflective of many Third World countries wanting to break the monopoly of
the "big five", which ironically includes AP.
AP with its wide communications network using advanced technology has bureaus in more
than 100 countries. Its 5000 plus correspondents and a host of stringers cater to about 1300
newspapers, 3400 broadcasters in the US and 1000 private subscribers.
United Press International (UPI):The growth of AP spurred the rise of competitors.

Edward Wyllis Scripps, th founder of the famous scripps chain of newspapers in the US,
formed the United Press A s!! ocjation, in 1907. One of the reasons for starting this
association was the closed membership policy of the "Associated Press". Scripps is on
record in trusting AP over all others. Further, AP was.interested in serving the big morning ,
newspapers, while Scripps was publishing the evening newspapers. Running his own news
service was, therefore, attractive.
Initially, Scripps started two regional news services to cater to his own newspapers. At the International Information
Agendes and Organisations
same time, there was another association, the Publishers' Press Association formed in 1898
by the non-AP eastern newspapers. In 1907, Scripps merged his United Press Association
with the Publishers' Press Association to form the United Press Association. This
association could enter areas which AP could not due to contractual limitations. Therefore,
UPA's influence grew.
A major set back occurred in 1918. It sent a report that the war had ended, and later it turned
out to be false. Its credibility suffered. Slowly, it recovered, and it is said that the UPA news
reports "were dynamic and, like the Scripps papers, conformed to the needs and interests of
the mass of readers". On the contrary, AP was looking down upon human interest stories,
and was still concerned with straight reporting. The backgrounds and personal accounts
enabled UPA to score over AP. Parallel to these developments emerged a third press
association, the International News Service (INS).
INS was founded to use the existing leased wire facilities of the Hearst newspapers. It faced
severe competition from AP. To offset this pressure, INS began to concentrate in a few
centres only, and focus on good writers who could do extensive and well researched pieces.
The newspapers neveG looked towards INS as a major source, but subscribed to the service
for well written stories and major news beats. Although it was emerging as a major service,
by 1956, it decided to merge with AP, in 1958, to form the second major global news
agency in the US, the United Press International.
UP1 claims to have an overseas electronic strength of about 200 journalists overseas
distributed in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia. Unlike the AP and Reuters, LPI
has not diversified much into specialized economic services. However, its broadcast related
services are consi&red to be a specialisation.
Agence France Presse: AFP is a post-war successor to the Agence Havas, founded in
1835. The French newspapers conml the agency by having the maximum representation on
its board of directors. Although AFP is described as an unsubsidised autonomous
organisation, in effect, the French government and various agencies under its control
subscribed to AFP, and provided good suppoh
Through a wide network of bureaus within the country and abroad, AFP is regarded as one
of the major global news agencies. AFP is important in another sense, and that is its hiitory.
As already mentioned, it was a successor to Havas. It grew out of a translation agency,
which sold the translations to various newspapers. Two of its employees, Paul Julius Reuter
and Bernard Wolff, started news agencies in the UK and Germany. All the three countries,
France, the UK and Germany were leading European empires. Accordingly, the news
agencies, Havas, Reuters and wolff to6k control of large segments of the world for news
coverage. Many writers argue that this laid the foundation for a close relationship between
communication and empire-building.
AFP has more than 10,000 newspapers and 70 agencies as its subscribers. Its operations are
in more than 150 countries with a network of 110 foreign bureaus. Its daily output is about
3,350,000 words contributedby 170 full time correspondents and more than 500 stringers.
Telegrafnoi Agentsvo Sovetskavo Soyusa (TASS): Often it was customary to exclude

TASS from the "globals" as the transnational news agencies are called. However, in terms
of influence, impact and coverage, TASS was in no way different from the other agencies.
With the changes in the erstwhile USSR, the relevance of understanding TASS as one of tbe
globals may have minimised, but recent changes and the formation of ITAR and Russia, bas
given it a new outlook and depth of penetration, in terms of coverage.
However, from a'historical perspective, it is necessary to understand TASS. This globaI

news agency began on the foundation of what was known as the Petrograd Telegraph
Agency, in 1917. When it skufed functioning under the'new regime after the socialist
revolution, it was considered as a major publicity organ dealing with the country's economic
life. The domestic news operations were coordinated under the Chief Department of Home
Information. It supplied news through a network of correspondents in alI regional and
territorial centres. Officially, its role was to supply balanced information, objectively
reflecting the economic life of all republics, territories and regions by taking into account
International Communication their economic potential and peculiarities. According to one source, TASS has
approximately 20,000 subscriben both domestic and foreign.
The work of TASS was complemented by another information agency, Novosti Press
Agency (APN).This was established in 1961 by the Union of Soviet Journalists, the Union
of Soviet writers and a few other mganisatims. The objective was to promote information
for peace and friendship among nations.
TASS, in comparison to APN, claimed to be the single state system of information, while
APN became the organ for public organisations.
The changes in the Soviet Union are now history. In the changed situation, TASS and APN
have correspondingly changed. APN and TASS have been merged to form a new Russian
information agency called ]TAR (the Information Telegraph Agency of Russia). ITAR
will retain a part of the holdings of the erstwhile TASS and APN. The TASS trademarkwill
be used in conjunction with ITAR, and the credit line now is ITAR-TASS. A m d i n g to a
senior functionary of the Russian Government, the changes in the news agency set up are
necessiated by fmancial consideratioos, such as paying for operations in foreign countries in
"hard currency*'.
Check Your Progress 1

'3
Notes: i) Use the space below for your answers.
ii) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
L
1) Write down the full names of the five large transnational news agencies.
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2) Name the major news agency of
Japan : .............................................................................................................
Germany : .............................................................................................................
3) Name the two major news agencies of India.
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4) Who founded the fmt news agency? Mentim the year.
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5 ) Fill in the blanks:
a) Reuters news agency was namedafter .............................................................

b) Telegraph was invented by ....................................in ..........................(Year)
c) In 1946, the World service of ............................. was created.
d) In 1918, ...................................teported that the First World War had ended.
e) In 1958, .................................. news agency was formed by merging United
Press Association with ....................................... I
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t 1.3.1 Alternative to the "GLOBALS"
The profile of these agencies reflect the strength and power of information. In the '70s, there
International Monnatio~l
Agencies and Organisations
was a realisation that the Third World countries were represented inadequately and many a
time misrepresented. One of the mechanisms devised to correct this was the decision by the
non-aligned countries to set up the "Non-aligned News Agencies Pool." It was set up in
1976.According to D.R. Mankekar, the Pool was established to "fill m the deficiency found
in the news services of the Western news agencies as imbalanced, oneway flow,
ethnocentric, prejudiced and biased against the Third World countries." This is due to the
preoccupation of the Western news agencies with "spot news" or news of upheavals. The
pool was devised to concentrate on cultural and developmental news, and also to provide a
contextual background to the political and economic news emanating from the Third World
countsies.
The Non-aligned News Agencies' Pool has had amixed reaction and, by and large, is
regarded as falling short of the Third World media expectations. Further, recent changes in
the international political scene have played a significant role in the slow marginalisation of
the pool. To what extent thls has had an impact on news dissemination between and among
the Third World countries is yet to be assessed.
1.4 INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING

Broadcasting beyond national boundaries has been a parallel activity for many countries
along with the development of their domestic systems. The external services or internattonal
broadcasting by different countries are aimed at serving their people settled in other
countries, and also to propagate the policies of the respective countries. Since broadcasting
developed in the colonial era, the colonial powers sought through the r a o to build stronger
ties between themselves and the peoples they ruled around the world. England and Holland
were the first to think along these lines. However, it was Adolf Hitler of Germany who saw
the potential use of the domestic and international radio for purposes of propaganda. During
World War 11, the international short wave radio was a weapon to conquer people's minds.
We shall now examine some of the leading broadcasting organisations.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) :Authors interested in broadcasting suggest that

the British were adept in using, international radio. Broadcasting in the United Kingdom has
undergone phenomenal changes since then. Yet, the British Broadcasting Corporation
(BBC) occupies a central place in terms of its international reach and influence. We in India,
havecilways been fascinated by the "BBC World Service". Now through satellites, a few
million homes have the benefit of watching the BBC-TV.
BBC is a central institution in the broadcasting s4stem of the United Kingdom. In 1922,
several radio manufacturers established the British Broadcasting Company. In 1926, it
~nternationa~
Communication became a public corporation. It currently operates two national colour television networks
(BBC- 1 and BBC-2) and four national radio networks, 1,2,3 and 4, and several local radio
stations.
BBC draws international news from its correspondents. BBC's international character is
based on the fact that it is in the forefront of the United Kingdom's international
broadcasting operations. The operations are not commercial, and finance is provided in the
form of a special grant approved by the British-Parliament.Consequently, the government is
directly involved in the international broadcasting system.
The External Services Department has responsibility for international broadcasting. Within
this department there are sub units which oversee the operation of programs covering
different parts of the world. Thus there is the European Service, the Overseas Service
comprising the African, Arabic, Eastern, Far Eastern and Latin American Services. The
World Service provides a range of entertainment and informational programming in English
24 hours a day around the world. According to BBC, the objectives of the External Services
are to give unbiased news, to reflect the British opinion and to project the British life and
culture and developments in science and industry. Available statistics indicate that the
external services broadcast each week about 700 hours of programmes in 17 European
languages and 21 non-European languages plus English. It claims that about 75 million adult
listeners tune into it at least once a week. This audience size does not reflect the full impact
of BBC, as it is an important source of information for the influential community in different
countries. For example, in India, it is very common to hear people say that they had heard
the news first on BBC. Further, during the internal emergency (1975-77), BBC was
criticized heavily by the Government for its "biased" coverage.
The scope, nature and character of BBC External Services was affected during the Falkland
crisis. It was also the target of criticism during-the Iranian Revolution and the recent Gulf
War. However, contemporary developments indicate that international broadcasting is here
to stay.
Voice of America (VOA): Another country which has systematically used and realised the
potential of the radio and television in international affairs is the United States of America.
This realisaion is traced to the year 1941, when the USA entered World War JI.Given the
private nature of broadcasting within the country, the Government did not have any
broadcasting outlet of its own. However, the private companies had short wave transmitters,
which the Government procured on a lease basis. Two government organisations, the Office
of War Information and the Council of 1nt6r-~mericanAffairs were responsible for
international broadcasts during the period. The programming titled Voice of America was
done on a contractual basis by the private US broadcast corporations.
After the war ended, VOA would have closed down, had it not been for the dawn of a cold
war between the USA and the erstwhile USSR. Therefore, when the United States
Infonnation Agency (USIA) was established, in 1953, VOA became one of'its divisions. At
a time when many countries did not have their own local stations, VOA and BBC could
command huge audience bases. When local stations developed, VOA directed its
programmes to the politically curious.
Although VOA has grown and expanded considerably, its influence is debatable. Critics International Infonnatlon
Agendes and ChypnisatJons
argue that the disapproval of the US*politics in many lands had its impact on VOA's
operation and its influence. On many fronts, the Vietnam War, and the GulfConflict, VOA
has been criticised.
Apart from VOA, there is a separate television service of the USIA. Here, the emphasis is on
promoting the programmes to be telecast on the local stations. Through satellitenetworking,
it also arranges for direct telecasts.
VOA broadcasts in 35 languages, and puts out about 800 hours of programmes per week. It
may be necessary for the US in India to know that the location of the VOA transmitter in Sli
Lanka is a rallying point in our foreign policy pronouncements.
In the future, these operations may change. For example, tbrough satellite dishes, it is
possible to receive direct telecasts. The popularity of the CNN news during the gplf conflict
is a good example.
VOA and BBC are not the only international broadcasting mganisations. Every other
country in varying degrees does certain amount of international broadcasting.
VISNEWS :It is related to the international broadcasting service in the supply of

audio-visual material similar to the news agency services that has been discussed earlier.
Onerof the major suppliers of visuals for the TV networks around the world is VISNEWS.
VISNEWS is a London based international TV news film agency owned by a consortium of

the BBC, Reuters, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Australian Broadcasting
Corporation, and New Zealand TV.The servjce has over 170subscribers in 95 countries and
is the largest contributor to the daily Eurovision exchange programme.

Notes: 'i) Use the space below for your answers.
1 Why did British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Voice of America start
broadcasting?
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2) With the proliferation of satellite communication throughout the world, do you think
BBC and VOA broadcast services can continue for long?
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1.5 INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

In this section, we shall discuss about two important international organisations. These two
international organisations are UNESCO and ITU.
International Comniunication
1.5.1 United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO) c
UNESCO is an agency of the United Nations. All UNmember states have a right to belong
to it. It describes itself as both an ideal as well as an organisation. Adapting itself to the
changing world, UNESCO's field of specialisationnms into dozens. Although it may be
interesting to know about all of its activities, for this unit, it is sufficient to focus on its
communication and communication related activities.
In November, 1945,representatives of forty-foutnations met in "war scarred" London in a

quest for peace. The then Prime Minister of UK,Clement Atlee, and the American Poet,
Archibald Macleish together coined the striking message:
"Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of
peace must be constructed"
This is in the forefrontof UNESCO's constitution, and is also the key to UNESCO's
activities, from its early days. UNESCO has been concerned both with the development of
the media and also the problems such a development brings with it. UNESCO is always alert
to find how the media and development work in the Third World countries. For UNESCO, it
is necessary to understand that the purpose of the organisation is to contribute to peace and
security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and
culture. To realise this purpose, UNESCO has sought to "collaborate in the work of
advancing mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass
communications, and to that end recommend such international agreements as may be
necessary to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image".
Realising that, qualified personnel were needed to man the media in the 'decolonised' parts
of the world, which t+y constitute the bulk of the so called Third World countries, it
published its first study on the professional training of journalists. Based on this study, it set
up training institutions in different parts of the world. UNESCO also realised that only a few
of the developing countries had any newspapers and more so, news agencies, which could
provide the media with news.
Early effortsin this direction are the Union of African News Agencies and the organisations
of Asian News Agencies, in 1963. It has established training centres to give training to the
news agency journalists. In India, the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New
Delhi, offers a specialised course in news agency journalism. UNESCO has played a
key-role in the introduction and expansion of mass media, especially the television, in many
developing countries. Over the years, UNESCO's activities in communication have changed
from what has been described as an "adhoc" attempt to develop mass communication media
to integrated programmes m which the communication package is regarded as a whole
approach. Efforts in this direction are the preparation of national models and establishing
documentation infrastruchlres.
The role of UNESCO became more significant in the context of the demand by many
developing countries'for a better deal from the developed countries. The first step in this
direction was a call for the establisbment The fifst step in this direction was a call for the
establishment of a New International Economic Order (NIEO). It was realised that the
NIEO cannot be independent from socio-cultural factors, apart from political and economic
factors. The Fifth Conference of the Heads of State or Govenunent of the non-aligned
Countries (1976) and the 19th General Conference of UNESCO crystalised the idea of a
New International Information and Communication Order (NIICO). The report of the
International Commission for the study of communication problems, "Many Voices One
World", better known as the Macbride report is a landmark document in this direction. The
details of the order and a broader historical background will be dealt with in the subsequent
units of the block.
After the publication of Many Voices One World, the USA followed by the UK charged
UNESCO with indulging in political activities, and decided to pull out from UNESCO.
Subsequently Singapore also pulled out from UNESCO for the same reasons.
Check Your Progress 3 International Momation
Agencies and Orgadmtions
Notes: i) Use the space below for your answer.
ii) Compare your answer with the one given at the end of this unit.
UNESCO has been in action for a long period of time. Do you think that we need such
an organisation?
1.5.2 International TelecommunicationsUnion (ITU)

ITU was founded in Paris,in 1865, as the International Telegraphic Union to co-ordinate
and monitor the development of the telegraph, which was a new invention. With the
development of the other systems, particularly the wireless radio, the name was changed to
its present, the International TelecommunicationsUnion.
In 1947, ITU entered into an agreement with the United Nations (UN)and thereby became a
specialised agency for telecommunications. The ITU Secretariat is in Geneva, and works at
various levels. The supreme body in ITU is the Penipotentiary Conference. Basically,
through various administrative conferences ITU makes decisions regarding its various
functions. The four permanent organisations of ITU are the General Secretariat, the
International Frequency Registration Board (IFRB), the International Telegraph and
Telephone ConsultativeCommittee, and the International Radio Consultative Committee.
The main functions of ITU are to:

allocate frequencies to avoid interference;
co-ordinate efforts to eliminate interference;
foster the creation of telecommunication in newly independent or developing countries;
promote safety measures, and
undertake studies in the area of telecommunications.
In the context of NWICO, ITU has assumed a different role and perception. On the one
hand, it has to promote telecommunicationsdevelopment taking into account a host of
factors -political, technological and economical. On the other hand it bas to manage a vital
resource, the electromagneticspectrum. It is in these two areas th* there is an increased
dialogue and conflict between the developed and the developing countries. For example, the
use of satellites is related to availability of parking slots in the orbit. While many developed '
countries are ready to park their satellites, the developing countries argue that certain slots
sbould be reserved for them to use it at a time when they can either develop or afford a
satellite. The debate is a continuous one. Although ITU performs a very technical function,
it is an important agency that is central to communication develapment

Notes: i) Use the space given below for your answer.
What is the necessity of ITU?

