Mass media and cultural domination

Abstract

This article examines the cultural domination exerted by mass communication media over developing countries, with emphasis on Latin America and the Caribbean. It analyzes the structural imbalance in the worldwide distribution of print media, radio, and television, as well as the control of international news flows by transnational agencies such as UPI and AP. It examines the role of television and radio as vehicles for foreign values—conservatism, materialism, and conformism—and reviews the emergence of national communication policies in Latin America, along with the debate over a New International Information Order, framed within the broader context of a New International Economic Order.