24-Hour Satellite News Channels: Globalization or Cultural Imperialism?

The emergence of global 24-hour satellite news channels has changed the way we receive news. Some argue that the growing presence of these channels in various global regions has contributed either to a supposed process of globalization or to the mere spreading of cultural imperialism that flows from the West to the rest.

Structural forces that either entirely eliminate (i.e., unavailability over airspace) or substantially hinder (i.e., high subscription rates or specific channel packages offered) access to certain local satellite news channels in these global regions reinforce traditional political economy arguments that highlight the continuing domination of the major Western players in satellite news markets around the world. Here, one can see the argument that the presence of the global 24-hour satellite news channel perpetuates a kind of cultural imperialism similar to the strong presence of McDonalds or Starbucks in foreign countries.

There is a growing trend of global satellite news channels that come from other regions trying to shed links with their countries of origin in order to appeal to localized audiences. This severing of ties with their national origins creates an interesting occurrence: increasing localization alongside apparent globalization.

In Introduction to Media Studies, we looked at the typical weekday programming schedules for five 24-hour news channels so that the impact and influence of the 24-hour news genre could be more accurately be examined. We discovered that the so-called "Westernization" or "CNNization" of global satellite news is not as simple as a direct influence, but rather, there is an interaction between Western news players and existing news cultures and media strengths in different regions around the world.

The supposed "one-way" flow of news information that comes from Western nations to other regions of the world may be more accurately described as many "multi-directional" flows. This does not imply that there are "contraflows" (streams of information coming from other global regions into the West).