Objectives

When you have completed this unit, you should be able to

1. identify the historical developments that made the issue of an international information order a crucial one in the 1970s.

2. identify the central actors involved in North-South relations in areas of information and communication, and discuss the distribution of power among these actors.

3. explain the political and economic implications of the ideal of the "free flow of information," and identify concerns raised about this ideal, and the individuals and groups who have raised these concerns.

4. describe ways in which specific political and economic systems affect media systems.

5. outline major critiques and analytical perspectives that deal with the influence
of geographical, economic, cultural and political factors on communication systems.