From 'Many Voices, One World' to 'Many Worlds, One Voice'

Since its publication in October 1980 by UNESCO’s International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems, the MacBride Report has spawned heated discussions on issues relating to cross-border media flows, professional norms and ethics, communications technologies, and the role of media in social transformation. In this article, the writer argues that political, economic and cultural transformations in the global arena over the past 15 years have given rise to new realities that seem antithetical to the MacBride legacy of “many voices and one world.” It has been noted that growing U.S. domination of world political and economic developments has had adverse effects on a range of communication issues like diversity, cultural identity, sovereignty and the right to communicate. However, the writer draws on current globalization literature to argue that while the world seems to be converging on a globalized American-style model of political, cultural and economic evolution, forces of indigenous cultural expressions embedded in non-Western communities will always make a difference in the emerging communication landscape.

Javnost Vol. 12 (2005),3 13-30