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International Communication
1.6 INTER-GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES
International Programme for Development Communication (IPDC)
An important step far the establishment of a NWICO was the decision to create the
International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC). A decision
to this effect was taken at the 21st session of the general conference of UNESCO in
Belgrade, in 1980.
IPDC is a programme based on an assessment of the communications situation in many

developing countries. It recognised that significant inequalities exist between the developed
and developing countries in technological, professional, material and financial aspectS of
communications development. The inequalities are accentuated by the fact that there is
enormous dependence on developed countries by the developing countries in all these areas.
Therefore, IPDC has applied itself to work towards reducing the existing gaps in
communication within, as well as among nations. Accordingly, appropriate infrastructures,
equipment, training programmes and resources have to be developed in the developing
countries.
IPDC is co-ordinated by an intergovernmental council, composed of 35 member states,

elected by and responsible to the General Conference of UNESCO on the basis of equitable
geographical distribution and applying the principle of rotation. The task of this council is to
implement the objectives of IPDC. IPDC council seeks to avoid conflict and work on
consensus. Funds received through contributions shall also be administered by the council.
The basis of allocation of funds by the council to various projects is determined through
criteria that is defined by the council from time to time.
Over the years. IPDC has played a significantrole. An analysis of its funding for various
projects in one year indicates that the IPDC assistance is provided under various heads;
audio-visual media, printed press, training and research, news agencies, media education,
computerisation and data banks, and book production.

Notes : i) Use the space below for your answer.
List down three main functions of IPDC.

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1.7 OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

In addition to UNESCO and KU, there are other UN organisations whose activities have a
bearing on communications developments. Regional intergovernmental organisations, such
as Council of Europe, European Economic Community (EEC), the Organisation of
~mehcanStates (OAS), the Organisation for African Units (AOU), the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and the Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN), to name a few, are active in the communication field also.
I
There are operational agencies and professional organisations, such as the European
Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEW, the Arab
TelecommunicationsUnion (ATU), and the Pan African Telecommunica~onsUnion
(PATU), which co-ordinate tpe development of telecommunications in different regions.
Professional organisations, such as the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the
Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union ( M U ) encourage professionalism in broadcasting in
differentregions.
I
Internatlenal Informa~ou
1.8 LET US Sw UP Agencies and Organisations
In communication studies, a background to international information agencies and

organisations is essential to understand how and why communication flow occurs. Since the I-,
mass media are considered to have a significant impact on life, the contents of the media are
examined critically. Such an examination reveals that there is a great dependence by the
world media on news agencies. A few news agencies referred to as the globals dominate the
news and information flows.
These global agencies are Reuteas (UK),AFP (France), AP (USA), UP1 (USA), and
ITAR-TASS (Russia). According to the available statistics, these news agencies together
contribute about 90 per cent of the news for the world media. They have an international
role due to the size and their technological strength. In addition, there are national news
agencies. For example, in India we have the Press Trust of India and United News of
India.
The influence of the news agencies has raised questions about imbalance and distortion with
regard to representation of the Tbird World countries. A call for aNew World Information
and Communication Order was given in this context. However, NWICO is not limited to
thjs aspect only. It incorporates other areas in communication, such as technology, cullme,
and politics.
In culture and politics, the role of international broadcasting is well known. BBC and VOA
are good examples of international broadcasting which have an impact and influence in
many countries.
[I NWICO bas led to alternativerneehanisms such as IPDC which facilitate the development
of communicationsin conjunction with specialised UN agencies such as the UNESCO and
!
I the ITW. Other units in this block will provide an in-depth analysis of these agencies in
terms of the functions and related issues.
1.9 FURTHER READING

Boyd-Barrett, J.O., "News agencies : Fresh Perspectives, new directions" Media Asia,Vol.
8, No. 4,1981.
h e r y , Edwin, The Press and America, TO1 (by arrangement with Prentice Hall), Bombay,
1969.
Indian Institute of Mass Communication, PTZ-style Book, PTI: Bombay (Year not
mentioned)
.Karns, P. & Kareen A. The-United States and Multilateral Institutions, Mershon Centre
Boston, 1990.
MacBri&, Sean et al. Many Voices One World, Oxford-IBH (for UNESCO), New Delhi,
1982.
Mankekar, D.R. Filling the Void in the World of Communication, Communicator, Vol.
XAV, No. 1,1979.
UNESCO World Rress Newspapers and News Agencies, UNESCO, Paris, 1964.
UNESCO Communication and Society -A Documentary History of NWICO UNESCO,
Paris, 1988.
Yennoshkin, A Gruchev. A New Information Order or Psychological Warfnre? Progress
Publishers, Moscow, 1984.
1
1.10 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS: MODEL ANSWERS
Check Yonr Progress 1
1) R e u m
Associated Press (AP)
United Press International (UP0
Agence Frsmce Presse (AFP)
Telegrafnoi Agentsvo Sovetskavo Soyusa (TASS)
2) Japan: Kyodo
Germany: Deutsehe Press Agenteur
3) United News of India (UNI)
Press h s t of India (PTI)
4) Charles Havas in 1835
5 ) a) Paul Julius Reuter
b) Samuel F.B. Morse in 1844
C) AssociatedPress
d) United Press Association
e) United Press I n W o n a l , International News Service
Check Yonr Progress 2

1) BBC was started to broadcast (a) unbiased news, (b) the opinion and views of
Britain and (c) the culture of Britain. VOA had similar objectives. i.e., to reflect
the views of the United States of America.
2) Till today, the radio still remains a cheap and very influentialmedium. Initially,
the satellite television may take away some audience from the radio, or people
may lessen their time to listen to the radio, but the television cannot sweep aside
all the radio audience. With the ever rising credibility of BBC and the economic
interests of the United States of America growlng worldwide, the giants will
have to continue their services.

I
It is true that the UNESCO has been working in various qeas of development.
Definitely tbe presence of the UNESCO is being felt in almost all the developing
countries. There is so much work to be done still. If the UNESCO could work more at
the grassroot levels, then, surely, it could initiate a long term change in society. Yes,
we do need such an organisation with more attention to the poorer section of the
population.
Yes, it is very necessary to have an international organisation like ITU. If it was not
f o n d the development of telecommunication would defmitely take a different turn.
Tbere would have been wars and battles over the distribution of frequencies. The
powerful countries would jam each other's broadcasts and telecasts. The less
developed Third World countries would never get a chance to develop their own
telecommunications.

1) To reduce the gaps in communication between the developed and
underdeveloped countries.
2) To conduct training programmes in communication.
3) To allocate funds for the development of the infrastructure of communication in
less developed countries.
UNIT INTERNATIONAX, INFORMATION
FLOW AND IMBALANCE
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Information as Wealth and Power
2.2.1 Information-rich West
2.2.2Information Poverty in the Underdeveloped Countries
2.3 Historical Dimension of International Infomlation
2.3.1 Advantageous Position of the First World Countries
2.3.2 The Closed Situation in Socialist Countries
2.3.3 The Third World
2.4 Concept of Free Flow of Information
2.4.1 Concept of Imbalance
2.4.2 Origin of the Concept of Imbalance
2.4.3 The ImbalanceDebate
2.5 North-South Dialogue on Economy, Aid, Trade and Infqmation
2.6 Contemporary Trends in Media and International Relations
2.7 Let Us Sum Up
2.8 Glossary
2.9 ~urtherReading
2.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit is designed to inform you about the 'wealth' called 'mformation' andits free flow,
which has caused an imbalance between the developed and underdeveloped nations. We
shall also discuss the consequences of this imbalance, the debates on imbalance, and how
international community got divided as a result of such debates.
At the end of your study of this unit, you should be able to:
explain why information is considered wealth;
define and explain the concept of imbalance in the flow of information between the
'developed' and 'underdeveloped' nations;
identify news items from the international agencies causing this imbalance; and
analyse the causes of imbalance.
2.1 INTRODUCTION
This block on International Communication consists of four units. You have already been
informed about various international information agencies and organizations in Unit 1. We
shall begin with a discussion on the value of information. We shall discuss how information
flows between the underdeveloped and developed countries. The Second World, made up of
the tben Socialist countries, will also surface in our discussion. The concept of the free flow
of information will be explained. We shall also deal with the whole debate of imbalance and
how it originated. Towards the end, we shall say how information is linked with trade,
economy, aid and relations among nations. We shall also catch up with the latest
development of the media in the international atena.
Information can be defined as facts about an event, a place, a person, or whatever is

communicated, by a person or persons to another person or persons. Information can also be
International Communication respond to i t This can be called 'knowledge'. ere facts do not generate knowledge. The
human minds in interaction with facts produce knowledge. This knowledge has helped and
is helping the human race generation after generation. Knowledge is wealth, and when this
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wealth is used properly, it brings power.
Consider this example: now-a-days, there is a genuine movement to eradicate illiteracy from
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our country. We are really concerned that, even after 46 years of independence, the majority
of our people cannot read and write. It is not a question of learning the 3 Rs, reading, writing
and arithmetic. There is more to it. Literacy makes a person fteefrom the age-old bondage
of ignorance. Literacy empowers a person with tools to analyse his environment and act or
react to it rationally. A literate person can easily get information about health, family
planning, agric~lhlre,deforestations, laws enacted by the Parliament, etc. A person
empowered with literacy can collect information to create knowledge for decision-making.
Therefore, it can be said that literacy makes aperson able to collect information (wealth)
with which he acquires power to lead hisher own life. This power and wealth are real in
economic and monetary terms.
Take another example. Science has given us the tools to find out whether or not a certain
geographical area has oil or some mineral beneath the ground. A person equipped with such
tools will be able to gather information about its existence. If tpe information is positive,
then that particular person, company or country, which has employed him will be able t o
benefit from the underground reserves in concrete economic terms. And this economical
benefit will bring a tremendous amount of power.
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Notes : i) Use space below for your answer.
\
1) Explain why information is considered 'Wealth' and 'Power'.
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1
2.2.1 Information-richWest
In this unit, we shall refer to the developed countries situated in the Western hemisphere
simply as West, that is, countries of the Westem Europe and Nortb America. These
countries, since the 15th century, undertook various expeditions to know the world beyond
the seas. The traders undertook long voyages to expand their business. Kings conquered
other countries to enlarge their kingdoms and bring new nations under their rule. All these
activities helped the European countries to gather information, constantly, to create
knowledge for their own economical and political benefits. Take the example of the Great
Britain. There was a time when it was said, "The sun never sets on the British Empire". It
was information alone that helped the British to exploit its colonies for centuries. As science
progressed, the instruments to gather mformation became more sophisticated. As a result,
the West always remained years ahead of the underdeveloped countries in the information
technology.
You have definitely got a fair idea about the networks and operation of the intenational
news agencies in the previous unit. The Renters of Britain, Agence France Presse (AFP)
of France, the United Press International (UPI), Associated Press (AP) of the USA, and
ITAR-TASS of Russia, have complex networks to gather information and feed the world
with hundreds of stofies everyday. These global agencies make money through
subscriptions, and are sustained by multinational corporations of newspapers, the
governments and the corporate sector, with perhaps the sole exception of ITAR-TASS.
Apaft from the news agencies, the westen countries have information agencies to gather
facts or data, and disseminatethe same after proper packaging.
International Information
2.2.2 Information Poverty in the Underdeveloped Countries Flow and Imbalance
We have just seen the magnitude of the information network of the news agencies that are
utilized by the West. A completely opposite state of information network is in existence in
the underdeveloped countriei. The flow of information within some of the developing or
underdeveloped nations, particularly in Africa, is so weak that it takes days for information
to travel from the place of origin to other comers of the country. Even the telephone systems
are old and dilapidated. The existing news agencies in most of the countries of the Third
World have a very weak network, and work with the old technology left over from the
colonial times. Only a few countries like India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil,
Nigeria and Kenya are able to afford news agencies, and are slowly getting into the
information business. Above all, qualified and competent people shun away from this
busmess of information. Thus, both in terms of hardware and software, the situation is
deplorable. Most of the underdeveloped countries are in utter poverty. One important point
has to be made here. Some of the underdeveloped countries have made some progress m the
field of informatisn,>ut this progress, when compared to the existing situation in the
developed countrim, looks so small and inadequate.
Thus, unlike the developed'world, the underdeveloped countries have failed.touse
information to create knowledge, which, as and when applied would produce wealth and
power. Hence, as far as information is concerned, the West has information in abundance,
while the underdeveloped countries, caught in the vicious cycle of poverty and illiteracy,
have not capitalised on infonnation technology.
. Check Your Progress 2
Notes : i) Use space below for your answers.

1) How does the West convert information into Wealth and Power ?
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2) Why do you think the underdeveloped countries suffer from information poverty?
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2.3 HISTORICAL DIMENSION OF INTERNATIONAL

INFORMATION
Till now, in this unit, we have discussed the value of information to create knowledge
which, in turn, brings in wealth and power. Here, in this sub-section we shall discuss the
historical development of international information in the West, the Communist and
Socialist states, and the newly independent Third World countries. Such an overview, will
help us to clearly understand how and why the conflict between the West and the Third
World countries spilled over mto the international in the '70s and '80s.
2.3.1 Advantageous Position of the First World Countries

Most of the European countries started expanding beyond their shores from the 15th
century, for various reasons, political, economic and religious. They reached Africa,Asia
and Latin America, the raw materials of which attracted more and more traders from the
West. But once these countries were politically subjugated, their control over economic
International Communication
affairs was absolute. Thus, the western countries maximized their economic gains through
the control of political machinery.
The nations -Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands - which built empires in Asia,
Africa and Latin America invested all their profit, extracted from these colonies in their own
countries. Therefore, the capital formation was at a tremendous pace and in unimaginable
quantity. Whereas, in these colonies, there was no investment, the capital formation was
absolutely nil. This continued for centuries. In Ihe memtlme, because of unprecedented
capital formation, at the centre, the colonial powers vcntured into new areas for economic
gains. Education, health, research, technology, and otl~erareas got improved in these countria
because of the economical advantages that these countries acquired by colonization.
New thinking and research to improve the mode of production got a tremendous boost. These
brought arevolution in different fields. We talk about the indusrrial revolution in Europe. But
this revolution did not happen in isolation. The whole socio-economic envhnment was
prepared for and created by that revolution. Many such mini-revolutions were taking place in the
Enopean society. An unstoppable momentum of change, evolution, and growth continued there.
Such influence could come about due to the strong economic base of the West, built from
the wealth of the colonies. Information played a crucial role for them to hold on to their
advantageousposition. They used a huge amount of capital to set up a complex and efficient
information network. Today's major communication instruments, such as the telephone,
telefax, and satellite, etc., exist because of the efforts put in for centuries. These efforts were
largely undisturbed and without any resistance. As a result, these countria have radio stations
witQhigh-powered transmission facilities, like the Voice of America, British Broadcasting
Corporation, Deutch Welle and Radio Japan. The television networks are hooked up with a
satellite to cater to the whole world, like CNN, NBC, BBC and Star TV.The five giant news
agencies of the Ucited Press International, Associated Press, Agence France Presse,
ITAR-TASS and Reuters have tohll y wired the world. These historical developments of the
infrastruchlrehave given the West a position of domillance and pre-eminence.

