"The rise of postmodern theories and pluralist thinking has paved the way for multicultural approaches to communication studies and now is the time for decentralization, de-Westernization, and differentiation. This trend is reflected in the increasing number of communication journals with a national
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or regional focus. Alongside this proliferation of research output from outside of the mainstream West, there is a growing discontent with communication theories being "Westerncentric". Compared with earlier works that questioned the need to distinguish between the Western and the non-Western, and to build "Asian" communication theories, there seems to be greater assertiveness and determination in searching for and developing theoretical frameworks and paradigms that take consideration of, and therefore are more relevant to, the cultural context in which research is accomplished. This path-breaking book moves beyond critiquing "Westerncentrism" in media and communication studies by examining where Eurocentrism has come from, how is it reflected in the study of media and communication, what the barriers and solutions to de-centralizing the production of theories are, and what is called for in order to establish Asian communication theories." (Publisher description)
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"The innovative and rapid growth of communication satellites and computer mediated technologies in the late 1980s and early 1990s, combined with the deregulation of national broadcasting, led many media commentators to assume that the age of national media had been lost. But what has become clear is
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that, whilst there has been a limited growth in global media, there has been an emergence of a strong localised television and communications industry. Mapping the world media market, and using examples of programming from countries as diverse as Thailand, Hong Kong, Brazil, Taiwan, Spain and Britain, this volume explores theories of media globalization, examines the local culture of television programming and analyses the blurring of distinctions between the global and the local." (Publisher description)
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"This volume is designed to revolutionize the field of communication by identifying a broad ethical theory which transcends the world of mass media practice to reveal a more humane and responsible code of values. The contributors, representing a diverse range of intercultural perspectives, defend th
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e possibility of universal moral imperatives such as justice, reciprocity and human dignity. Through an examination of the values in which their cultures are grounded, they provide a short list of ethical principles which form the common ground from which to view contemporary issues in the media, interpersonal communication, mediation and conflict resolution." (Publisher description)
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