Global Communication, 5th Edition

15Summary and Conclusions

Introduction

This chapter reviews major aspects of the theories and landscape of global communication. Although there is currently relatively little concern about NWICO and the role of specialized United Nations agencies such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNESCO, there is a growing concern about the cultural, social, privacy, and economic impacts of global communication trends. An unexpected exception is the ITU’s role in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). With widespread use of the Internet, transnational corporate acquisitions and mergers between media, telecommunications, and advertising corporations, and the expanding economic role of cultural industries, the issue of global communications has moved to a higher plane.

The impact of communications corporations is no longer a trivial or marginal matter for policymakers, researchers, and investors. All core nations rely for their economic health and viability on the success in foreign countries of their communications corporations. In previous decades, other leading corporations, such as those in the agriculture, automotive, natural resources, or aerospace industries, made major contributions to the creation of new jobs and new wealth, but that is no longer the case. Particularly with the end of the Cold War, the aerospace industry, which includes military aircraft, has seen a substantial reduction in employment, impact, and influence. As a result, the success ...