Notes: i) Use space below for your answer. '6
ii) Compare your answer with the one givcn at the end of this unit.
1) Write five sentences on how the West has become information rich.
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International lnforn~ation
2.3.2 The Closed Situation in Socialist Countries Flow and Imbalance
'Ihe fall of the Czar and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, in 1917, have radically
changed the equations among nations. Armed with the Communist Manifesto of Karl Marx,
the revolutionaries, led by Lenin, ushered in a new era for hworking class -the
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proletariat in Russia The state owned everything, private property was abolished and
I
everything belonged to the commune to be used for the common good. However, the
communist regimes established in Eastem Europe before and after world War I1 converted
their own secluded world. China followed Russia, and under the leadership of Mao-ze-Dong
I captured power and ushered in communism.
The communist countries centralised all their activities, especially information, which was
put under heavy censorship. Tbe secret service agencies, such as KGB, were created to
neutralise any noncommunist effort to sabotage the effort of the communist regimes. This
was largely on the lines of the CIA and the McCarthyist fmes, which launched an
anti-communist drive in the USA during the early '50s. Tbe communication and infurmation
networks in socialist countries were all-pervading. The news agencies like TASS, the radio
networks like Radio Moscow and Radio Beijing were there to gather information for the
decision-makers,and used by them to disseminate any information which they thought
would promote communism. These communication networks were also used to propagate
communist ideologies and counter the propaganda of the Western capitalist countries. Thus,
during the 'cold war' period, 'information' and 'disinformation' had become synonymous in
the light of the activities of these two giant polarised camps.
The communist countries used their information campaigns to have an effective hold on
their own population as well as to influence the newly independent countries of the Third
World. Actually, the whole period of cold war could be tenned as the era of 'information
war'. To win this war, both the West as well as the socialist countries invested a lot of
money to develop their information propagating instruments. The latest developments in the
satellite technology were a result of this race to win the information war.
The dramatic collapse of the East European countries, and the disintegration of the 'Soviet
Union' in 1989-91,brought an end to this ever-increasing W o n of the undeclared information
war. But, then, one can only look back and say that it helped communication technology,
and the process of the dissemination of information leap-frogged decades as never before.
1 Check Your Progress 4 I

Notes : i) Use the space below for your answer.
ii) Compare your answer with the one given at the end of the unit.
I 1) How did the 'cold war' help the communication technology to develop?
I
International Communication , ~ world
2.3.3 ~ y q-hjra . ,;
! i'
After World War 11, there was a'dramatic change in the political composition of nations.
Most of the colonised countries became independent, some through violent means, the rest
peacefully. The First and Second Worlds were waging an undeclared war, and the newly
independent counaies were caught in between. The Third World had no proper
infrastructure, no industry, no food, no medicine and, above all,no capital but a huge
population to feed, clothe and provide shelter for. Disease, hunger, and death were their
only companions.
The leaders of these newly independent countries had very bittea experiences of exploitation
by the colonial powers. They were aware of the danger of going back to these imperialist
powers for aid to feed their people, to build infrastructure, to set up industries, etc. On the
other hand they were suspicious about the communist countries. Thus, the newly
independent countries were in a precarious situation. They had to ask for aid from their
former colonial masters, on their terms and conditions, or play into the hands of socialists
and communist countries. Faced with this choice a few countries succumbed to the
temptation and joined one or the other group. Regional and international alliances, like
SEATO, NATO, WARSAW PACT, and COMECON, came into being.
However, a few of the Third World countries decided to form their own group called the
Non-gligned Movement (NAM). India, dong with Egypt, Yugoslavia (formerly) and Ghana,
played a very important role in this movement. The NAM countries, while remaining neutral
between the two camps, could gain from both for their economic development.
Sincere efforts were made by many NAh4 countties to develop their information networks.
India stands out in this endeavour. It had the Press Trust of India (PTI) and United News of
India 0-two major national news agencies. Not many countries were as fortunate.
Their political instability, corruption, economic backwardness, ethnic conflicts, religious
wars, foreign debt servicing, etc., hindered growth in the field of infpmation and
communication.
Let us first understand what is the position of the media development in the Third World
countries of Africa, Middle East, Asia, and Latin America.
Africa: It consists of 51 independent countries with a population of more than 400 million.
There are 800 languages or dialects. David Lamb, the Los Angeles Times correspondent in
Africa in the late 1970s, reported that the question of newspapers in Africa was whether they
would survive at all. Six black African countries had no newspaper at all. The UNESCO's
minimum criterion for what it regarded as an 'adequate' communication system was 100
copies per 1,000people. Africa in the 1980s, at barely one-tenth of that minimum, remained
the most newspaper-poor part of the Third World. (Robert Stevenson, 1988, p. 108)
Middle East: The massive oil reserves of the 15 Middle East countries brought in
unprecedented economie development there. "Despite the rapid infusion of petro-dollars
into the Middle East, the area as a whole showed less than spectacular newspaper growth in
the 1970s... The number of daily newspapers increased from 489, in 1965, to 607, in 1977.
Circulation increased from 4.5 to 4.8 million, but the average circulation per thousand
persons dropped from 45 copies to 37. These estimates put the Middle East slightly ahead of
Africa in newspaper availability, but not by much". (Robert Stevenson, 1988, P.llO). But
according to the BBC, the broadcasting scenario has improved more than five folds. The TV
sets per thousand population increased from 6, in 1965, to 894, in 1984.
Asia: Asia is very large, both in terms of the land mass and population. Language, culture,
ethnicity, and religious practices are as varied as the nations themselves. India, China, Japan,
Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore as well as many other countries show widespread
disparities in the media availability. Some are quite adequate, such as Japan, and a few, like
Bangladesh, Nepal, and Viemam, are media-poor.
Latin America: The circulation of newspapers in Latin America declined from 70 copies
per 100 people, in 1970, to 56 copies, in 1980. However, the spread of the radio and TV sets
showed a remarkable improvement. In 1984, Latin America had 343 radio sets per 100
people, while the TV sets grew from 29 per 1000people to 134 per 1000 people, in 1984.
, '
Check Your Progress 5 International InPonnatjon
How and Imbalance
Notes: i) Use the space below for your answer.
ii) Compare your answer with the one given at the end of the unit.
1) Why did the press and other communication systems not develop in the Third
World Countries?
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4
2.4 CONCEPT OF FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

"The free flow of information" is a Western concept, by which almost all Western countries
rationalise the operations of their media and information agencies, both m their own .
countries and abroad. The term means that any person or persons and/or any organisationor
organisations can own and operate any media or information agency, gather any
information, and disseminate the same, if they so desire, to any target audience, wherever
and whenever they want. Further, the ownership of the media or information agencies
should be restricted to a certain category, the gathering of the uews, facts and information,
and their dissemination should be unhindered. ?he concept is basic to the history, culture
and life of the liberal capitalist Western society. Any challenge to this concept is rejected on
grounds that it is undemocratic, inhuman, and even uncivilized.
The philosophy of free flow resulted in the consolidation of the centres of information
gathering and dissemination in the Western countries. The Socialist and the Third World
countries could see that they were not being represented objectively in the Western media.
Significant happenings in their countries were paid scant attention, and whenever done,
those were only half truths coloured by the Western perceptions. Thus, a very awkward
situation developed in the world due to the concept of the 'free flow' and operations of the
internationalnetworks in the Third World countries. Slowly, this situation got concretised,
and the leaders of the Third World countria endured the situation as they were unable to
take steps to change the situation. The Third World countries had no infrastructure or active
network to make a difference.
2.4.1 Concept of Imbalance

From the above, it is very clear that there is an imbalance m the flow of information between
the developed West and the developing Third World countries, which cannot have any say
on the mechanism of gathering information as they do not own and control the technology of
the giant information agencies of the West. Moreovet, the Third World countries, knowing
International Communication fully well that the information disseminated from these agencies docs not represent all the
truths about them, consume them, as they do not have any other sources. This imbalance is,
in terms of volume of information, flowing into the Third World countries, when compared
to the volume of information flowing out from them. There is imbalance also in terms of
ownership and control, in terms of areas and items covered by these agencies.
The Third World countries argue that their struggle to make the living conditions better for
the teeming miYions go unnoticed by these transnational news agencies. They are mostly
misreported, and never appreciated, whereas the shortcomings, we+nesses;and failures get
prominence in the Western media. They argue, that volumes of information about the merit,
comfort, and goodness of their life style, their produce and irrelevant items are fed to them
through the Western media channels. Therefore, an information imbalance, biased against
the Tbird World, and tilted towards the West, exists today.
2.4.2 Origin of the Concept of Imbalance

The root of the problem goes back to the late 1950s and 1960s, when the concept of
'Development Communication' was born. You have known about 'Development
Communication' in this course in Block 2, Unit 2. The communication specialists thought
that when the socio-economicdevelopment projects were aided by communication inputs,
such as the radio and television programmes, the undeveloped and traditional societies could
be speedily transformed into the developed, dynamic, and modem societies. They thought
that what the West achieved in centuries, the Third World could achieve the same in a
matter of decades if aided by the mass media. Two eminent Weskm scholars were in the
forefront to suggest this theory. Daniel Lenier in his famous book The Passing of
Traditional Society: Modernizing the Middle East, described that a small isolated village
called Balgat in Turkey was changing as it came in contact with Ankara. And, he elaborated
on how this small village could be transformed through the help of the mass media,
particularly the radio. It could increase the rate of literacy, promote good health, and create
new aspirations for the people tc) work for higher earnings. So also Wilbur Schramm, in
1964, wrote Mass Media and National Development for the UNESCO, in which he
described two families, one in Central Atria, the Ife Pamily and another in South Asia, the
Bvani family. He described the development and growth of theBvani family and how their
aspirations could be raised through the mass media, especially the radio.
Daniel Lerner and Wilbur schramm were accepted as prophets of the New Age. Their
theories were tried and implemented vigorously in many Third World countries.
Development during this time meant creation of a stable and sustainable democratic nation,
and replacing the authoritarian regimes with democratic governments, and implementing
projects and programmes to uplift the living conditions of the common man in society. It
was assumed that the mass media, used for these purposes, would transform the developing
societies into modern, vibrant, and stable societies.
However, a decade later, it was found that despite all these efforts, most of the social
problems remained unsolved. Instead, more problems were created as a result of the rising
aspirations and expectations of the millions. Thus, political instability, poverty, illiteracy,
unemployment and corruption became the salient features @fa developing society. These
negative developments were heavily focused by the Western media organizations. Some
other experts and scholars pointed out that the focus of the development communication was
very limited. It focused on persons without taking the social, political and economic
situationsinto consideration. And thus, development communication did not bring about the
expected results. On the contrary, it created more problems than solutions.
In such a situation, an American author, Herbert Schiller articulated something very new. He
argued that the 'American Information Ernpire', through Multinational Corporations (MNC)
and Transnational Corporations (TNC), were serving the American economy. The old
colonialism remained intact, but was operating with more refined instruments. Thus colonial
centres remained as they were earlier - the outflow of capital also was in the same
direction as before. The demands for the economical and cultural produce were created, in
the periphery, through the forces of MNCs and TNCs. Herbert Schiller wrote:
"Unavailable to expansion~stsof earlier times, modem mass communicationsperform International Information
Flow and hnbalame
a double service for their present-day controllers...abroad, the antagonism to a
r renewed though perhaps less apparent colonial servitude, has been quite successfully
(to date) deflected and confused by the images and messages which onginate in the
United States but which flow continuously over and through local international
I media...expanding across all continents, the sphere (of American investment and
1
trade) grows significantly larger year by year. Apowerful communication system
exists to secure, not grudging submission by an open-armed allegiance in the
penetrated areas, but by idenhfying the American presence with freedom -freedom
t of trade, freedom of speech and freedom of enterprrse" (Herbert Schiller, 1971,
p ~2-3).
.
I So, we can see, from Schiller's statement, that free flow of information was essentially
meant to safeguard the economical growth of the West. And any attempt to regulate the
flow of information beyond borders is seen as a threat to the Westem economies. Thus,
i it is termed as interference with the basic human right Hence, the concept of 'imbalance'
is an economic Issue, and the international flow of information is just another fact of this
I issue.

Notes : i) Use the space below for your answers.
ii) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
1) What do you mean by 'imbalance' in the flow of information and communication
between the West and the developing countries?
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2) Why is 'imbalance' an economic issue?

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1
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1
I
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k
2.4.3 The Imbalance Debate

Together with Herbert Schiller, there were quite a few who took up the issue of the
international news flow in various international fora. Schiller's early work spoke about the
Dependency Model, .a Marxist approach to analyse the international information flow and
the state of imbalance emanating from it. His dependency theories stated that the imperial
powers of the West would like to have economic centres in their own country, and control
all the economic activities in the periphery through the modem instruments of mass
communication.
Mustapha Masmoudi, S e c r e t . of Information of Tunisia, and later on its ambassador to the

United Nations, attacked the West with such venom and strengtb that his counterparts of the
West were baffled and puzzled. He argued in various international fora on the following
lines:
The Western countries had monopolised the flow of the international information. They
decided on what news itemslinfonnation must be consumed by the people of the
developing countries.
IntemaUonal commmrlrauOn Through these international information networks, the West had retained their h e p o n i c
power over the Third World Even after decades of independence, they still domihate and
rule
.. over (indirectly) the Third World countries.
I
The information set up in the international arena reflects a very strong political, economic
and cultural colonialism opposed to the aspirations of the people of the developing
countries.
The mass media have replaced the armies of the colonial powers in this era.
There were other arguments. Chaudhury Inayatullah, a Pakistani Development Official, said
at the East-West Center, Hawaii, that the leaders of the Third World countries could not
make the West responsible so long as they copied the western model of development. He
also accused the leaders of not finding a genuine def~nitionand model of developmentfor
the Third World.

Notes: i) Use space below for your answers.
ii) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
L
1) What were the points of Mustapha Masmoudi with which he attacked the
operations of the West in the Third World countries?
.
.
.
.
..
.
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2) What w& Chaudhury Inayatullah's argument?
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,/.
The outcome of these arguments was to have a New World Economic and Information
Order (NWEIO). This shall be dealt with elaborately in the next unit. Now, the points of the
NWEIO, voiced by its representatives, were the following:
- The West must transfer wealth to the Third World to set up suitable information
centres.
- There should be a balance in the flow of information from the Thud World to the First
World.
- The advanced technology should be transferred to the developing states from the
west.
- Development News should be promoted, and it should include everyttung from literacy
and health to agricultd practices, from family planning to environment.
- Political News, such as Protocol News, should be given prominence. These news items
would depict pictures of good harmonious relations among nations.
- The communication networks among the Third World countries should be developed.
Activity 1 International In€ormatlon
Flow and Imbalance
Take any daily newspaper, and list :

a) the headlines of the news items,
b) the geographical origin of the news items (city, town,villages etc., and
c) the sources of each news item (FIT, UNI, AP, AFT,own stafflcmespondent).
For example:
News Item Origin Source ',
,Uproar in Rajya Sabha New Delhi PTI ,
After you hgye listed all rhe headlines or the news items with their corresponding
origin and pburce, place them according to different categories (political, economic, \
social, cultural, and sports. Count the origin of the news items, and identify the source
in each of the five categories. Calculate the percentages.
From this exercise, you will have a fair idea of the character of the newspaper in terms
of the news categories it concentrates on, and the origin and sources it uses to give the
day's news.
L
I
2.5 NORTH-SOUTH DIALOGUE ON ECONOMY, AID,
TRADE AND INFORMATION
Before we talk about the North-South dialogue, we need to touch upon the South-South
dialogue and coopemtion. In many international f m s , especially m the UNESCO, the
le+s of the T b i World countries criticise the West. Their rhetorics on 'imperialism',
'neo-colonialism', and 'cultural domination' will not bear fruit unless they cooperate and
help each other to athieve economic growth. Non-aligned countries cipeak about
disengagement from the appressive global system of the West rmil creating a new one for
themselfies. They speak'about interdependenceand cooperation among the Third World
nations. But, all these efforts have remained only words till now. There is enough evidence
to prove that,?nstead, there is greater dependence on the two cold war super powers that
were the USA'and the USSR. After the break up of the latter, only the former is left on the
world scene.
However, the search for alternativemodels for development is on particularly in the sphere
of economy, trade,culture and infomation. In 1973, at Algiers, theNon-aligned countries
focused their attention on the alternate paths of news flow. This was a major action against
the dominance of the Western information news agencies. Subsequent NAM conferences,
after long deliberations, decided to poo1,their resources together to form the Non-aligned
International Communication News Agencies Pool and other regional newspools. n u s , we have today the newspool of
the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) called OBNA ;the Arab countries
created ABNA; the Latin American countries formed their own pool called ASIN; the
African News Agencies created PANA. In 1983, the NAMEDIA conference gave a strong
boost to the formation of these pools for news and information.
The United Nations, through the UNESCO, has demonstrated great support to the demands
of the Third World countries, especially in the area of information and communication.
The International TelecommunicationUnion (ITU) has also shown a certain amount of

flexibility towards the commitment of the UNESCO, and was concretised in the formation
of the Inter-governmental Programme for Development of Communication (IPDC). This
was established to provide all kinds of assistance to the Third World countries to improve
their information and communication networks. But, the West retaliated by refusing to
contribute to the IPDC fund, fearing that the IPDC might be used to strengthen the
governments hold on the media infrastructurein the Third World countries. The IPDC's
general conferences approved 100miIlion dollars for IPDC, but only 5 million dollars were
pledged, with the USA contributing not even a single dollar. However, the US government
allowed massive funding for the Agency for InternationalDevelopment (AID) for the use of
communication facilities in the Third World countries, realizing that only then would they
be able to control operations in these poor countries. In international diplomacy, trade and
economy, there is no charity. The West, till today has not and will not offer advanced
communication technology or modem information instruments, or allocate and transfer
resources on a silver platter. Issues of any kind will be linked to the business, trade and
economical advantages for the West. The so called NGOs (Non Governmental
Organizations) and other international institutions pretend to act as neutral mediators, but
they too depend on the West for funds and resources. Thus, the whole situation is
unbalanced, heavily tilted towards the West and highly discriminatory to the developing
world. Despite the recent developments in the developed West and the emerging
democracies of East Europe, the consolidation of the European community and rejuvenation
of Germany and Japan, there is no break through for easing of the problems of the
2.6 CONTEMPORARY TRENDS IN MEDIA AND

