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Shane Lynch

Professor Wilson

Writing 2

23 May 2017

WP3

The Opinion Pages Editorial

Globalized Mass Media: Agent of the Free World or Enemy of

By Shane Lynch

The medium is the massage, or so Marshall McLuhan argued in his seminal

work on mass media. It creeps into our subconscious, shapes our views of the world,

our fears, our sense of self, and our sense of place within a national and local

community. We are all victims of the media age, whether we like it or not, and it is

therefore highly imperative that the agents of mass media use their position of

influence to promote a free thinking democratic society, rather than succumbing to

the competing interests of wealthy corporate entities.

The nation of Bangladesh in particular is a prime example of the powerful

affects globalization has had over the last several decades. The country was included

in the Third Wave of Democratization in the 1980s, when a number of

authoritarian nations saw a shift towards democracy in a relatively short window of

time. Mass media ended up playing a prominent role in the establishment of a

liberal democracy within the country, as it was used to persuade active political

citizenship, exposed citizens to global affairs and perspectives, as well as offering

new channels to access the central operation of democracy (info provision, voting,

deliberation, public sphere, etc.) All of these factors positively shaped the course of

the nation and brought them into the modern age, though this advancement was not

without its costs.

With globalization, we are no longer subject exclusively to the desires and

aims of our own governments, but rather to the aims of various societies existing

within the global village. The issue here is that there is a substantial economic divide

between poor and wealthy nations, thus the influence of wealthy nations is much

greater. Western culture in particular dominates mass media, having potentially

destructive effects on the diversity of cultures in the world. Additionally, the

convergence and the production of media conglomerates often leads to the

establishment of overseas markets, which has been a serious issue in Bangladesh.

Because the nation is relatively impoverished and has less influence in global affairs,

their participation in the world market is limited to the delivery systems created

and maintained by global corporations, leading to a lack of economic and political

agency on a global scale.

On the other hand, because globalization has served to bring the world

together; meshing cultures, beliefs and information, Bangladesh has in many ways

become more enlightened and freethinking. Its harder for authoritative

governments to take root in a globalized society, due to the wealth of knowledge

and perspectives available to its citizens, as well as the many platforms for

competing parties and viewpoints. The media in Bangladesh has served to hold the

government accountable, reminding them of past mistakes and providing channels

for direct democracy. Additionally, global cultures have become integrated into the

traditional sphere of life in Bangladesh, increasing diversity. A family in Bangladesh

may be watching a cricket game in Manchester while Beethoven plays on the radio

and their kids are wearing Simpsons t-shirts. These changes have served to

modernize the nation and bring them in touch with world cultures and powers,

despite the lack of equity in global relations.

Experts often view the driving force behind liberal democracies as limiting

the states role out of respect for individual freedom. This is not to say the media

should play a limited role within the nation, but rather it should serve to promote

values and information that contribute to a free thinking, individualistic society.

Such a role ought to involve the dissemination of information, enlightenment of

voters, protection of human rights, the promotion of tolerance among groups, and

helping the government to be more accountable. Bangladesh is an example of a

work in progress; as it highlights the rapid positive effects that globalization has had

on world cultures, as well as the failure to create an equal playing field for less

powerful nations.

In the age of the global village, we must all act responsibly to ensure that

nations do not overpower others but act in a manner so as to provide equal

opportunity and resources for the world at large. It is the duty of advantaged
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nations to share this privilege with those who are less fortunate, an issue of utmost

importance in the coming years.

Analysis:

I expected going into this assignment that translating a highly detailed,

complex academic article into a newspaper editorial would be difficult, as

something would surely be lost in condensing such as large amount of information. I

was concerned that the topic wouldnt be able to appeal to the new audience, and

that excluding the lengthy statistics and individual studies would make the points

unclear. To my surprise, I found that the translation actually enhanced the points of

the original article and made them more accessible to the average reader. By

focusing on only the most pertinent details of the text, and adding some spark to the

authors arguments, this translation revealed that editorials are well suited for

condensing academic information, and that such translations should occur more

often in order to share such important findings with the general population.

One of the key challenges in writing this translation was finding a voice that

suited the intended audience, as well as identifying my audience to begin with. It

was clear to me that the audience would have to be at least somewhat educated to

understand this relatively complex topic, though I wasnt sure how much of the

information I should define as opposed to assuming the reader already knew what I

was talking about. I looked at a number of editorial articles to prepare and noticed

that they all used relatively different tones depending on the topic and the assumed

audience. Given that my topic was relatively serious and factual, I tried to write my
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translation as such in order to highlight the educational and political nature of the

topic. Additionally, given that I was emulating the style of New York Times in

particular, and because the article condemns the preeminence of corporations in

global markets, I deduced that my audience would likely be politically liberal and

probably have a baseline understanding of this topic.

As such, Id say my audience overall could be defined as liberal, educated

citizens who are interested in world affairs, perhaps middle class and in their 20s

and 30s. I decided to limit my definitions to only the most important points or things

I felt the average reader might not be familiar with, while heavily condensing the

jargon of the original article. I felt that excluding this information didnt detract from

the legitimacy of the argument due to the ethical nature of the points being made,

and their reliance upon human equity rather than hard facts.

The process of translating this article made me realize a few things about the

respective genres. First, the discipline of TV Criticism is highly wordy and relies

upon a great deal of baseline understanding. As such, it is similar to the other

academic disciplines and seems to be directed towards other academics rather than

the general public. Newspaper editorials often leave out many of the specific details

and focus on the big picture, choosing a few of the most pertinent statistics and facts

from a story to shape their argument.

In terms of recognizing genre conventions, I realized in my preliminary

phase that editorial authors try to strike a healthy balance between relying on

evidence and relying on the strength of their writing and argument. It is necessary

to include facts so that their points are not baseless and overly general, but it is also
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key to have a strong, confident voice to present their points. Much of the language is

definite and objective, and their arguments are presented almost as fact. This leaves

room for debate while simultaneously making the stance of the author clear.

Additionally, they keep their paragraphs brief, opting for concise arguments.

The big revelation here is that theres a lot of interesting information buried

in academic articles that doesnt reach the general public and likely wouldnt be

properly absorbed without the necessary translations. It seems like more of this

information should be published simultaneously within academic journals and in

public publishing mediums like newspapers and social media. This is not to say I

believe the original content should be dumbed down to the least common

denominator (ie: buzzfeed) but rather present its findings in a more concise,

presentable manner.

Ultimately, this translation has conveyed the need for similar translations of

important information so that they may reach the public sphere rather than

remaining buried in relative obscurity. I also learned a great deal about genres,

specifically that their main function is to address the needs of specific audiences

rather than being written to suit the needs of the author. Its a shame that so much

of this information never reaches the light of day, as academics have no doubt put a

great deal of effort into these studies. By publishing this information in a genre

format that is designed to be both engaging and factual, while reaching a wide

audience and promoting debate among readers, academics would see their work

implemented within public discourse and reaching global communities. Perhaps

academic findings could be published in multiple formats rather than simply being
written for those with a strong understanding of the discipline and content. If this

change occurred, articles like this would not be relegated to the annals of obscure

websites.