Key Terms

The key terms and concepts in this unit include Western models of broadcasting; technology transfer; metropolitan-colonial relationship; institution; media technology, content and ideology; freedom of expression, free flow of information.

International Relations after World War II

Influential critics contend that crucial developments in international relations after World War II included processes through which historical patterns of colonialism were sustained in areas of communications and information technologies. As technology transfers were perceived to benefit foreign interests and domestic elites, developing countries began to challenge Western power in this area. The next assigned reading discusses the report of the International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems (popularly known as the MacBride Commission).

Reading Assignment

Read "MacBride with Hindsight," by C. Hamelink, reproduced in the Reading File.