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
With the end of the cold war between the Soviet Union and the United States of America,
there seems to be a new, more relaxed and more cooperative environment prevailing in the
world politics. But this situation is very deceptive. Developments in the US, on the domestic
front, and their balance of payment position, and, in Russia, on the political and economic
front, have dampened the dominant outlook presented at the beginning of the current
decade. The fight to influence the developing countries has ended. Most of the communist
countries are now desparately trying to get aid and cooperation possible far restructuring
their own countries.
In India, the new economic policy has been formulated, and is bemg implemented now. The
economy is opening up for the participation of the foreign companies. But this is not shping
up as plamied, and already there are misgivings, internally, and feafs expressed about the
stability of the country by the foreign investors. Ironically, in such a fluid situation, the
experts from both the West and Third World countries, like India, are discussing such issues
-like environment protection, AIDS, NPT, etc., to salvagemankind from being wiped off
from the face of the eaab. This contradiction needs to be resolved before any meaningful
effort could be made to reverse the trend in the Third World.
All these issues are reflected in the television and radio programmes, Satellite
communication has wired the whole earth. People sitting in any town in any country can
hook their TV sets to the satellite and watch programmes of their choice. Due to the speed
with which things are happening, decades or even centuries could be compressed in a few
years time.
In the Third World, there is a sharp decline in autocratic and dictatorial rules. The InternationalInformation
Flow and 1mbalGce
military-led regimes in South American, African and Asian countries have gone back to the
barracks. The popular governments are taking over b e rems of running their countries.
There is a marked visibility of people at the grassroots level participating in government.
What we are witnessing is a phase of maturity in the former colonies of the imperialist
powers.
The media of the Third World does realise this change in the national and international
political and economical spheres. Exchanges of the TV programmes, specially educational
programmes, are quite frequent, though the flow is still imbalanced, because more western
programmes are seen on the TV screens of the Third World countries. In the recently
concluded International Film Festival in New Delhi, the quality of the movies from the West
left much to be desired. This revealed the status the West still gives to such an important
country like India.
Thus, despite the large-scale changes brought about by technology, imbalance persists in the
media and coverage of the developed West vis-a-vis the developing countries of the Third
World.
2.7 LET US SUM UP

In this unit, we have discussed the theory of International Information Flow and the
imbalance created in the world as a consequence. We have seen how the outflow of capital
from the Third World countries has created huge reservoirs of 'wealth' in the West. The
power emanating from such wealth has created gigantic networks of information and
communication to promote economic interests of the West in the Third World countries.
This situation created a tremendous amount of imbalance m the information flow from and
to the Third World countries. The leaders of the Third World countries took up this issue of
imbalance at various international forums to debate and argue with a desire to bringing
about a semblance of balance in the international flow of information. Before such a balance
could be brought about, the Third World countries should bmg about a balance in their own
regions through cooperation.
The collapse'and disintegration of the communist and socialist countries has not made
international relations conducive for a dialogue. However, the tension that existed during
the cold war has been reduced considerably. A new era in the international communication
has to be set in motion to correct the imbalance that persists in information flows between
the west and the Third World.
2.8 GLOSSARY
You must have come across many tenns and concepts in this unit. A short explanation about
some of the terms and concepts is provided here for your easy understanding.
First World : Countries which are industrialised and are the former
colonial powers. These countries are mostly situated m
Europe and North America.
Second World : Countries which have adopted communismor socialism as
their guiding force to nm the affairs.
Third World Developing : These countries are mostly situated in Asia, Africa and
Countries and Under- Latin America. They were the colonies, and are
developed Countries economically very poor.
Non-aligned Movement : A group of more than one hundred nations belonging to the
Third World countries.
UN : United Nations
UNESCO : United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organisation
/
~CammmdrdlPll
2.9 FURTHER READING
,
Communicator, January, 1979, Indim Imtitute of Mass Commtmhtb V d XSV, Nb. 1,

New Delbi.
Ibi4 Vol. XV, No. 4, Oct 1989, New Dedhi
Ibid,Vol. IW,No. 1, January 1984, New Dclhi
Ibid, Vol. XIX, No. 324, July-Oa, 1984,New klhi
Bid, Vol. XXVII. No. 2,June 1991,New Deahi
Steveoson I. Robcat, 1988, Commrcnlcmwo, dmbpment and tln thinlWorld Longmm
Inc., New Y e .
Schiller, HabePt I, 1971, Mars Commnicotlanand American Enpirc. Bostaa,Baacar

Ress.
Infcmatkm:America's Ntw Global Empire, 1982chamrds2(3), pp. 30-33. (Sep-0~~)
2.10 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS :MODEL ANSWERS

1) %en human mind inteaacts with infonnation, 'knowledge' is prmiwd,
Knowledge can be stored and used as and when requited. Take the examplc of
sugar manufacturing. This knowledge can be used in a factory w manufacture
tons and tons of sugar. ?bi sugar can be sold and money can be earned. And
money brings power.

1) In the last few centuries, the European explorers left their shores to h o w other
punaies existing in other parts of the wocld. Tbe sailors of these countries
gathered plenty of information regarding the customs, culture, religions,
geographical conditions, etc. of the other people. Tbis information was
pcocessed andionverted into knowledge. Some of the knowledge could be the
quality and quantity of the minerals found in a country, the physical and
psychological make up of the citizen of a country, etc. This information and
knowledge were then used as and when required to gain econ- and
political e e f i t s . These benetits brought the West wealth and unlimited power.
2) The underdeveloped countries.do not have the giant infrastructure that the West
has. l l e y do not have enough capital to invest for developing the infiasaucnne
required fcy the operation of gatheriag and disseminating i n f o d o n . The
underdeveloped countries have other very urgent problems to address. These
problems are poverty, illiteracy, healb, etc.

1) Historically, the colonial powers of the West have atteady e x p e r i d the
advantnges of being information tich. While establishing the colonies, they used
information to accumulate wealth and gain political powers, which provided the
colonial countries with enough capital. Tbey invested that capital in the b u s m a
of infomuition. ?berefme, a continuous investment in the information business
helped the West to become rich as far as information gathering, using and
disseminating were concerned.
Check Your Progress 4 InternationalInformation
\
Flow and Imbalance
1) After the Second World War, the world was divided into two camps : one
belonging to the USA, the other to the Soviet Union. Both the camps tried to
influence the other groups through propaganda. For this, they had used the
latest technologies, invested in research, and improved the network. Thus, each
camp employed all the available and possible resources to outbeat each other in
the most fearsome competition of the cold era.

1) There are various reasons for the Third World countries not having a developed
communication system. The following are some of the reasons:
a) Due to unprecedented exploitation by the colonial power, the Third World
could not amass any capital to build a required infrastructure to develop
communication systems.
b) When these countries got independence, they had many urgent and serious
problems at their hands, such as poverty, illiteracy, health. etc.
c) The leaders of the Third World countries never paid attention to
communication. They never thought it to be important.
d) The Third World countries did not have enough trained people in
communication.
e) Even to this day, the communication systems are not given any priority.

1) The communication networks of the West gather a huge amount of information
from all the four comers of the world. After processing they feed almost all the
newspapers, radio stations, TV stations, media institutions etc. with the
information. These news agencies transmit only those news items, which they
think are 'newsworthy'. News about the developing countries is heavily
coloured by the Western correspondents, and they report only the 'spot items' of
natural calamities, death, poverty, hunger, disease, etc. The Third World
countries do not have any say in the selection of the news items for
transmission. Moreover, good news items of the developing countries seldom
find aplace in the newspapers of the West This is imbalance.
2) The Western communication networks function in such a way that they are
geared only to sateguard the economical interest of the West. These networks
create a milieu, an environment in the Third World countries for the population
to accept the produce of the West, their points of view, etc. quite easily.

1) The Western Communication networks have created an imbalance on the
flow of communication. They decide which news items should be printed,
and in which paper.
These networks dominate over the thinking of most of the Third World
countries.
They are dominating the cultural sphere and, hence, the indegenous local
cultures were being eroded.
They help the economic interests to make deep imads in the Third World
countries.
The mass media are the new army of the West.
2) Mr. Chaudhury Inayatullah argued that the leaders of the Third World countries
are to be blamed for the sorry situation of their countries. They have failed,
collectively, to evolve an appropriate strategy for development.
UNIT 3 NEW WORLD INFORMATION
AND COMMUNICATION ORDER
Structure
Objectives
Introduction
Debates and Deyelopments
3.2.1 Nomenclature
3.2.2 News Row Controversies
3.2.3 Pree Flow Ideas
Information Imbalance between Developed and Developing Countries
The Demand for NWICO
3.4.1 'Ihe Algiers Summit
The MacBride Repart
NWICO: Character and Content
Probl I s and Prospects of the N W O
Measures to be Adopted by the Developed and Developing Countries
India and NWICO . ,
Let Us Sum Up
Check Your Progress: Model Answers
3.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you would be able to :
m describe the backkgroundoT%e&mnd for the New World Information and
Communication Order (NWICO),
explain how the various proponents of the developing countries perceived NWICO,
analyse the character and content of the NWICO as seen by the MacBride Commission
and the UNESCO,and
i, explain the problems and prospects of establishing NWICO.
Activity 1
Before you proceed, engage yourself in an activity. This 'exercise will help you to
grasp the concept of 'imbalance' which we shall deal with in this unit.
Take a news item from a newspaper. Read it carefully. Now, analyse it by taking into
consideration the following:
The parties about whom the news is written
The content
The words used
The tildslant given to it (if any)
The side taken by the reporter (if any)
You may use the format given below:
Parties involved Content Wordsflanguage tildslant Side taken by Repartes-
Do you think the report/news item was balanced? .b
[ lY= [ IN0
New Wodd Inlormatlw
3.1 INTRODUCTION and Communfcatlan Order
In the first two units of this block on "International Communication", you were exposed to
the role of the international infonnation agencies, including the functioning of the
transnational news agencies, as also the yhole question of international infonnation flow
and imbalance. The latter covered, in detail, the historical dimensions of international
information, the concepts of the "free flow of information" and the entire "imbalance"
debate.
Given this scenario in the internauonal information flows, the non-developed countries
(mcludifig the Third World and Socialist countries) demanded that these imbalances in the
infonnation flow be corrected, and measures be taken to redress their grievances. The
demand for a "New World Information and Communication Order7'gained momentum. We
shall discuss this demand in this unit.
3.2 DEBATES AND DEVELOPMENTS

We have already familiarized you with the essentials of the international communication -
the monopolization of news and information flow by a handful of transnational media
giants, such as AP, AFP, Reuters, UPI, ITAS -TASS, VISNEWS. International
organisations and regulatory bodies llke ITU; and the imbalances in news and information
flow ansing out of the monopoly by transnational media conglomerates and the guiding
principles of 'free flow' of information. A major consequence of the monopoly of news and
infonnation flow was the 'one-way flow' of news and infonnation, generally from the
developed to the dev$oping world. The nature of flow, as the eminentjournalist,
D.R. Mankekar, describes, was "imbalanced, iniquitous, sometimes even biased and
West-oriented,impervious" to the needs of the developing world. As this was detrimental to
their interests in more than one way, the developing nations attacked the fkeeflow concept
and its concomitant -the transnational media empires. For they believed that the
monopolistic media empires of the west created and sustained distorted pictures of the world
that were far away from the reality. These developing nations carnpaignedfor a 'new order'
in the field of international information and communication, which wopd facilitate a 'free
and balanced flow' of information capable of brealung through the stereotypes created and
nurtured for over 50 years by the Western media empires. The new order, they maintained,
would create a new international information c l m t e that would foster a closer and better
understanding among nations and individuals.
UN ASSEMBLY
~ t l o n r rComm'mlcauon
l
The ensuing debates in the international forum lasted for nearly a decade, beginning from
the early 1,WOs. 'his period is reckoned as a watershed in the histmy of infernational
communication. Indeed, it was a period of many signiftcant developments. First, the
developing nations, under the Non-aligned umbrella resolved to address themselves to the
international communication issues. Second, to offset the ill effects of One-way flow.
alternativemeans of exchange for meaningful and relevant news and infomation among the
non-aligned nations took roots. The most important step in this directiortwas thehunching
of the Non-aligned News Agencies Pool, in 1975, followed by the establishment of many
other news distribution systems at national, regional and international levels. 'Ihird, notable
revisions also occurred in the concepts and thoughts governing international
Eommunicatim. The 'free-flow' concept was amended to 'free- and balanced flow', when
a declaration on the role of the media in the promotion of international understanding and
peace (generally referred to as themass media development) was approved by the
UNESCO, in 1978. Commensurately, the corollary doctrine, the 'the right to know' was
bansformed into 'the right to communicate'. Fourth the new order debates led to the
setting up of an InternationalCommission for the study of communication problems better
known as the "MacBrideCommission", whose report was accepted by UNESCO,in 1980.
Fifth,resolution 4.19 of the 21 UNESCO General Assembly, held in 1981, outlined the
basic character and content of the 'new order'. Sixth, in the same year, the International
Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) was set up to provide assistance
for the developqnt of the communication infrastructurein the developmg countries.

Note : i) Use the space given below for your answer.
ii) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit
1) During the 70s and 80s. there were many developments in the field of
'international communication*.Please mention at least three major
developments.
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3.2.1 Nomenclature
Before we proceed further, please note that there has been no uniformity with regard to the
nomenclature of the 'new order' concept. The non-aligned nations coined the phrase, New
International Information Order (NIIO), ?he MacBride Commission broadened the
schism by substituting the term 'world' for 'international' and incorporating
'communication' along with 'information*. Since then the phrase the 'New World
Information and Communication Order (NWICO), or its shartened form the NWICO,
has been widely used. In this unit the nomenclature NWICO is used. Also note that the
terminologies of the Third World and Developing World, and the First World and
Developed World are used interchangeably.
3.2.2 News Flow Controversies

Most of the scholars m e the origin of the demand for new mternational infoamaton and
communication order to the cold war era, and the emergence of the Third World
consciousness in the 1950s. Some of the contentions and problems aired now by the mind
World that a handful of media-rich countries detemined the nature and kind of news and
information flow between nations, that the international news and information business
operations benefitted only the media-richnations, and that such operations are detrimental to
the interest of mediapoor countries, were as fundamental to the media controversies of the
early decades of the 20th century as to the 1970snew order debates.
Ever since the birth of the international news agencies, the monopolistic practices in the
intemationalnews business have been in evidence. Fit, their home regions came under
their monopoly. Subsequently, through the cartel agreements of the 1870% the European New Wodd InfamaUm
d C ~ e P t l m O r Q v
I
agencies extended their monopoly in regions un&r the influence of their home countries.
But, in several aspects,the relations@ among the cartel members was unequal. In terms of
territory, Britain's Reuters had an area as vast as the British empire, spread across Africa,
Asia, America, Australia and Europe, covering almost one-mth of the globe. In teams of
influence too, it was the Reuters that mattered. Its extensivenetwork supported by Britain's
control of the world's transoceanic cables, helped it to become the most powerful agency in
The monopoly of the internationalnews business by the E v a n triumvirate was not to

continue unchallenged in the fast changing political climate of the 20th century. Much of the
resistance to the European agencies came from the US, which, by the end of World War I,
was switching its role from an international debtor to that of a major creditor. Its increasing
control over transoceanic cables and an expanding media at home provided the much needed
muscle power to its agencies to challenge the European cartel. Many in the US had come to
realize the advantage that would accrue out of the international news business. At this
juncture, the AP synthesized its commercial interest with diplomatic interest of the US by
stressing how the Reuters, through European news cartels, controlled all foreign news sent
into the US, and all American news to the rest of the world, and how such practices
promoted Britain's interests while affecting the interests of both the US and the AP.
Finally, the AP ceded h m the cartel, in 1934, and independently went mto the business of
news collection and distribution around the world, heralding the impending domination of
the US in the coming years.

