Exploring the Rise and Impact of Global Media on Australian Society

This essay examines the rise and impact of global media in Australia, highlighting its role in connecting, sharing, and mobilizing information across political, economic, social, and cultural divides. It discusses how global media, including television, the internet, and mobile phones, has restructured cultural and social geography, transforming the world into a global village. The essay explores the factors contributing to the development of global media in Australia, such as increased societal awareness and the democratization of information for businesses. It also analyzes The Sydney Morning Herald as a prominent global media outlet, comparing its attributes and impact with contemporary newspapers like The Australian. The essay further illustrates the newspaper's influence on Australian society through examples like raising awareness about artificial intelligence and the importance of selective schools. It also touches upon the newspaper's coverage of issues affecting Aboriginal Australians, emphasizing its role in drawing attention to their deteriorating conditions and advocating for research to address the causes of poverty.

Running head: Rise and impact of global media in Australia
Rise and Impact of Global Media in Australia

Rise and impact of global media in Australia 1
“Rise and impact of global media in Australia “
Global media and communication are utilized to explain the methods for connecting,
sharing, correlating and mobilizing beyond various political, economic, social geographical and
cultural divisions. It redefines the concept of hard and soft power along with the power of
information and diplomacy in the modern scenario.
So, the influence of global media on the society is considered to be of utmost importance.
In the context of the sociological and cultural evaluation of globalization, media like television,
internet, computer and mobile phones are considered to be amongst the main reasons for the
present restructuration of the cultural and social geography (Kraidy, 2017).
Media is often described as an ‘institution ‘. It provides a platform for public debate. It
provides the essential reporting, analysis and opinions for the citizens in order to make informed
decisions. It helps in supporting investigative journalism thereby holding powerful people and
institutions accountable on the behalf of public.
So this essay describes global media and explains the various reasons for its formation
and influence in Australia.Furthermore, the attributes of The Sydney Morning Herald would be
explained and compared with its contemporary newspapers. The impact which it has created on
Australia would also be explained with the help of some examples.
Lastly, some theories illustrating the development of global media would also be stated in
this regard.

Rise and impact of global media in Australia 2
Global media analyses the field of media in the global scenario. It deals with the content,
impact and history of media. The progress of global media and technology has played an
important role in the process of global communication and globalization.
ISDN, digitalization, direct broadcast satellites, television and the internet has played a
crucial role in creating situations where information can be transferred around the globe in
seconds. So, mass media has a global availability and it has transformed the world into a global
village.
The systems of global media are thought to be a form of cultural imperialism. Cultural
imperialism occurs when a country controls the other regions through media exports comprising
of advertising messages, televisions, radio programming and films.
In this context, the media scene of Australia is creative, technically and economically
effective .Media plays an effective role in influencing and formation of the attitudes and
behaviors’ of people in Australian.
The factors which led to the development and progress of global media in Australia can
be that it increases the awareness of the society and encourages it to respond to the problems of
child abuse and neglect (Flew, Iosifidis & Steemers, 2016).
It is important to note here that the part played by the news to gain the attention of the
masses to address these issues have increased the popularity of global media in Australia. Thus
understanding the influence of media and how to use it in a constructive manner can be an
essential tool for advocating for children, families and young people.

Rise and impact of global media in Australia 3
Global media has given an opportunity of communication to a large number of people
and for targeting a particular group of people. It has the capability to reach many people who are
not associated with the sender (Esser & Pfetsch, 2013).
Global media is completely dependent upon technical devices or machines for the
dissemination of messages to a diversified audience who are not related to each other. The
strength of global media lies in putting the issues faced by the public in agenda and in
reinforcing the local efforts so that consciousness can be raised about them. These factors help
the global media to gain influence in Australia (Weaver, & Willnat, 2012).
Global media also helps in the democratization of information for the business so that it
can access the people easily. It can have fewer barriers to reaching people. It is also linked to a
series of platforms which regulate the distribution.
Global media has provided the platform for new ecosystems for entrepreneurs to build
off. So, the global media is able to influence the decision making power along with the values
and beliefs of Australian people.
One such famous global media outlet in Australia is The Sydney Morning Herald. It is a
newspaper which is published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was
founded in 1831 and is amongst the oldest published paper being published continuously in
Australia. It has become a national online brand.
It comprises of a variety of supplements along with magazines known as Good Weekend
and Sunday Life. There are a variety of other supplements which are co-branded with the online
advertisement sites of Fairfax Media.

