General Studies and Communication Skills

1. Identify the responsibilities of the media in the world.

2. Collect news articles from any media house in the world in the form of newspapers, magazines, journals or the Internet. Separate and organise articles according to various categories such as those that talk of social injustices, inequalities in the society, terrorism, health, abuse of Human Rights, environmental degradation and conservation and world politics.

3. From the articles, read and explain the main concerns affecting the world and how the media can contribute in solving them.

The global media provides an avenue for communication to take place using various forms that reach and influence the world. It uses the Internet, television, radio, magazines, journals and newspapers to inform and educate the people. The global media plays an important role in shaping public opinion. The global media, therefore, has the responsibility to act as a voice of the people against social injustices, oppression, misdeeds and inequalities in our society. Further, it allows the people to voice their dissatisfaction, express their demands for accountability and participate in public debates.

Nowadays, news travels via satellite and Internet and reaches out to millions of people, of diverse cultures around the world in a short time. It gives the public current information on various issues all over the world. The global media has a responsibility to produce content that is current, comprehensive, accurate and global in nature.

The global media brings individuals of different economic backgrounds, religions, beliefs, cultures, races, languages, traditions and ethnic groups together. The global media has a duty to report issues and happenings in a way that reflects this global diversity of views. Publications that unnecessarily upset certain sections of society or are insensitive to the different values and beliefs around the world must be avoided.

The global media has a responsibility to promote peace, tolerance and dialogue among people of different cultures, religions and political groups. Global journalism should encourage respect among nations and cultures in order to avoid conflict. This enables people from different religions, beliefs, cultures, languages and nationalities to gain knowledge about each other and increase global peace and understanding.

The global media has a responsibility to help the world understand global problems such as poverty, migration, wars and conflict, abuse of Human Rights, the spread of diseases, environmental degradation, technological inequalities, terrorism and political instability. These issues go beyond national boundaries and require a collective approach to solve them. Global journalists should not align themselves to factions, regions or even countries. This means that they should see themselves as serving not only their local audience, but the global audience. They should look at issues broadly, from different perspectives and use diverse sources of information to ensure they have balanced reporting and avoid bias.The global media should ensure there is good dialogue in the world. This responsibility is critical in times when there are political, economic, social and religious frictions around the world.

The media should not worsen these tensions; rather, they should calm them and act to reconcile parties in conflict. To ensure responsible global journalism, global media has an obligation to put in place some self-regulation measures. This ensures that there is mutual respect for peoples’ traditions and cultural values. Self-regulatory bodies examine grievances against an established code of ethics and judge whether rules have been broken. They also provide guidance for journalists and the public on acceptable practices and standards expected of the media. An effective self-regulation mechanism and a clear code of ethics reduce the necessity for censorship of global media.

1. Conduct research on cases where the global media failed to be sensitive to different cultural and religious views in the world.2. Examine cases of global crisis which the global media has brought to the attention of the world. How were the crises or tensions resolved?

Analyse cases where the global media has experienced censorship of information. What was the cause of censorship? How was the issue resolved?

Censorship refers to when the government, individuals, authorities, institutions, media, religious leaders or politicians prohibit, suppress or control information from reaching the public. Many countries have officially made a commitment not to engage in censorship and to allow freedom and independence of the press. Censorship also means suppression of free speech, information considered objectionable, obscene, a threat to security, harmful or politically incorrect. People who conduct censorship are known as censors. Censorship of information prevents people from seeing the reality. Th ere are different types of censorship. They include the following:

1. Political censorship – this occurs when governments hold back information from the public.

2. Ethical and moral censorship – this involves removal of material regarded as immoral or obscene from the public.

3. Religious censorship – this involves the removal of material objectionable to a certain religion.

4. Military censorship – this involves keeping military intelligence and tactics confi dential and away from enemies.

5. Corporate censorship – the media outlets disrupt publishing of information that portrays their business or partners in a bad light.

6. Self-censorship of the media – this arises when media houses prohibit the release of information to the public.

                    

Censors create rules that ensure there is censorship of information that creates division, confusion, controversy, enmity or hatred within a society. For example, when protecting the public against programmes or publications that promote pornography, divisionism, child abuse, discriminatory actions and items that are a threat to national security and integrity.

Discuss and answer the following questions.

1. Examine the possible outcomes if there was censorship of the media before and during the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

2. How has the media ensured that genocide ideology is not given airplay in Rwanda again?

3. Find out mechanisms that exist in Rwanda for the media to regulate its content.

4. Evaluate the effectiveness of self-regulation by the media in Rwanda. Has it ensured responsible journalism in the country?

5. Conduct research to find out countries in the world where the government or religious leaders censor global media.

6. Examine the role of global media in such countries as the ones identified in question (5) above.

7. What happens to journalists who try to report stories from such countries?

8. In your opinion, what should the global media do to ensure victims of Human Rights violation in such countries get justice?

