"Realizing the immense power of the electronic media, FES started to initiate and support the development of national broadcasting systems and regional exchange networks some 20 years ago. In cooperation with Eurovision, the mother of all television exchange systems, FES helped to establish Asiavisi
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on, Arabvision and Afrovision, thus linking the continents via a global network. In 1987, the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) also asked for assistance. As usual, the Lost Paradise between North and South America had not been high on the agenda. And there was not much hope that these tiny rocks in the Caribbean Sea, scattered over an area the size of Western Europe from the North Cape to Gibraltar, could ever be linked via regional television and included in the global exchange. Still we tried, and we succeeded. This is the story of a very special effort in development aid: "Television in Paradise". (Prologue)
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"The most striking impression is the fact that little research exists. Our review touched studies and discussions of many kinds, all with some relation to the central question, "What are the effects of cross-cultural broadcasting?" Much of what we found is based on fear or undue optimism. The lack o
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f studies firmly rooted in data: this is the overriding fact about this inquiry. While the image of cross-cultural broadcasting may be one of the ''cultural'' interchange, the reality is that of the marketplace. Commercial values are the rule; non-commercial broadcasting is not a major competitor to commercial programming. Programmes intended for any type of social improvement are rare. If they exist at all, they can be found on radio much more than on television or in films. General entertainment programming has a definite social value, but most observers would hope for programming more explicitly geared to the social needs of their diverse audiences. Furthermore, imported entertainment programmes produced for foreign audiences penetrate the host culture in ways that are not understood. Lack of understanding generates uneasiness and fear." (Implications of this report, 40)
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