Rise and impact of global media in Australia 4
Some of them are The Guide which is broadcasted on Monday. Good Food and Domain
are broadcasted on Tuesdays. Money which states the various aspects of personal finance are
broadcasted on Wednesdays ( Hartley,2012).
Driver and Shortlist are shown on Fridays and News-Review, Spectrum, Domain, Drive
and My Career are shown on Saturdays. Its editor is Lisa Davis. Till February 2016, its average
per day print calculation was 104,000.
One of the reasons for the popularity of The Sydney Morning Herald is that the whole
summary of the day is covered in 30 pages. This convenience can never be gained with a news
channel. It has continued to prevail in Australia. It is the most read news publication across
online, print, mobiles and tablets.
The editorial stance of The Sydney Morning Herald is conservative. It has combined the
serious reporting of developments pertaining to national and international scenario thereby
covering the famous news stories dealing with subjects like politics and law enforcement.
The reasons for its popularity in Australia can be that it publishes news in a clean box. It
has got no screaming reporters and no high tension drama interviews. Its news is published in a
short and sweet headline (Anderson, 2013).
It also publishes articles of news and entertainment which can interest every section of
the society along with having wide coverage. It also allows its viewers to write their opinions
thereby providing them a platform for expressing their sentiments regarding a particular topic.

Rise and impact of global media in Australia 5
The major attributes of The Sydney Morning Herald are that it adopts the principles of
fairness, objectively and honesty while reporting the news. The journalists and reporters of the
newspaper do not promote fake news which is based on rumors and unverified anonymous tips.
They only share their views in the editorial pieces of the newspapers. They step aside
when being offered a story comprising of conflict of interest. The reporters and journalists of The
Sydney Morning Herald push themselves for asking deeper questions and put their personal
feelings aside for uncovering people, places and events.
They are courageous and bold while covering challenging news events. They are also
expertized in their communication skills and conduct interviews along with writing in-depth
stories. Unlike the journalists of television and radio, they go beyond the superficial coverage of
the situation (Crane, Kawashima & Kawasaki, 2016).
They cover the background information and required detail for a deeper comprehension of the
issue by the reader. They are well versed with the knowledge of the technology. They make the
best utilization of social media for proving transparent coverage of the events.
They use social media for contacting potential sources in order to conduct interviews. They
maximize the use of technology for informing the public about the matters which may affect
their safety and health.
The reporters and journalists of The Sydney Morning Herald have good investigative
skills. They possess analytical minds and base the stories on facts and evidence. The newspaper
comprises reporters who have critical thinking skills while assessing the credibility of sources.

Rise and impact of global media in Australia 6
The Sydney Morning Herald would be compared with another famous newspaper
prevalent in Australia. With regards to the history of The Sydney Morning Herald, it was
founded by three English emigrants viz. William McGarvie, Fredrick Strokes and Alfred Ward
Stephens.
It was first issued as a weekly in the year 1831 which gradually became a daily in the
year 1840. The intention of publishing this newspaper was conventional. It has combined the
reporting of national and international developments along with covering the famous stories
dealing with subjects which have gained the attention of the international community
(Shoemaker & Reese, 2013).
On the other hand, The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper which is published in
Australia daily from Monday to Saturday since 14th July 1964. It is the biggest selling newspaper
in the country. Its major rivals are The Australian Financial Review and The Saturday Paper.
There is a difference between the two in the context of their reporting and publishing
methods. The Sydney Morning Herald is a more sophisticated one while The Australian seems to
be much trendier because of its pictures and stylish fonts.

Rise and impact of global media in Australia 7
There is a difference in the opinion of two newspapers. Thus The Sydney Morning
Herald caters to all the classes of the society while The Australian focuses on the youth. The
popularity of The Sydney Morning Herald has reached a figure of more than 5 million readers
while the readers of The Australian have reached to a statistics of 3.18 Million (Duke, 2018).
The impact created by The Sydney Morning Herald on the Australian Society is that it
raises serious issues which may pose a threat to the society. For example, it had published an
article on July 20th, 2018 in which the reporter had raised concerns about the impact of artificial
intelligence on humans (Finkel, 2018).
In this article, the author had described the positive impacts of AI on the Australian
society in the first instance. Afterward, in the context of his aunt who was a Holocaust survivor,
he quotes the fact that how and to what extent , the misuse of AI can harm the society.
So, The Sydney Morning Herald truly focuses on making the society aware of the impact
of AI on humans. Furthermore, it offers a wider approach and covers almost all the issues
confronted by the society (McKeith, 2018).
For example, in a particular article, the author has attracted the attention of the readers
towards the importance of selective schools who cater to the educations needs of the specially-
abled students. He has also stated that instead of considering the rigorous academic grading of
these schools, the parents should focus on those schools which transform their child into a well-
rounded, wise and capable to avail a range of opportunities in the future (Vivian & Maurin,
2012).

