Global Televisions, a Single History

• Main Author: Francisco Rui Cádima
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa 2010-01-01
• Series: Janus.net
• Subjects: Democracy; Geopolitics; Journalism; Local/Global; Transfrontier Television
• Online Access: http://observare.ual.pt/janus.net/en/previous-issues/61-english-en/vol-1,-n-º1-autumn-2010/articles/92-global-televisions-a-single-history

We live in a complex and still blurred time of transition from systems of audiovisual fragmentation, specific to cable and satellite, to web environment hyper-fragmented systems. In the process, transnational televisions are experiencing some loss but for the time being, they still hold powerful distribution channels in the main strategic areas of the globe, with exception of zones where, for totalitarian or censorship reasons, they cannot always penetrate. This is a model that has several limitations both at the onset and at the point of arrival, which makes for a critical communication system whose subordination to local and/or global interests affects its narrative diversity. Finally, it is a model that is normally characterized by discursive regularities that are alien to political, cultural, and geographic pluralism, and which is closer to what we may call “single history” than to an open, pluralistic and participated system.