Transnational Media Concepts and Cases

A broad and accessible introduction to national and transnational media

Transnational Media: Concepts and Cases provides a clear and engaging overview of media communication from a global and a region-based perspective. Rather than focusing on just complex theories and industry-specific analyses, this unique book offers an inclusive, comparative approach to both journalism and entertainment media—introducing readers to the essential concepts, systems, transnational influences, and power dynamics that shape global media flow. Broad coverage of different media forms from Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania offers country-based and transnational perspectives while highlighting examples of media trends in television, radio, film, journalism, social media, music, and others. 

Promoting a balanced, multipolar exploration of transnational media, this innovative book discusses topics such as media concentration, the cultural, political, and economic impact of media, and the primary centers of new and traditional media activities. Chapters organized by geographic region offer instructive pedagogical features—including case studies and essays, and illustrations, maps and charts—that strengthen understanding of distinctive and emerging practices in the production, distribution, and consumption of media products.

• Explores a wide range of global media topics, infrastructures, cultures, and political-economic climates
• Written in an engaging, relatable, and easy to understand style
• Covers major aspects of journalism and various forms of entertainment media
• Organized by regions of the world to reflect a global perspective
• Includes newly-written case studies by international scholars from each region

Designed for undergraduate and graduate courses in comparative media analysis, international media and communication, and related areas of study, Transnational Media: Concepts and Cases is an indispensable resource for colleges and universities that are internationalizing their curriculum to meet the needs of an increasing globalized world.

SUMAN MISHRA, PHD, is Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director, Department of Mass Communications, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA.

REBECCA KERN-STONE, PHD, is Associate Professor of Communication, Media, and Advertising, Manhattan College, USA.

Contributor Biographies vii

1 Introduction 1
Rebecca Kern‐Stone and Suman Mishra

Part I Setting the Foundations: Key Concepts 11

2 Transnational Media: Key Concepts and Theories 13
Suman Mishra

3 Introducing Media Systems 27
Rebecca Kern‐Stone

Part II Africa 41

4 Broadcasting in Ghana: Opportunities and Challenges of a Plural Media in an Evolving African Democracy 49
Isaac Abeku Blankson

5 The State of Press Freedom in South Africa: Robust Despite the Intimidation 57
Glenda Daniels

6 Here is our Ushahidi: Participatory Communication Culture in Kenya 65
D. Ndirangu Wachanga

7 Nollywood: A Cinema of Stories 73
Onookome Okome

Part III The Americas and the Caribbean 81

8 What Do They Know of Telenovela Who Only Telenovela Know? Melodrama, Passion, and Latin America’s Modern Identity 91
O. Hugo Benavides

9 Latin America: From Media Censorship to Media Ownership: New Forms of Communication Hegemony Across the Continent 97
Fernando Gutierrez and Alejandro Ocampo

10 Hollywood, the Global Media Market, and a Time of Transition for the American Media Empire 107
Thom Gencarelli

11 The “Sanctioned” Reggae “Revolution,” and Confrontations Between Cradles of Culture 115
Humphrey A. Regis

Part IV Asia 123

12 The Chinese Social Media Landscape 131
Xinyuan Wang

13 Modern Manga 141
Michael Lewis

14 Bollywood: Aspirations of a Globalizing India 147
Suman Mishra

15 The Korean Wave: Why It Swept the World 155
Shin Dong Kim

16 Al Jazeera and Global News: Stages of Operation 165
Saba Bebawi

Part V Europe 171

17 Public Service Media in Europe: Common Values, Different Political Contexts, and a Variety of Practices 181
Karen Donders

18 Sweden and Beyond: The Pirate Party and Non‐Media‐Centric Media Politics 191
Martin Fredriksson

19 Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA 199
Scott Fitzgerald

20 Broadcasting Against the Grain: The Contradictory Roles of RT in a Global Media Age 207
Liudmila Voronova and Andreas Widholm

Part VI Oceania 215

21 Indigenous Media in Australia 221
Lisa Waller

22 The Story of Wellywood: How Director Peter Jackson Conquered the World While Remaining in New Zealand 229
Grant Hannis

Index 237

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