9. Assess the effects of censorship on global media.

10. Discuss the different types of censorship and give examples of cases experienced in Africa and in the world.

The public has responsibilities in regard to global media. Global and local media increasingly rely on members of the public to contribute content as they play a vital role in generating major news stories. Th is raises concerns about ethics and responsibility. Important responsibilities of the public include the following:

1. To contribute actively to global media content as well as participating in public debate and analysis.

2. To promote helpful dialogue with the global media either as individuals or in groups.

3. To contribute to global media activities and create awareness about issues affecting the global world.

4. To advocate for global media freedom and independence in every country, for global media to function freely across the globe.

5. To actively support and demand diversity in global media, so that a few global media enterprises do not monopolise the industry.

6. To avoid producing or circulating offensive content such as hate speech, pornography and defamatory remarks.

7. To create and support civil society forums that independently monitor global media policies, practices and content.

8. To analyse global media issues from a public interest perspective.

9. To respect copyright laws by upholding intellectual property rights and rejecting the purchase or use of pirated materials.

10. To promote truth and accuracy by not giving distorted or false information to the global media.

11. To defend the rights of journalists and protect global media practitioners from physical violence or coercion.

Examine the responsibilities of Rwandans to the local and global media.

1. Discuss how the local and global media have affected the Rwandan society.

2. Explain ways in which the effects in (1) above have been different for the youth and older generation in the country.

The media is a major contributor to the promotion of culture within a society. It is an influential transmitter of values, beliefs, traditions and social practices within the society.

The media plays an important role in representing different opinions or traditions within a society. However, the powerful influence of the media, dominant social groups, religious majorities and the elite can impose their values on others. The media contributes to the transmission of cultural values, beliefs and behaviour from one region to another, leading to changes in culture.

Modern media technologies used by the global media have ensured there is flow of information that connects people worldwide. The global media, therefore, has a strong influence in the globalisation of culture and reduction of cultural differences. This creates a more homogenised and standardised culture.

Today’s media is characterised by global social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Skype, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube. Through these avenues, people around the world share information and exchange ideas. As people connect and become exposed to other cultures, they change the way they think and act. This information has a great impact on people’s culture.

Mass media is used to globalise a sporting culture worldwide. Many sports that were initially identified with a particular culture have now been spread and embraced by other cultures. This has resulted from the global coverage and promotion of international sports such as football, athletics, rugby, tennis and cycling. Global media promotes cultural diplomacy, dialogue and understanding among different cultures. Through the media, people are exposed to diff erent cultures and this enables them to respect and appreciate these cultures. The global media promotes music that provides entertainment and reflects culture, lifestyle and traditions. Music videos that are broadcasted by the global media are embedded with cultural messages such as lifestyle, fashion, food and dressing. The media can be used to protect and restore cultural heritage.

Through media publicity, some important cultural heritage sites have been promoted and protected worldwide. ‘Media gatekeepers’ in the media industry constitute one important way in which the media is used to promote cultural values. ‘Media gatekeepers’ are the people who determine which stories are conveyed to the audience. They include editors who decide the headlines and what can be published, reporters who decide which stories to tell and media owners who have a say in what is published. These media gatekeepers have their own cultural values that influence them on what counts as newsworthy, entertaining or relevant. Therefore, some events that they consider to be unimportant or uninteresting may never be watched or heard by the larger public.

This was was experienced in Rwanda where the global media gatekeepers delayed in informing the world about the Genocide against the Tutsi. Few foreign correspondents were sent to cover the Genocide against the Tutsi in good time.In addition, using newspaper advertisements, television and internet marketing, the media acts as ‘tastemakers’ by shaping what we care about. ‘Media tastemakers’ are people or institutions that shape the way people think, eat, listen, drink, dress and watch.

By focusing on certain people, music and lifestyles or products, the media influences our liking for them. Taste making is used by the media to encourage mass appeal for films, television shows, music and fashion trends, as well as generating demand for new products. Popular culture is promoted by mass media that introduces and encourages people to adopt certain trends. This includes things such as the TV programmes that the majority of viewers talk about, sports that excite us, music that we listen to and discuss all the time or clothing that is currently considered fashionable, this makes it popular on a massive scale.

Conduct this activity.

1. From the Internet, print media, radio or television, look out for an advertisement and a non-advertisement message that you have found to be memorable. Compare and contrast ways in which the advertisement and non-advertisement messages express cultural values. Are the cultural values similar in both messages? Why do you think the messages were presented in that way? Identify forms of cultural messages expressed in the advertisement.

2. Identify popular advertisements shown by the Rwandan media. Explain how they promote the Rwandan culture.

3. Examine ways in which social media has positively influenced the Rwandan culture.

4. Explain how you can use the media to fight corruption in society

1. Discuss the effects of popular culture on the youth in Rwanda.

2. Analyse ways in which social media has led to cultural erosion in Rwanda.