Note : i) Use the space given below for your answm.
ii) chckk your answers with tho one given at the md of this unit.
1) How did the Reums newa agency becane a monapoly?
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.....................................................................................................................................
2) Why did the Ae break the mo"nopolyof the Reurn?
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3.2.3 Free Flow Ideas

A major factor that helped the growth of US agencies was the wireless transmission
technology, perfected at home, which reversed the world communication imbalance to the
overall advantage of the American interest. Yet another f m r responsible for the growth of
the US communication network abroad was a general redhation in the US of the advantages
that world communication control bestowed on fareign trade and commerce. ,
Following such realizations, ideas on unreslxicted flow of communication between nations
began to crystallize m the US. Fit,the American Society of Newspaper Editors adopted a
resolution urging the political parties to support freedom of information and unrestricted
flow of communication throughout the world. Subseque-ntly, with the Democrats and
Republicans adopting these aims, the free flow doctrine became an integral part of the US
political ideology and foreign policy. The UN too came under its influence. Its declaration
on Freedom of Information (UnitedNations General Assembly Resolution 59.1), issued m
1946, made the first reference to the free flow of mformation:
"All states should proclaim policies under which the free flow of information, within
countries and across frontiers, will be protected. I b e right to sell and transmit
InternationalCommunication
information should be insured in order to enable the public to ascertain facts and
appraise events."
The US was also successful in incorporating some of its viewpoints in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, which was passed by the UN General Assembly in 1948.
Article of the declaration reflects the American concept of free flow. It reads:
"Every one has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; thls right includes
freedom to hold opinions and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas
through any media regardless of frontiers."
With its lead in communication technology, the US had everything to gain from the free
flow doctrine. In about two decades, its grip on international communication was complete.

Note : i) Use the space given below for your answer. t
i i ) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit.
1) Where did the free flow doctrine originate? And how did it get incorporated in
world bodies like the United Nations?
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3 3 INFORMATION IMBALANCE BETWEEN

DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Before going into the issue of information imbalance, one has to become familiar with
concepts that are central to international communication
International communication,at a simple level, could be conceptualized as a communication

process between two or more national and cultural systems. Theoretically, nations are free to
assume any role in this process. But the ground realities are different. The status of a given
nation and its media institutions in the international news flow system is determined by the
role a national media system is destined to play: the role of a producer-distributoror that of a
consumer-buyer. Economics determines the ability of a nation to establish its own
infrastructures for newsgathering and transmission. The importance of the Technology
factor hardly needs any emphasis. Those having access to modern communication
technology as the 'producer-distributor' of media products. The UNESCO was made a
willing tool in promoting the interests of the 'producer-distributors' of the media products
and technology. In 1961, the UNESCO proposed that for each 100 inhabitants of a
country, the minimum standard be, at least, 10 copies of daily newspapers, 5 radio
receivers, and 2 television sets. Lacking the financial resources, manpower and
technology, the new nations had no other option but to be "consumer-buyers" of what the
Western media produced and distributed world wide in terms of hardware and technology,
end software programmes. The major implications of such a domination are that :
i) these agencies determine the very nature of the news flow in the world,
ii) the news consumers everywhere view the world as these agencies report it,
iii) the news flow, by-and-large, is one-way from the developed nations to the developing
nations,
iv) in the one way flow, the developing nations are under-reported and, when reported; they
are presented in a bad light.
These being the consequences of the spread of the Western media, in general, and the US
media, in particular, it was not surprising that by the early 1970s a large number of new \
nations began to complain about the ill effects of the monopoly of international
communication. In the preeminent position of the US and a few of her allies, a threat to
'national sovereignty' was &en; in the US export of cultural products such as books, films,
* the W programmes and magazines, a growth of a new kind of imperialism, 'cultural New World Information
and Communhtlon Order
imperialism', was perceived, and the free-flow doctrine was accused of having promoted
one-way flow, from the US to the rest of the world.

Note : i) Use the space given below for your answer.
I
ii) Check your a s v e r with the one given at the end of this unit.
\
1) Why did the Third World countries perceive that there was an 'imbalance' in the
information flow between the West and the Third World?
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3.4 THE DEMAND FOR NWICO

The following overlapping and mutually complementing factors are at the base of the
demand for a new order in the field of information:
1) The emergence of new nations following the dissolution of the colonial empires after
World War 11.
2) The asymmetrical economic relationship between the new nations and the Western
industrialized nations which, while strengthening the latters' wealth and power,
perpetuated the new nations' dependency, not merely economic but political and cultural
as well.
3) The coming together of the new nations under the umbrella of non-alignment in the
wake of aggressive bloc-building by the US and the USSR.
4) The new nations' realization that their under-development was related to their
dependence on rich nations followed by a firm resolve to assertive actions to correct
imbalances in world trade and commerce, and cultural exchanges.
5) Their gaining in strength in international organisations, such as the UN and the
UNESCO.
Four stages can easily be identified in the history of the NWICO. The first stage, from
1973-76, marked the evolution of a new order. The second stage, from 1976-79, saw the
accumulation of data and empirical evidences to give credence to the new order demand.
The third stage followed the publication of the MacBride reportin 1980. The fourth stage is
the period following the adoption of the NWICO Resolution in the UNESCO, and the setting
up of IPDC. See Table 1 for a chronology of major events in the history of the NWICO, from
the birth of the UN in 1945 to the withdrawal of the US from the UNESCO in 1984.
Table 1: Major Events in the History of NWICO

Year Venue and Events
1945 The UNESCO adopts Constitution
Article 1.2 states that "the organisation will collaborate in the field of adv&cing the
mutual- knowledge and understanding of peoples through all means of mass
communication and to that end recommend such international agreements as may be
necessary to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image."
1948 The UN adopts The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 19 of the UDHR states, "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and
expression. This right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek,
receive and impart information and ideas through frontiers."
1961 Birth of Non-alignmentat the Nrst Non-aligned Summit, Belgrade
The Summit, attended by 25 Heads of State and Governments, defined the goals and tasks
of the policy of non-alignment.
The UNESCO Meeting of Experts on Mass Communicationand Society, Montreal
The first reference to the concept of the two-way news, marking the beginning of a shift in
the UNESCO's position free-flow to balanced and two-way flow.
The 16th General Conference of the UNESCO resolves to assist member states in the
formulation of national communicationpolides.
Several publications that resulted from this thrust led to a greater awareness in the
developing countries of the one-way flow from the west.
The 17th General Conference of the UNESCO adopts resolution for the formulation
on the Declaration of the Use of the Mass Media (MMD)
The resolution opened acrimonious debates that span six years, often bringing the West, on the
one si& and the East and the South, on the other side, into irreconcilableideological war.
The Fwrth Non-aligned Summit at Alglers calls for cooperative action in the field of
masp cormnunication and to reorganise communication channels
The Summit's call marked the beginning of the Third World cooperation in
newdinfornation interchange as also the need for a new order to end communication
imperialism.
The 18th Gem Conf. of the UNESCO discusses draft on MMD
TO avoid further controversies, the Conference referred the draft to an intergovernment
meeting of experts to examine and present a new draft to the next session in 1976.
The UN General Assembly adopts resolution on the establishment of the New
International Economic Order
Non-aligned countries set up the Non-aligned News Agendes Pool
Pool, an interregional news exchange mechanism, proved to be an excellent new model for
several developing countries to emulate at regional levels in later years.
The UNESCO Intergovernmental Meeting of Experts on MMD at Paris
New controversies surfaced at the meeting on the question of including the word 'Zionism'
in the preamble and over article XII, which stated that "States are responsible for the
activities in the international sphere of-all mass media under their jurisdiction." The West
boycotted the meeting.
Non-aligned symposium - on Information,Tuda :Call for NWICO
The symposium in one of its resolutions refers to the new international information order
for the first time: "Since information in world shows disequilibrium in favouring some and
ignoring others, it is the duty of the non-aligned to change this situation and obtain the
decolonisation of information, and initiate a new order in information".
The Nrst conference of the Pool, New Delhi
The Conference Declaration (DELHI Declaration) demanded that a new international
information order was essential to a new international economic order, and called for
coordination of their activities in the UN and its organs to achieve this objective.
The Nfth Non-aligned Summit at Colomboendorses the Delhi Declaration; approves
Pool Constitution: forms Pool Coordination Committee
.The 19th 6en. Conf. of the UNESCO at Nalrobl: debate on MMD continues;
MacBride Commissionconstituted
The Conference (a) decided to prepare a final draft on MMD, which could meet the largest
possible measure of agreement, (b) approved of support to the Pool, and (c) decided to
organize conferences on communication policies in the developing countries.
The UNESCO constitutes a 16-member International Commission for the study of
communicationproblems under the Chairmanship of Sean MacBride.
The Nrst IntergovernllkentalConferenceof UNESCO on CommunicationPolicies for
Latin America and the Caribbean, San Jose, Costa Rica.
Following this, the UNESCO organized similar conferenceon communication policies for
Asia and Oceania at Kuala Lampur (Malaysia) in 1979, and for Africa at Yaounde
(Cameroon) in 1980.
The Second Meeting of the MacBride commission
Tunisian delegate Masmoudi presented a paper to the MacBride Commission detailing the
essentials of the NWICO as seen by the Third World.
The 20th Gem Cod. of the UNESCO adopts the Mass Medla Declaration
End of the six years long debate on MMD. Declaration took note of the "aspirations of the
developing countries for the establishment of a new, more just and more effective world
information and communication order".
New Wodd InPonnaUon
At the Conference the US delegate's request for an institutio6al arrangement or and Commmdcatlon Order
international cooperation for communication development in the developing wuntrie
served as a catalyst fortbe settingeupof the IPDC, following two rounds of meetings, first
a preliminary meeting in Washington ih 1979, and latea on intergovernmental conference
in Paris in 1980.
The 33rd Sesslon of UN Gen. Assembly adopts resolution afNrming the need for
NWICO
1979 Pnbllcation of the MacBrlde Commbsion's Report
1980 The UNESCO Intergovernmental Conference at Pads reaches consensuson a draft
for Mtutlonal arrangement for cooperation oh communicationdevelopmentin the
developing countries, and recommends the UNESCO to set up International
Programme for Development of Cammunication (IPDC). ,
The 21st Gen. Cont of the UNESCO at ~ e l k a d accepu
e the M d r l d e Cpmmisaon
Repart, and adopta Re~llntlan4.19 w M o u h the baalc dwactm and amtent of the
NWJCO. The IPDC b atablbhed wlth an InWgovmmmtal Cormdl of 35 membars
1981 Volcea d Freedoy Conference at Tallolrea (Frmce), a gathertrig of the delegates of
the Wwtern me& attacks UNESCO and NWICO, and a& the UNESCO to
abandon attempts to regulate and restrict free !low of news and tonnulate d e a far
the press.
The FLrst Seslon of the Intergovernmental Council for the IPDC, at Parls works out
procedtual details for Its conduct.
Fmm the second session, held in Acapulco in 1982, the IPDC got down to operationalise
its objectives by soliciting and allocating funds for communication development projects
such as the national news agencies, regional news. exchange systems, the journalists'
training and the like.
1982 The Fourth Extraordinary Session of the UNESCO, Parls; the US threatens to
I
withdraw Dom the UNESC0,shouldit contlnueto follow its present course of polldes
and actions.
1983 The 22nd Gen. Cont of the UNESCO appeals to member states to increase
contributions to the IPDC, and approves programmes to support the NWICO
objectives.
The Fint NAMEDIA Conference at New Delhi calls to intensify effort+ for the
establishment of an equitable world order, of which the NlEO and NWICO are
essential parts. The US ceases to be a member of the UNESCO with effect from
Dec. 31,1984.
A year later Britain follows suit to be followed later by Singapore.
Generally, the evolution of the new order concept is credited to the Non-aligned Movement
WAM). However, the mtribution of the UNESCO cannot be ignored But m the early
years the UNESCO also played the willing tool role to the hilt It propagated the dochine of
the free flow of information because of its domination by the West. But, with the continual
F addition of newly-freed status to the UN in the '60s and '709, the UNESCO underwent
t
changes not only in its structuralmakeup, but also in its concerns, policies,and programmes
v in several areas including communication.
I
I Much of the credit for the enlarging communication agenda of the UNESCO in the 1970s
i goes to the Non-aligned Movement, which saw communication,at least in the early 70s, as a
I means to an end, the end being economic development of the poor nations. It was in this
context that it laboured at the international level for the formulation of the UN Anti-colonial
Declaration (1960), for the launching of the UN development decade in 1964, for the
creation of the UNCTAD in 1964, the UNDP in 1965 and the UNlDO m 1976, and also
adopted Western developmentmodels in which development was to be achieved through
i modernisation and industrialization. Very soon, it realized that the development was not
forthooming; most of the newly independent nations remained where they were. This failm,
I
I
which led to a process of re-examination,eventually culmiinated in the demand for a New
International Economic Order (NIEO). Soon followed its natural corollary, new ordex in the
field of international information and communication, the NWICO.
1 3.4.1 The Algiers Summit
From the viewpoint of the NWICO history, the Algiers Summit of the non-aligned countries,
held in 1973, is a major landmark, for it was here that communication concans were
addressed directly in more than one paper in the context of their economic developr;1ent
programmes. Around this time, the UNESCO was in the midst of a crisis, which had arisen
out of a resolution moved by the Soviet Union, with the support of the Third World, at the
17th General Conference of the UNESCO, held in the 1970s, calling upon the UNESCO
Director General to prepare a declaration on the Fundamental Principles Governing the Use
of the Mass Media, with a view to strengthening of peace and understanding, and combating
War, Propaganda, Racialism and Apartheid, hereafter referred to as the Mass Media
Declaration (MMD). This resolution was to influence significantly the tone and tenor of the
infomation flow debates. While it provided an opportunity for the Third World to bring
forth its views on the free-flow concept and its consequences of inadequacies and
imbalances in international news and information flow, it opened a new chapter in the
East-West struggle, which was to last until 1978.
To avoid further deepening of the crisis, the 19th UNESCO General Conference postponed
the consideration of the draft on the MMD to its next session to be held in 1978, and adopted
a resolution inviting the Director General to undertake a review of the problems of
communication in modem society. In response to this, the Director General constituted a
16-member Commission for the study of Communication Problems under the chairmanship
of Sean MacBride, a distinguished diplomat and winner of both Nobel Peace Prize and
Lenin Peace Prize. The Commission's work, a major landmark in the international
communication history, is one of the major outcomes of the NWICO debates.
The 20th UNESCO general conference, held in 1978, was marked by a spirit of
compromise. The behind the scene negotiations for reconciliation bore fruit: the new MMD
text now retitled as 'Declaration on Fundamental Principles Governing the Contribution of
the Mass Media in StrengtheningPeace and International Understanding and in Combating
war Propaganda, Racialism and Apartheid' was approved. The six-year long controversy
finally ended. The new text satisfied all.
It must, however, be made clear that though the declaration called for a free-flow and
better-balanced dissemination of information, it did not define the new order, and thus, in
reality, the issue remained unresolved. Nonetheless, the Third World was very clear about
the meaning of the NWICO. What is wrong with the existing system? Why a new order?
And what measures need to be taken to bring about a new order? Answer to these could be
found in Mustapha Masmoudi's paper, 'New World Information Order', submitted to the
MacBride Commission, which presents a complete catalogue of the Third World complaints
against the VJestern nations and their media empires, and also outlines the measures needed
in the pdlitical, legal, and technical-financial spheres for the realization of the new order.
Masmoudi's indictment of the international communication system and exposition of the'

essentials of the hew order did not go unquestioned in the West. For many, Masmoudi's new
order was restrictive in character and content. hof. Elie Abel, a member of the MacBride
Commission, while agreeing to the presence of gross imbalances in the international
communication system, attributed those to the historical process resulting in an uneven
spread of development. Denying Masmoudi's allegation that foreign news agencies imposed
unsuitable Western values and perspectives upon the l e s developed countries, he pointed
out that, in most developing countries, the, subscriber is the government or government
controlled agencies, since newspapers or broadcasting stations are not allowed to subscribe
directly to the foreign agency services. Prof. Abel also opposed Masmoudi's suggestion that
restrictions be placed on rights such ,as the right of free circulation of information and of
access to information so as to eliminate imbalances. The only constructive approach,
according to him, was a "massive international effort to increase the capacity for
communication at every level -the individual, the community, the nation, and among
nations".
3.5 THE MACBRIDE REPORT

The most important outcome of the NWICO debates of the 1970s was the formation of the
International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems as per the decision of
the 1976 general conference of UNESCO. The 16-member commission comprised experts
representing world's diverse ideological,political, economic and geographical zones.
Popularly known as the MacBride Commission, it met eight times at the UNESCO
headquarters in Paris for facilitating discussion among its members. In addition, it organised
four round table discussions in Sweden, Yugoslavia, India and Mexico, received some one New Wodd Informstion
and Commdcathm Order
hundred background papers from professionals and scholars around the world, and
investigated the new order issues more thoroughly than any previous f o m had done. Its
final report, published as Many Voices, One World, stands out as a complete s o m of
i&ormation on communication in today's and tomorrow's world.
The Commission viewed communication as a basic social need of individuals, communities

and nations with an inseparable relationship with politics, as an economic force, with
decisive influence on development, as an educational tool, and as an integral part of culture.
Thus, any change in any aspect of communication within and among nations would call for
changes in all these aspects of communications. The issues of imbalances and inequalities
were fully recognised by the Commission. Attributing the imbalance to a historical process
of unequal growth of nations and complex political, economic and socio-cultural realities,
the Commission supported the view that 'free flow' was nothing more than 'oneway free
flow', and also that the principle, on which it was based, should be restated so as to
guatantee 'free and balanced flow'. It identifid imbalances in flow between the developed
and developing countries. The Commission took note of imbalaoces in the flow of news
through the insauments of technology. The developed world, which have access to modern
technology, have had both positive and negative influence on the Political, economic,
socio-culturalfabric of their home regions and other nations, whkh have come to depend on
them for their news and information needs. A positive influence was that they extended
facilities for cultural development. Their negative effect was the promotion of alien values
across cultural frontiers. Thus, they were practicing cultural imperralism through their
control of communication infrastructure, news circulation, cultural products, educational
software, books, films, equipment, and training. The Commission concluded that the
primary factor in imbalance and inequalities was an economic one. It said that the one
way-flow in communication is basically a reflection of the world's dominant political and
economic structures, which tend to maintain or reinforce the dependence of the poor
countries on the rich nations.

Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer.
ii) Check your answefwith the one given at the end of this unit.
1) Why was MacBride Commission set up?
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3.6 NWICO: CHARACTER AND CONTENT

The exhaustive MacBride report, though not a defmitive work, received bouquets and
brickbats in good measures from scholars around the world. Notwithstanding several
shortcomingsand deficiencies,the 21st General Conference of the UNESCO, held in 1981,
accepted it, aid unanimously adopted Resolution 4.19, outlining the b&ic character and
content ofthe N'WLCO.Paragraph 14 of the Resolution is reproduced here in its entirely as
it contains the essence of the resolution:
The General conference considers that

a) this new world information and communication order could be based among other
consideration, on
, i elimination of the imbalance and inequalities which characterizethe present
situation;
il) elimination of the negadve effect of certain monopolies, public or private; and
excessive amcentrarions;
iii) removal of the Internal and external obstacles to a free flow and widex and better
balanced dissemination of information and ideas;
iv) plurality of sources and channels of information;
v) the freedomof the press imd information;
vi) the freedom of journalism and all professionals in the communication media, a
' freedominseparable from responsibility;
vii) the capabilities of the developing countries to achieve the improvement of their
own situations,notably by providing their own equipment, training their
personnel, improving their infrastructuresand making their information and
communication media suitable to theit needs and aspiration;
viii) the sincere will of the developed countries to help them attain these objectives;
ix) respect for each people's cultural identity, and for each nation to inform the
world public about its interests, its aspirations and its social and cultural values;
x) respect for the right of all peoples to participate in international exchanges of
information on the basis of equality, justice and mutual benefits;
xi) respect for the right of the public, of ethnic and social groups, and of individuals
to have access to inforl~lationsources, and to participate actively in the
communication process;
b) thi new world information communication order could be based on the fundamental
pr$ciplcs of the inmational law, as laid down in ~e c h t m of the united htions;
c) diverse solution to information and communication problems are required, because
social, political, cultural and economic problems differ from one country to another, and
within a given counby, from one group to another.
The MacBride Commission's recommendationsand the resolution given above are of

nonnative chawter only; nothing in these is binding on the member countries. In brief, the
estabhhnent of the NWICO depended upon five major factors: (a) the will of the
developed and developing countries to bring about changes in all ateas of communication
within their respective regions; (b) coopemtion between the developed and developing
nations for removing all obstacles to a yo-way and balanced flow of news and information
among nations; (c) sharing of communication resources,including technologies, for
countering monopoly of the international news flow by a few; (d) coopemtion among the
developing countries to correct imbalances with their own regions by increasing horizontal
flows and (e) coopemtion between the media-rich and media-pcmfor mdbilization of
resources to strengthen communication infrastructurein the latter's region.
At the 21st General Conference of the UNESCO, the NWICO conmversiesmoved from
rhetoric to action. The Conferem approved the establishment of a new agency, the
International Programmefor the Development of Commdnication(IPDC) within the
framework of the UNESCO to reduce the gap between the developed and developing
countries by strenghtening infrastructureand services through internationalcooperation and
assistance. '
New World Infomatian
The objectives of the IPDC, which are to be implemented by a 35-member
and CommunicatlanOrder
Intergovebnental Council, cover all facets of communication development. These could be
collapsed into four Moad categories:
1) To assist the developing countries in analysing their communication needs, and to plan
and develop their capacities so as to contribute to their economic, social and cultural
development. Also, to promote reciprocity among the developing countries in the field
of communication.
2) To cooperate and coordinate the activities of all nations engaged in international
communication development, both withjn and outside the UN system. And also act as a
link between those who need assistance and those who can offer assistance.
3) To serve as a center for collecting and circulating information relating to the
international cooperation in the field of communication development, and contribute to
increase awareness about the significanceof communication for the development
process.
4) To seek and mobilize funds for communication development projects, and allocate funds
to carry out the objectives.

ii) Check your answer with the one given at theend of this unit. L
1) Why-wasthe IPDC setup, and what were its objectives?

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3.7 PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF THE NWICO

The withdrawal of the US on December 31, 1984,and Britain and Singapore a year later,
from the UNESCO, was not a deterrent to the objectives of the NWICO. As the UNESCO
Director General, M'Bow observed:
The New World Informati& and Communication Order has now acquired legitimacy
in the world community ,the process in question is evolving and is irreversible. The
need to reduce the imbalances observable in this area, including not only those
affecting the North and South but also those found within each group of countries and
within single countries, is keenly felt today by an ever-increasing number of
population groups.
Today the evolving goals of the NWICO rest with not just the UNESCO, but a large number
of international organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), the International Telecommunications ~ n i o h(ITU),the IPDC, and
the Third World and its organisations for moving the aims of the NWICO to a higher plain.
The prospects are not bleak. Some work has already been done. The Third World has
demonstrated through Pool that it is serious dbout increasing news-flow within its own
region. The IPDC, which commenced work in 1982has done its best to help develop
communication capabilities of the media-poor regions. It needs more resources than what
are being dade available to it. As of January 1986, some 42 member states together pledged
a little over US $10 million to the IPDC special account, and nearly US $4.5 million for
funds-in-trust financing by eight member countries. Such monies are not enough to match
the growing requirements. Between the second session, in 1982, and the seventh session,
held in January 1986, it had allocated US $9.74 million for some 120 communication
projects in the developing countries. n o s e included three regional news agency projects -
Pan Africa News Agency (PANA), the Agencia Latino Americana De Servcios Especiales
do Information (ALASEI), and the Asia-PacificNews Network (ANN)- 14national news
agency projects in Angola, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives,
Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tunisia and Zanzibar.
Internationa'Communication These agencies and news exchange arrangements operating within the developing countries,
no matter how inadequate they are, indicate that the NWICO has set itself on its
evolutionary path. But there is more to be achieved.
Imbalances in the flow of news and information at the international level have not ceased to
exist. The one-way flow is still very much in evidence. Most of the news flowing through
the transnational agencies into the developing regions concerns the developing world. The
agencies continue to view the developing world's events and issues from their own
perspectives. As a result, news everywhere is seen through the prisms of the West, the
developed world. The Western media giants continue to set the world's news agenda. This
was amply demonstrated during the Gulf War. The Western-centric bias in internafional
news flow becomes apparent even for a casual observer -the developments in the West,
both in the US and Europe, including the erstwhile 'Soviet Union, dominate news
everywhere, but the problems of the poor regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America receive
only a token coverage. The problems arising out of a unipolar world (if it exists),
particularly in the context of the Developing World economies, are being treated as matters
of less significance.
The issue of cultural imperialism is as much in evidence today as it was in the last decade. In
fact, non-access to the satellite technologies and financial constraints have enhanced the
disadvantageous position of the developing world. Alien cultural values are being more
freely distributed in the helpless regions of the world. As many point out, a contemporary
example of cultural imperialism is the case of the Star TV in India, which has begun to make
a serious impact on the domestic broadcasting.
Viewed against these realities, the need for the establishment of the NWICO cannot be
undermined. In fact, in the apparently unipolar world of today, the relevance of the NWICO
stands enhanced. The geopolitical and economic uncertainties arising out of the developments
in Europe and the erstwhile Soviet Union, and the strife between the new republics are
bound to affect progress in realizing the goals of the NIEO as well as the NWICO.
Therefore, renewed effort has to be made by both the developing and the developed world.
3.8 MEASURES TO BE ADOPTED BY THE

DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
The developed countries should be more open to redress the ever-increasing asymmetrical
economic relations between them and the poor countries. This calls for hastening the pace
for the establishment of the NIEO as it is linked with the W C O .
As funds for the media development in the developing world are scatye, the developed
world could, either through bilateral agreements or through organisation such as IPDC,
make available more resources for communication specific projects in the poor regions of
the world.
New Wodd Int'onnatlon
In the area of techqology transfer and sharing, more action is needed. New technologies and Communication Order
need to be viewed as resources for the benefit of the mankind, and not as a new tool for
exploitation of the disadvantaged.
The media in the developed world needs to take steps in establishing a balance in the
infonnation flow by devoting more space and time to news and issues concerning the
The media professionals, in particular, need to tackle the developing world's problem with
understanding and concern, and, in reporting, increased attention to the developmental
activities, problems, and achievements also needs to be given.
The developed countries shouldjoin hands with the devel6ping countries in making the
telecommunications tariffs more suitable for a better use of the existing systems and,
thereby, enhance the flow of communication material from the developing to the developed
regions.
The developing world, on the other hand, needs to formulate communication policies,
keeping in view the sweeping changes marking the external as well as their own regions.
Without clear-cut policies, the media development would get hampered, and this would
make the media restrictive in its reach and out of step with the needs and interests of a vast
majority of people. In the Third World countries, in particular, the press must make
conscious efforts to free itself from the attitudes fostered by the Western news criteria. In
this direction professional organisations and institutions, such as the Asian Mass
Communication Research and Infomution Centre (AMIC), Singapore,the Press Institute of
In*, New Delhi, the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi, and the
International Press Institute,just to name a few, can play a significant role by conducting
refresher orientation courses for the working journalists. The IPDC can contribute
substantially by providing the necessary inputs.
3.9 INDIA AND NWICO

India has played a significant role in the development of the very concept of the NWICO,
and in the realization of its objectives and goals. Both within the Non-aligned movement in
the international for& such as the UNESCO, India has pasistently pursued the policy of
advancing, defending and reshaping the NWICO tenets and aims.
The Indian delegation to the 20th General Conference of the 1978, played an i r n p m t role
along with the Sri Lankan representatives in defusing the tension and reconciling the East
and West on the text of the Mass Media Declaration. India's involvement was of value in
1
ensuring incorporation of several aspects of the NWICO in more than one article of the
MMD.
Of greater importance is India's contribution to the realization of the NWICO goals. As you
I
, have already read, one of the aims of the NWICO is increased flow of news among the
developing world. The POOL, established in 1975as a means to ensure mutually relevant
news flow among the non-aligned countries, has had India's support in multifarious ways.
The PTI, the premier news agency of India, has been one of the seven redistribution centers
of the POOL news ever since 1976.
India has also taken a lead in providing training for young men and women in the
developing world in news agency journalism. Such a training programme is being offered at
the Indian Institute of Mass Communication,New Delhi Similarly in the setting up of the
NAMEDIA, under the auspices of the non-aligned movement and in the promotion of a
better understanding among the citizens of the SAARC, through exchange of audio-visual
material on development themes under the SAVE programme, India's contribution has been
noteworthy.
3.10 LET US SUM UP

The developing world's demand for the establishment of New World Information and
Communication Order was based on their realization of the ill-effects of inequalities and
htematimd
inadequacies in the field of information/communicationbetween the rich and poor nations.
International communication, which was under the monopoly of a few western media
empites, was found to be detrimental to their social needs, p&rities, and national interest. A
major consequence of the news and information flow was the 'one-way flow of news', and
information generally passing ftom the developed to the developing world. The content of
such flows was found to be hiquitous, and even biased against the poor regions of the ,
world. Therefore, they campaigned for a NWICO to facilitate 'free and balanced flow of
infomution, capable of breaking the stereotype of the developing world created by the
Western media, and to usher in a new climate for a closer and better understanding among
nations and individuals.
The new order envisioned restructuring of the philosophies of fi-ee-flow, which governed
news and information flow among nations, rethinking on the rights and responsibilities of
the media professionals, elimination of imbalances and inequalities m communication flow
at national and international levels, demonopolization of the media and the media
development in poor countries.
The debates, commencing in the early 70s, lasted for a decade. Often, the debates within and
outside the UNESCO were contentious with a clear division between the Western developed
world and the Eastern block and the developing countries. The debates, finally, ebbed in
1981, when the 21st General Conference of the UNESCO accepted the MacBride report,
which viewed the NWICO as a multi-stage dynamic and evolutionary process, the goals of
which would be "more justice, more equity, more reciprocity in information exchange, less
dependence in communication flows, less downward diffusion of messages, more
self-reliance and cultural identity, more benefits for a l l mankind".
The conference also adopted a resolution outlinking the basic character and content of the
NWICO the realisation of which depends upon five factors: (a) the will of the developed and
developing countries to bring about changes in all areas of communication within their
respective regions; (b) cooperation between the developed and developing nations for
removing all obstacles to a two-way and balanced flow of news and information among
nations; (c) W n g of communication resourca, including technologies, for countering the
monopoly of intnmationrrt news flow by a few; (d) coopration among the developing
counaies to comct imbalances within their own regions by i n a i n g horizontal flows; and
(e) coopaation between the media-rich and media-poor for mobilization of resources to
strengthen communication infrastructure in the latter's region.
The conference also constituted an agency, the IPDC, to coordinate, mobilize, and allocate
resources for the development of communication capabilities of the poor nations. This was a
major international initiative designed to achieve some of the goals of the NWICO. Yet
another landmark in the evolution of the NWICO is the POOL, set up by the Non-aligned
Movement, in 1975. Since then, similar news exchange arrangements have come up m
different regions of the developing world.
Above all, a major outcome of the NWICO debates is that the NWICO has earned
legitimacy in the world and there are efforts to remove flaws and reduce imbalances in
communication within and among nations.
What has been achieved is inadequate, as the NWICO issues are very much in evidence
today. The need now is to consolidate the achievements, and step up efforts so that, at least,
in the coming decades, there is equality and balance among nations in all aspects of
coqmication.

1) Non-aligned News Agencies Pool was formed.
MacBride Commission was to study the communication problems. I.
'
International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) was
set up to provide assistance to the growth of communication infrastructure in
/
the developing countries.

/
New World Information
Check Your Progress 2 + and Communication Order
The colonial British empire covered one-fifth of the globe. By agreement \
1)
among all the colonial powers, the Reuters news agency had a monopoly in the
British empire. The Reuters had also the largest number of correspondents,and
Britain had control over transocianic cables. These made the Reuters news
1
agency become a monopoly in the business of news.
2) The Associated Press found that the Reuters news agency had total control over
the news flowing into the USA and American news flowing out of the USA.
After World War I, America was beginning to emerge as a world power.
Moreover, the huge domestic media network made the AP come out of the
previous agreement, and launch its own business worldwide, without the help of
other European news agencies.

1) The free flow doctrine originated in the United States of America. The
American Society of Newspaper Editors adopted the concept of free flow of
information among nations without any restrictions. Later on, the editors urged
the political parties to adopt this concept. The American political parties did so,
and through diplomatic channels, this concept got incorporated in the United
Nations.

I
1) The free flow of information doctrine made the Western media, particularly the
US media conglomerates, control the content and form of the media in the Third
World countries. The citizens of the Third World countries could easily find out
that their culture, life style, aspirations were not being reflected in the media.
,
Moreover, news and information of the West flooded the media of the Third
World countries. With these facts, the people of the developing wuntries
perceived that there was an imbalance in the information flow between the West ,
and ths Third World countries. I

1) The MacBride Commission was set up to study the communication problems of
the world, and suggest some possible solutions. After the Second World War,
the western countries or the developed countries set up huge networks of
communication and information. So, in a very short period of time, these giants
had complete control over almost all the communication set-ups in the
developed as well as the underdeveloped countries. Thus, the argument of
imbalance in the flow of information between the developed and
underdeveleped countries came up. It created a lot of confusion and dismay
among the member countries of the UN. In this context, the MacBride
Commission was constituted.