Rise and impact of global media in Australia 8
So, The Sydney Morning Herald covers all the aspects of society and creates a powerful
impact particularly on the intellectuals of society. It enables them to take suitable steps to curb
all the evils prevailing in the society.
It has an international reach so it publishes the current affairs from all over the world. It
has become a great gift of advanced technology for society. It has reached even to the remote
areas of Australia. It is not only a carrier of news but also has served mankind in many ways. It
publishes the articles about the Aboriginal people (Benyon & Dunkerley, 2014).
The articles raise the concerns of the Aboriginals and draw the attention of the readers
towards their deteriorating condition. It draws the attention of the government and the social
workers towards the causes of poverty of the Aboriginals.
It has encouraged them to promote the research for addressing the cause. It has been
observed that almost 35000 Aboriginals in Canberra including 9000 children live below the
poverty line as per ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) (O'Mallon, 2018).
It also displays many columns varying in their topics thereby attracting the attention of
many readers having diversified interests. It has also covered the current affairs of international
scenario in the field of world politics etc.
So, in this way, The Sydney Morning Herald creates a serious impact on society and has
endeavored to bring a positive change in it (Watson & Hill, 2015).
In this context, the key theories and concepts of global media pertain to cultural
globalization and modernization. The theory of cultural globalization is associated with the

Rise and impact of global media in Australia 9
transmission of ideology, values and meaning around the globe so that social relations can be
extended and intensified (Biagi, 2012).
Cultural globalization can be explained as extending international relations of culture,
people and economic activities with the help of global media. The Sydney Morning Herald is
intended to cater to a large mass of people around the globe.
The impact of media on the globalization of culture is known as cultural imperialism. So,
the newspaper publishes the news according to the cultural aspects of its target area. It aims at
extending societal relations with the people of the target country or region.
There is an intensified association between mass media and cultural globalization. It
promotes the assimilation of two diversified cultures thereby eliminating all the barriers between
them. The technologies of media have enabled a steady flow of images which connect the
readers around the globe (Gershon, 2013).
It has created strong impacts on communities and cultures. The role of global media in
the globalization of culture is subjective rather than being objective. It has driven from the rapid
growth of media and international cultural flows all over the world. The world is, therefore,
being termed as ‘global village’.
Another theory which is being implemented in the context of global media is
modernization. Global media has played a crucial role in enhancing modernization and
facilitating the exchange of cultures and multiple flows of pictures and information amongst
different countries (Madianou & Miller, 2013).

Rise and impact of global media in Australia 10
The flow of information around the globe have been largely assisted by the evolution of
international capitalism, new and innovative technologies and an increase in the
commercialization of print and mass media.
The modernization or development theory has transformed the traditional societies
thereby including them in the orbit of capitalism. Global media has facilitated the import of
foreign news, genre formats of television such as talk shows and sitcoms etc. It has also valued
the capitalist consumerism and individualism (Hutchins & Rowe,2012).
Modernization is the conversion from a traditional and rural society into a secular,
industrial and urban society. It is a never-ending and open-ended procedure. With the help of this
procedure, global media assists in the assimilation of the diversified cultures which helps in the
development of the backward regions and peripheral groups.
However, global media has also created a negative impact on society. It has been used as
a medium to create inequalities amongst nations. It has thus reflected wider economic and
political problems of dependency.
The media has contributed to the increased oppression based on classes, race and gender
thereby having stressed patterns of ownership and technical structures. International agencies of
media have been assigned the role of creating negative perceptions about certain areas as being
corrupt, coup and disaster (Flew, 2018).
Hence this essay can be concluded by stating the fact that mass media plays a crucial role
in facilitating the cultural exchange and flow of data amongst various countries. Global media
has contributed to reshaping the geographical realities on an international scale.

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The expanding abilities of media have extended their influence beyond spaces so that
communication can be harnessed to accomplish control and power for a prominent way of life. In
the modern era, global media has formulated the material and symbolic exchange of information
across the borders. It has led to the political, economic and sociocultural alignment which can
help in upgrading the standards of people throughout the world.