1) The International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) \
was set up mainly for the following tasks.
To help the developing countries to set up infrastructurefor the development of
communication.
To raise, collect, and distribute funds for the projects of communication.
To help the countries of both the developed and underdeveloped countries to
minimise the imbalance in the flow of information. /
Y
UNIT 4 ALTERNATIVE 1yEWSlINFORMA-
TION DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Advancement of Communication Technology and the Growth of the Information
Systems
4.2.1 The Dominance Syndrome
4.2.2 Consequences of Dominance and Dependence
4.3 Need for Self-reliance
4.3.1 The Role of NAM
4.3.2 b a t i o n of Non-aligned News Pool
4.3.3 Restmints on Growth of the Pool
4.4 Inter-regional Cooperation
4.5 Towards South-South Cooperation
4.6 Alternative News Distribution Systems
4.7 Satellite Television -Globalisation of News and Cultural Products: Social and
Cultural Implications
4.8 LetUsSurnUp
4.9 Further Reading
4.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit, you shall be able to:
a explain how the Third World couaaies become dependent on the transnational news and
information agencies to satisfy their needs;
a list the initiatives taken by the Non-aligned Movement (NAM) countries to become
self-reliant for news-gatbering and dissemination of the same;
a analyse the weaknesses of the NAM countries to have adequate cooperation among
themselves; and
a point out the implication of the satellite and cable televisions, and the effects these might
have on the audience of the Third world countries.
Activity 1 A
1) Take any edition of a newspaper that you subscribe to. Study the following aspects,
and make a cross comparison:
a) Source of news
b) Type of news
c) Regions and Countries
4.1 INTRODUCTION
You have already been expmed, in the earlier units, to the imbalance in international
information flows, problems originating from such a disparity in the informosphere, the
agencies that either combat or perpetuate such imbalance and unequal flows, and the new
world information order. In the preceding unit, you have learnt that one of the important
prexequisites for the establishmentofa New Inteanational Informaton and Communication
Or& (NIICO) is the development of alternate news and infoamaton distribution sysfems to
face the domination, control, and dependence of the devel~pingand under-developed
nations on the transnational news agencies, viz., the Reuters, UPI, AP, AFP and
TASS-ITAR.
In this unit, we briefly deal with the extent of dominance and dependence m the field of Altenatlve N e ~ o n n a t l o n
Dlstrfbotlon System
information at the international level. We shall also discuss the efforts of the developing
countries, individually and collectively, to be self-reliant and self-sufficient m the field of
news and information flow. We shall also delineate the important milestones m the journey
of the developing and under-developed nations to achieve alternativedelivery systems to the
existing international information agencies, which are heavily biased in favour of the developed
and industrializednations. This will help us to understand the new developments tliat have a
bearing on the development of alternativenews and infonnation distribution systems.
4.2 ADVANCEMENT OF COMMUN~CATION

TECHNOLOGY AND THE GROWTH OF THE
LNFORMATION SYSTEMS
The post-second world warera was marked by revolutionary technological advancement in
the field of the telecommunications. The infonnation explosion provided the impetus for this
technology to disseminate news and information across national boundaries. The electronic
and computer systems have vast potential for infomation storage, retrieval, and delivery.
Naturally, it revolutionized the media in the developed world in Europe, North America, and
Japan. With the introduction of the communication satellites in outer space, the TV, and the
transistor, the impact of information revolution could be felt in the remotest villages in the
Himalayas and the Sahara. Tbe scientific and technological revolution led to the borderless
outflow of infonnation to the Third World countries, and the advanced industrialized
nations, grasping the scope of this technological advancement, have set up controls over
information flows.
4.2.1 The Dominance Syndrome

The countries of North and South are separated by an enormous gap in their respective
communication capacities. Tbe developed countries continue to exercise considerable
political, economic, and technological control on infonnation flows.
Let us first examine the quantitative dimension of the concept of dominance and
dependence. Over 5.5 billion people on this planet own over one billion radio receivers and
500 million television sets. The world receives information from 150major news agencies,
30,000 radio and television stations, and 8,200 daily newspapers with a total nm of 446
million copies a day. This global picture hides major regional imbalances. For instance,
there are only 4.5 newspapers per 100, and one television set for 3,000 Africans. This is
several times less than the corresponding figures for the Europeans and Americans. What is
worse is that eight African countries publish no newspaper at all, 113 have only one each.
As a rule, the print order of the largest of these newspapers does not exceed 16,000in
Mica. The Television is non-existent in nearly 30 Asian, African and Latin American
nations. Further, 18'African and 16 Asian nations have no news agencies of their own. Asia,
Africa and Latin America, where about two-thirds of the world population lives, account for
only 5 per cent of the world television sets, and 12.5 per cent of world's newspapers. The
hegemony is also.exercised through the publication of encyclopedia and other reference
books, which interpret the experience and the history of the Third World countries in a
deliberately biased and distorted way so that it serves the interests of the richer or
technologically advanced countries.
Nearly 80 per cent of the infonnation disseminated in the world originates from five largest
transnational news agencies i.e., the AP, UPI,Reuters, AFP and ITAR-TASS. You have
already learnt about the extent and significance of the operations of these news agencies, in
the earlier units.
About 15 great media corporations dominate the production of the radio sets+television sets
and printing equipment including printing devices, radio, and television communication
satellites, paper, inks, and other elements of mass media technological infrastmcture, ten of
these corporations belong to the United States of America.
The statistical details cited above might have changed to some extent, but one should try to
see the truth beyond the facts. These figures are noted to provide you a feeling of the extent
/'
International Communication of the ditisparities that exist, and the dominance of the North in the field of information, thus
making the countries in the South dependent on them.
4.2.2 Consequences of Dominance and Dependence

You may wonder what happens if there is Western dominance. Some might say that
anyhow, we are getting news and information, which, otherwise, we in the developing
countries, could not aspire to, given the limited capacity of our media systems. Of course,
this could be true, if we did not understand the polemics behind it. Due to our dependence
on the media delivery systems of the West, we also become dependent on the west. To
understand this, we shall now discuss the various forms of dominance in the information
flow with a couple of concrete examples. You may study, on your own, several such
instances in your daily exposure to foreign news.
Example 1: During the British war with Argentina over their claim on the Falklands Islands,
several developing countries supported the Argentinian claim, but 'their newspapers were
receiving the stories put out by the transnational news agencies, which were biased in favour
of Britain. The newspapers in these developing countries could not afford to send their own
correspondents to cover the Falklands war.
Example 2: The Gulf War provides a classic example of how dependence on the West for
news and information can distort the news content of the Third World media.
During the Gulf War, India's language dailies had no capacity to cover the war events
through their own correspondents. Almost all the newspapers depended upon the news
originating from the Western news agencies. Interestingly, the usage of words in the news
dispatches became a form of psychological warfare during the so-called "Gulf War". To
build up the image of the US-led multinational forces, the label 'Allied Forces' was used, a
reminder of the Second World War. The Indian dailies published all these news items. The
control over news flow in the Indian print media could be shown by citing the example of
the news of 600 Iraqi soldiers, buried under the sand by the tanks of the Allied Forces,
which was suppressed by the Western media. No Indian newspaper carried the news item.
How the big agencies take the Third World press for granted can be understood by looking
at the coverage of the incidents at Tiananmen Square in China.
Even in covering the incidents in a neighbouring country and on the issues the coverage of
which in all possibility might be distorted by the Western agencies, the Indian Press did not
take an independent stand, but, instead, toed the line of the Western monopolistic agencies.
A recent study revealed that newspapers in Asian countries published 76.4 per cent of news
on the Third World supplied by the big four news agencies. This survey was done by the
Bangladesh Press Institute of Newspapers of six South Asian countries.
Similar studies, done elsewhere in other developing countries, also revealed that the media
of these nations were still highly dependent on the foreign especially the Western, news
agencies for news and information about the other countries including their own neighbours.
By now, you must have got a fairly good idea of the concept of dominance and dependence
in news and information distribution. With this, you might be convinced of the need for
achieving self-reliance in news and information distribution.

Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answer(s) with those given at the end of this unit.
1) How can the Indian newspapers. being dependent on the Western (foreign)/news
agencies, serve the people of India?
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I..'..'..
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2) Do you think it is possible to overcome this dependence? If so, how? -- - Alternative Newdlnformation
Distribution System
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-7
4.3 NEED FOR SELF-RELIANCE

Self-reliance in news and information distribution, both in disseminating news to the outside
world, or in getting news and information from various places in the world, for internal
consumption, is essential for the following reasons:
I) TOprovide the media a national identity and personality,

2) To facilitate the analyses of the world events not from the perspective of the West but
from the7national perspective,
3) TOfoster better understanding among the developing countries, which is far more
essential now than ever before,
4) To prevent the unwarranted entry of foreign and alien ideas, cultures, and life-styles, that
always tend to contribute to shaping public opinion in favour of foreign countries,
particularly of the West, and
5 ) TOprovide an objective account of the news and developments that were considered
newsworthy by the indigenous media.

Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answer(s) with those given at the end of this unit.
1) DOyou agree withall the points mentioned above? Please give reason(s) for your
decision.
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I,,
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2) What should be the first and foremost step that our news agencies and newspapers '
take to start the path of .becoming sdf reliant?
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4.3.1 The Role of NAM
The first important step towards achieving some self-reliance in news collection and
dissemination was the effort made by some of the non-aligned nations.
First, the call for New World Economic Order was articulated from the non-aligned centres
as a reflection of the movement's general antipathy to the former colonials. This was evident
from the first statement on information endorsed by the fourth summit of the Movement in
Algiers, in 1973, and there could be no doubt about such an orientation in the documents on
information endorsed by the fifth summit in Colombo, in 1976.
Ultimately, it was the New Delhi declaration of NAM which said:

1) "The present global information flows are marked with inadequacy and imbalance. The
means of communicatory information are concentrated in a few centres. The majority of
countries are reduced to be passive recipients of information, which is disseminated
from a few centres.
2) This situation perpetuates the colonial era of dependence and domination. It confines
judgments and decisions on what should be known, and how it should be made known to
a few.
3) Just as political and economic dependence are legacies of the era of colonialism, so is
the case of dependence in the field of information, which, in turn retards the
achievements of political and economic growth.
4) In a situation where the means of information are dominated and monopolised by a few,
the freedom of information really comes to mean the freedom of these few to propagate
information in the manner of their choosing and'the virtual denial to the rest, and of the
right to info- and being informed objectively and accurately. The enunciation of the 1
Non-aligned Movement's New Delhi Declarat~onis perhaps the running thread that 1
continues in all the NAM documents on information. These statements are precisely the t
philosophy of the Non-aligned Movement regarding information flows. Its efforts to
combat the existing information imbalances emerge from this understanding.
1
4.3.2 Formation of Non-aligned News Pool

As per the directives of the UNESCO to establish a news pool or consortium of news
agencies, the "Pool" of news agencies of the non-aligned countries was formally launched in
July, 1976, at the New Delhi Conference of Information Ministers and Representatives of
the news agencies of the non-aligned countries. According to a statement of the Conference,
the objective of the Pool is to expand the mutual exchange of information among the
non-aligned cpuntries in a spirit of collp,ctiveself-reliance. The former Prime Minister of
India, the late Mrs. Indira Gandhi, in her address to the Conference, called upon the
non-aligned countries to know one another directly, not through the eyes and ears of the
Western media.
The Non-aligned News Pool is not atransnational news agency, but a system of exchangk of Alternative NewdInfonnation
gency information, based on co-operation and co-ordination among individual news Distribution System
encies taking part in these activities. There are over eight participatory news agencies.
s Pool is not based on any formal membership. The national news agencies can join in its
ivities by forming one of the Pool's distribution centres. They send new&to it, and from
:re it is distributed to the other participants. The Pool has no single directing centre or staff
employee, nor does it have its own budget. Each of the national news agencies pays the
.ost linked to the transmission of its own news to the centre and the service received from it.
Besides the creation of optimum possibilities for the exchange of information,the tasks of
the Pool, as formulated at its General Conference in Belgrade, in 1979, were mainly a
programme for training the journalists working in this service, and also the creation of
bilateral regional and multi-national communications systems and their link-up to the overall
communication systems of the non-aligned countries. The Conference stressed that the
creation of a communication network of the non-aligned countries is one of the main long
term aims of the Pool.
Check Ydur Progress 3

Note: i) Use the space.given below for your answer.
ii) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit.
1) "The non-aligned countries seldom take concrete steps to improve their situation.
The NAM has reduced itself to a talking shop. Whenever the NAM takes any step,
it is always to build castles in the air. The news flow inside each of the member
country is weak and disorganised. Before setting up a pool of news agencies, the
NAM should have looked into each,of its intra-country newsflows and strengthened .
them". Do you agree with this statement ? Pleasejustify your answer.
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.4.3.3 Restraints on Growth of the Pool
The biggest obstacle to the broad development of information and news exchanges among
the non-aligned countries through the Pool have been:
a) CommunicationRestraints: Many of the developing countries do not have an
extensive and elaborate telecommunication network. For some other countries, the high
tariffs are major barriers. Hence, it is clear that the development of the communication
.Systems in the non-aligned countries is imperative to their overall development. It should
also be understood that the optimum information exchange also depend on the level of
development of communication systems in the individual non-aligned countries. It is
'
worth noting here the statement of the former Director General of the UNESCO, Arthur
M'Bow, who said: "The creation of the widespread communication system of the
non-aligned countries is intrinsically linked to the overall development of these states.
b) News Flow: According to a study by J.S. Yadava, a few years ago, about 85 per cent of
the news items receive by PTI from the Pool partners were spiked. The reasons for this
were given as delay in news reception, poor quality, low news value, or propaganda
material.
C) Lack of Training: The lack of proper training among the non-aligned journalists and
their inability to match the professional standards of the journalists of the transnational
news-agencies, are the reasons for the poor quality of material put out by the
Non-aligned News Agencies Pool. i
lnternationa' communication d) Political Constraints:Due to the totalitarian and despotic governments in many
non-aligned counties, the news agencies are under the strict control of the governments
in these countries. The first casualty of such a solution is the objectivity of the news and
information put out by their agencies. For instance, the news agencies in Pakistan or Sri
Lanka, which are the partners of the Pool, hardly provide any objective news, either
about their own news eveets, issues, and problems, or those of other countries. Even the
coverage of the movement for democracy in their own countries lack objectivity, and are
highly lopsided and biased. Should the Indian news media publish or use these materials,
just because they have to foster cooperation and exchange among the non-aligned
countries?
e) The Media's Lukewarm Attitude: The editors of private-owned newspapers in the
democratic countries like India, either are not convinced of the need for such an
inter-regional cooperation or they do not respect the news coverage of several agencies,
which are'parti~i~ants of the Pool.
4.4 INTER-REGIONAL COOPERATION

Earlier in Unit 1 of this Block, you have been told about the several inter-regional agencies
and networks. In the first part of this unit itself, we have dealt at length with the Non-aligned
News Agency Pool. We shall r\qw broadly discuss the problems and bottlenecks in the
process of inter-regional cooperation.
The essence of any inter-regional cooperation in the field of information is to bring about a
new sense of common destiny, and unite news agencies operating under different levels of
development. The UNESCO played the role of more than a catalyst in fostering
inter-regional cooperation in the field of information.
The fundamental problem in the inter-regional news networks and cooperation is that the
participating news agencies in the networks being, essentially, domestic agencies are geared
to serve purely national needs in their news coverage. This has often been quoted as reason
for the non-descript coverage of the Pool News.
Another area is about the issue of relevance. Most of them are editorially ill-equipped to
produce copy for the consumption of the other agencies in the region. They are mostly
irrelevant to each others needs.
Further, in most of the networks, almost all agencies are, in principle, committed to
producing a regional file containing news reports and features, especially prepared for the
consumption of the readers outside their pational frontiers. However, the tendency that
persists is to move copy originally written for domestic readership for the network
transmission without necessary rewriting. A great deal of information may be missing in
such reports for the readers abroad, or much more than necessary is included. For instance,
proper designation of a politician in the story, the conversion of local currency into
internationally known monetary units, are absolutely essential when the story is
disseminated abroad. But, criticism on several agencies, which are part of such networks, is
that they do not make amendments and changes in the news reports, keeping in view the
requirements of the readers abroad.
Another severe criticism is that a large majority of reports transmitted in these networks are
hard'news, which rarely attract the attention of the editors in other countries.
On the other hand, the transnational news agencies with their speedy transmission and
professionally more competent stories and spicy writing, obviously overwhelm the
inter-regional networks. Especially in the case of spot news, the networks lag behind the
transnational agencies like the AP, UP1 or Reuters, etc.
When we look at the small degree, of success of the Pool and similar such efforts, we see that
inadequate facilities and improper planning continue to be an impediment in strengthening
inter-regional cooperation. Several countries, though involved in such regional bodies
articulate their resplve to strengthen mutual cooperation, but hardly take any steps to achieve
their goals. Mutual distrust continues to remain a major obstruction, in addition to the
allurements dangled before these poor countries by the advanced and developed countries,
in the shape of aid and help. For instance, can any meaningful exchange of news or other Alternative NewdIuformatlon
Distribution System
information be possible between the media of Pakistan and India, when there is a tension
between the two countries with both being tempted by the rich Western powers to tilt
towards them? Under such conditions and relations that exist among different countries in
the same region, any inter-regional cooperation will, at best, prove to be a mechanical
exchange of information rather than a media of one country enjoying the confidence and
credibility of the media of another. Suppose, the Pakistani news agency, the Associated
Press of Pakistan (APP), sends a report on the situation in Sindh, and the Press Trust of India
(PTI), as a nodal agency in the inter-regional cooperation among the SAARC nations,
disseminates that news repoit fed by the APP to all Indian newspapers. What will happen to
that news item? You can easily imagine the possible fate of such a report in the editorial
offices of the Indian Newspapers.

You have read about various hurdles stopping any meaningful cooperation among
various developing countries as far as the exchange of news, information and
communication is concerned. Please suggest at least 5 points, which could pave'the
way for a better cooperation among the SAARC countries in the field of news,
information, and communication.
4.5 TOWARDS SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION

Whatever may be the Third World's criticism on the West for the latter's dominance in the
field of information, at the same time, one has to understand the underlying reality. On the
news collection and dissemination front, the threat from transnational agencies is of a
qualitative nature. Hence, improving the quality and increasing professionalism of the
indigenous media systems in the developing countries is very essential. This needs
cooperation and a spirit of sacrifice.
One of the most important suggestions made to remedy the situation is to develop
infra-structures. Elaborate infrastructural facilities, like telecommunication network with
reduced tariff structure, proper news-gathering facilities, sharing satellite time, etc., should
be developed. The editors have to be convinced of the importance of expanding the news
network abroad. For instance, it is ironic that most of the major Indian newspapers are able
to afford to have correspondents in Western capitals, but do not have their own men in the
neighbouring countries. As a result, the two neighbouring countries have to know each other
through the eyes of a biased Western press. This was amply proved between India and
Pakistan on the issues of Ayodhya and Kashmir.
It has also been suggested that inter-regional cooperation should not confine to just the
governmental level, but, such an exchange and cooperation should be encouraged at the
media-to-media level, between newspapers,journalists, editors, etc. Efforts are to be
intensified to foster mutual confidence by providing easy access at the people-to-people
level. All artificial barriers existing in the way of the free movement of the journalists
should be bridged. A recent interaction among the SAARC journalists, held at Hyderabad,
recommended doing away with visa regulations among the seven South Asian countries.
Proper training should be imparted to the journalists in these countries. Finally, while these
efforts are going on, what we need to see is that the editors and decision-makers in the
different media are "educated" on the need for such a cooperation at the South-South level
by removing their firm belief that the "West is the best". / .
roternauonalCommlmication These steps would lead to the establishmentof an altemative news and information system
suited to the needs of the developing countries and relevant to the conditions existing in
these countries.
4.6 ALTERNATIVE NEWS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

While there has been a amtinuous effort to establish alternativenews and information
distribution systems m the world, the recent global changes have had a deep impact on the
information scene. Thishas especially to do a lot with the Third World efforts to usher m
alternative information flows, between and among themselves, on the one hand, and with the
developed wlxld, on the other.
Tbe West has been for a long time using the concept of "fieedam of information" as an
ideological weapon, and successfully deploying it to deflect the Third World from its pursuit
of a new world infonnation and communication order.
In the matter of broadcasting, the Western powers insist upon the "open skies" policy, which
they claim to be consistent with the principle of freedom of information. On the face of
things, this seems a plausible argument. The metaphor of open skies seems to anno@a
situation of an unfettered informaton exchange of knowledge flowing freely across the
national boundaries. On the conkuy, the same Western countries, in a different forum -
the multilateral tradenegotiations, popularly called GATT ( G e n d Agreement on Tariff
and Trade) -show a complete disinclination towards free trade by imposing heavy tariffs
to protect their own products. However, they link their intellectual property rights, by usmg
Super 301 against countries like India and China.
These developments call far a greater unity among the Third World countries to come out of
the dependence and dominance in the field of information, and promote seU-reliance. So,
any emergence of alternative information systems should be understood in this changing
world scenario and current concept of a "unipolar" (?)world dominated by the West,
particularly the USA.
The existing world information order provides an opportunity to the richer nations to use the
scarce global natural resources, such as the radio and satellite frequency range, and exclude
the poor nations from using the same. For instance, the radio frequency range and the
geo-synchronous orbital slots for parking communication satellites are both natural Western
monopolies today. Added to this, an attempt is made through the on going GATT taks to
impose stmnger forms of monopoly control over the content of information flows.
Let us also examme what the Third World countries are M n g at the global level on the '
question of providing access to the communicationsmedia. The allocations of the radio
frequency spectrum and geo-synchronous orbital slots are done through the instrumentality
of the World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC), convened every ten yms, by the
InternationalTele-communicationsUnion (lTU).
A sub-session of the WARC, held in Febtuary 1992, marked a new low m the ability of the
Third World to influence the internationalnegotiating agenda in matters relating to the
utibation of m e global resources. The Third World underwent a volte face in the
WARC. More than a decade ago, in the WARC 1979 Conference, the Third World made a
united bid, and could make the West accept the principle of equity in the allocation of radio
frequency spectrum. However, to date, this has not been translated into reality.
4.7 SATELLITE TELEVISION - GLOBALISATION OF

NEWS AND CULTURAL PRODUCTS: SOCIAL AND
CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS
It was during the Gulf War that the satellite television became very popular -thanks to
on-thespot covmge of the war by the American-based Cable News Network (CNN).The
' concept of the Cable TV and the availability of the foreign television channels via satellite
in India are a recent phenomenon. The CNN's Gulf War coverage revealed the p6tential of
$il€emative NewdInformation
such antennae for receiving foreign broadcasts. With the start of the satellite telwision f61 Distribution System
Asian Region (STAR TV) by a on$ Qng-based conglomerate of companies, the Satellite
~elevisionhas made a decisive entry into India.
The foreign programmes received through satellite used by the STAR TV include an
entertainment channel (STAR plus), a sports channel (Prime Sports), and a music channel
(MTV). The STAR TV added yet another channel, the BBC World Service, t'rom ~ctober,
1991. The Asian Television Network (ATN), an international Hindi satellite television
service was started from January, 1992. The sixth channel on the STAR TV, ZEE TV meant
for entertainment programmes in Hindi, was launched on October 1,1992. Concomitant with
the penetration of foreign TV serviCes, the Asian region saw a steady rise in the popularity
of the TV as news medium.
* -
There were 160 million television sets in the world, in 1965. Only 12 per cent of these were
in Asia. North America, Europe and the Caribbeans, accounted for a large chunk of them.
By 1990, Asia's share of one billion TV sets has increased by nearly three times to 32 per
cent.
Despite all this, mu& of the expansion and viewership of these satellite TV programmes is
concentrated in the cities due to their distinctive projection of life styles and culhlral
products. For instance, Bombay has more than 8.5 lakh house-holds having cable
connections, with a viewership of more than 4 million. It accounts for 30 per cent of the total
cable network in India. More than 3 lakh households are hooked into the satellite TV, in
Delhi, with a viewership of 1.5 million. Overall, three million households are hooked to
cable with a viewership of 15million operated by 14,000cable operators.
Social and Cultural Implications
SatelliteTV faces the wrath of many on the ground that it encourages an alien world view,
culture, life style, etc. Though the reach of the satellite TV is largely confined to the upper
middle class, there is a possible danger to these classes of people, due to the unhibited
exposure to an alien transnational socio-cultural environment.
Further, there has been severe criticism that the foreign satellite broadcasts do not respect
national boundaries and national sovereignty,that calamities and scandals were given more
importance than the development programmes in countries to which they are beaming their
news telecasts. For example, the BBC's live telecast of the demolition of Babri Masjid on
December 6 by the Kar Sevakas certainly heightened communal passions and shook the
confidence of the minorities. To give another example, during the Punjab elections, while
the Doordarshan highlighted the heavy turn out in polling, the BBC showed visuals of empty
polling booths. Both were two faces of the reality, but do not give an objective pitture.
The satellite TV programmes have a serious impact on the audience, especially on the
children and youth. Studies indicate that these foreign telecasts provide a clear role-model
for the Westernisation of the youth. The teachers and parents complain of excessive TV
viewing in the hous~holdshaving satellite and cable connections. In a study, done in a belhi
Public School, the students revealed that the introduction of the satellite TV coincided with
a marked decline of school grades. Studies also indicate that children were expmencing
steep disturbances, and learning and teaching were taking a backseat. A study done in
Sa~darPate1 School in New Delhi revealed that the cable TV programmes hamper the
children's studies. Reading for pleasure has been curtailed. Many children m the survey
revealed that at times strong will power is needed to leave the cable TV programmes and get
backtostudies.
While there are fears and apprehensions about the satellite TV, there is also a sense of
confidence that India can sustain the impact of foreign telecasts. We can put the entire
discussion in perspective in the light of the 0b~e~ati0ns of Dr. P.C. Joshi, who headed the
Committee on Software for Indian Television:
"Our windows and doors should be opened to outside influence. But, we should not
be swept off our feet. At the same time, we have to welcome fresh air. The foreign
influences should be used as a catalyst for spurring creativity".

1) It has been said that the satellite and cable television has become a powerful
instrument of the rich Western nations to dominate the Third World countries, ',
culturally, and eventually, to make them dependent on the Western nations to
satisfy their various domestic needs. This has become an acute problem as
~oordaishanhas failed to address the relevant national issues adequately. What
steps should Doordarshan take to address the relevant regional and national issues
adequately?
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................
..I ....................................
I Activity 2
I
Study the impact of the satellite and cable television on the audiences in your locality.
Interview/conduct a survey among the families using the following questionnaire.
Questionnaire
(To be filled in by you)
1) How many hours a day the family watches satellite and cable television?
[ Jlhom [ 16bours
[ ] 2hours I 17 hours
[ ] 3 hours [ ] 8 hours
[ 14hours [ 19 hours
[ ] 5 hours [ ] lohours
[ ] above 10hours
I
2) What programmes the family watches? )
Alternative N e w ~ c m n s t l o n
DIsMbu6lonSystem
[ ]News [ I Soapserials
[ I Cment Affairs [ ] English Movies
[ I Environment & Ecological [ 1 Hindi Movies
[ 1 Science & Technology [ I Milsic & Songs
[ 1Arts & Literature
[ ] Any other; Please specify:
...................................................................................................................................
b
...................................................................................................................................
3) The total income of the family:
[ ] Rs. 4,000-5.000
[ 1Rs. 5,001-8,000 .
[ ] Rs. 8,001-10,000
[ I Rs. Above 10,000
[ 1Rs. Any other; Please spec@ i
..................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................,
4.8 LET US SUM UP

Let us now summarise what we have learnt m this unit. An alternative news and infonnation
distribution systeans cannot evolve in a vacuum. Such an alternative should be a part and
parcel of a wider endeavor for a just and equitable world economic order.
Fostering of inter-regionalcooperation is an effort to alleviate the dependence, but not to ,

dismantle the existing infonnation distribution systems. As aprelude to the formatidn of an
alternative, the Third World should powerfully intervene in the global information debate to
counter the concept of "freedom of information". Information cannot be a human right in
terms of the news flows, and the same mfommion cannot be a commodity m the case of
scientific and technical information. So, any alternativeinformation distribution system
should call for a radical redefinition of several concepts, like "freedom of information",
"access to information", etc.
Given the decreasing bargaining power of the poorer nations, there is a greater possibility in
the near future, of information and news flows turning more favorableto the rich and
developed nations. Hence,it is essential for the developing countries to evolve their own
response to the unfolding global changes.
4.9 FURTHER READING

Krishan Sondhi: Muss Media and Public Policy, New Delhi, 1986.
D.R Mankekar: Media and the Third World, IIMC, New Delhi, 1979.
D.R. Mankekar: Whuse Freedom, Whuse Order, Clarion, New Delhi, 1981.
Herbert Schiller: Mass Communication and the American Empire,1971.
')
1) Indian newspapers cannot serve the people of India properly, so long as they are ,
dependent on the Western news agencies, whlch have their own philosophy,
rules and regulation, interests and perspectives. And these are not of India's.
Therefore, it is not possible for the Indian newspapers to serve the Indian I
readers adequately.
2) The Indian newspapas must have enough correspondents within India. The
newspapers must focus on the major issues of each and every state. Reporting of
events in India in the Indian newspapers must be exhausttve. However, there
must be some space devoted to the international news with news analysis. In
other words, a strong infrastructure, coupled with an urge to serve the people,
might reduce the dependence on the Western news agencies to a great extent.
Check Your Progtess 2

1) Yes, I agree with 1,2,3 and 5, but do not agree with 4. In today's world, it is
simply impossible to prevent the entry of the foreign programmes. What we
should do is to motivate ourselves to serve our people, and strengthen our own
values and beliefs. For media to do this, well trained people are required to man
the radio and television station.
2) At present, the news agencies of the PTI and UNI are controlled by the
government. They should be freed from the clutches of tha government. The
newspapers should have correspondentss m d throughout the country, and
thus, bring to focus India and its people in our newspapers.

1) Yes, I agree with the statement. Many of the NAM countries are ruled by
despotic tyrants and autocratic rulers. When the Western countries and media
write or speak about the situation in these countries, we, the people of the Third
World cobtries accuse the West of mterfering. But the NAM, as a group, could
help the situation improve .It could set its own standards and goals. The news
agencles pool, set up by the NAM, would be rewarding, if the newsflow withm
each country is strengthened.

There should not be visa requirements and movement restrictions in the SAARC
countries for the journalists of the SAARC countries.
a A training centre for the journalists of the SAARC countries should be established.
a There must be a burning desire to project the issues of the countries m each country's
newspapers.
a Each SAARC country must have at least one news agency, which should be free from
government control.
Seminars and meeting at various levels must be organised for the journalists;
newspapers may fund such st:minars and meetings.

a The control of the government on the functions of Doordarshan should be drastically
minimised if not totally wiped out.
a Instead of pouting out money for the improvement of the national programme, more
attention should be given to professionalize the regional and local centres.
a All the political parties must have access to the facilities of Doordarshan.
a There ought to be more issue-basedprogramme: the focus should be on issues, not on
persons.
a Dootdarshan should address the present situation and problems, and not shun away
from them. r <
f

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UNIT INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCIES AND ORGANISATIONS

After going through this unit, you should bc able to:

Before we proceed, we shall engage ourselves in a short activity.

News Items News Agencies I

1.2 NATURE AND FUNCTIONS OF NEWS AGENCIES

Several regional or alternativenews agencies have developed on a co-operarive basis among

United Press International (UPI):The growth of AP spurred the rise of competitors.

Telegrafnoi Agentsvo Sovetskavo Soyusa (TASS): Often it was customary to exclude

However, from a'historical perspective, it is necessary to understand TASS. This globaI

Check Your Progress 1

a) Reuters news agency was namedafter .............................................................

1.4 INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) :Authors interested in broadcasting suggest that

VISNEWS :It is related to the international broadcasting service in the supply of

VISNEWS is a London based international TV news film agency owned by a consortium of

Check Your Progress 2

1.5 INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

In November, 1945,representatives of forty-foutnations met in "war scarred" London in a

1.5.2 International TelecommunicationsUnion (ITU)

The main functions of ITU are to:

Check Your Progress 4

What is the necessity of ITU?

IPDC is a programme based on an assessment of the communications situation in many

IPDC is co-ordinated by an intergovernmental council, composed of 35 member states,

Check Your Progress 5

List down three main functions of IPDC.

1.7 OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

In communication studies, a background to international information agencies and

1.9 FURTHER READING

Check Yonr Progress 2

Check Your Progress 3

Check Your Progress 4

Check Your Progress 5

Information can be defined as facts about an event, a place, a person, or whatever is

Check Your Progress 1

. Check Your Progress 2

Notes : i) Use space below for your answers.

2.3 HISTORICAL DIMENSION OF INTERNATIONAL

2.3.1 Advantageous Position of the First World Countries

Check Your Progress 3

1 Check Your Progress 4 I

2.4 CONCEPT OF FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

2.4.1 Concept of Imbalance

2.4.2 Origin of the Concept of Imbalance

Check Your Progress 6

2) Why is 'imbalance' an economic issue?

2.4.3 The Imbalance Debate

Mustapha Masmoudi, S e c r e t . of Information of Tunisia, and later on its ambassador to the

Check Your Progress 7

Take any daily newspaper, and list :

News Item Origin Source ',

,Uproar in Rajya Sabha New Delhi PTI ,

The International TelecommunicationUnion (ITU) has also shown a certain amount of

2.6 CONTEMPORARY TRENDS IN MEDIA AND

2.7 LET US SUM UP

Communicator, January, 1979, Indim Imtitute of Mass Commtmhtb V d XSV, Nb. 1,

Schiller, HabePt I, 1971, Mars Commnicotlanand American Enpirc. Bostaa,Baacar

2.10 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS :MODEL ANSWERS

Check Your Progress 2

Check Your Progress 3

Check Your Progress 5

Check Your Progress 6

Check Your Progress 7