Chinese Citizens Develop Online Code Bypassing Censorship

While China’s “Great Firewall” of internet censorship is often criticized as being undemocratic and grossly ubiquitous, there is actually an online code being developed by Chinese citizens that not only bypasses regulators, but creates new conceptions of news and community. This code has created a subtle compromise between the Chinese public and its government – between the people’s need for expression and the government’s need for control.

Xiao Qiang, editor of the
China Digital Times

NPR recently unveiled the reality of the code through an interview with Xiao Qiang, the editor of the China Digital Times. Qiang described the phenomenon as the creation of a “public” code, not a “secret” code. For instance, “May 35” is code for June 4, the day of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, yet the code is commonly understood by both the government and the public to mean just that. It is no secret at all. In fact, the coding is so universal that it is rather not a code at all; it is an online language.

Consequently, political criticism is often present on Chinese servers because it passes through surveillance by being indirect. This indirectness is the compromising factor between the Chinese public and government. As long as the commentary is technically ambiguous, and balancing the fine line, the government does not censor it. Allowing some leniency helps the regime stay in control by letting its citizens express grievances in non-violent ways. Above all, China does not want protests. What is targeted the most under the “Great Firewall” is any text indicating a call to action.

This disrupts traditional methods of community building whereby a mass message about a problem is sent out, and then alike individuals gather together in person to solve it. However, it reversely creates a new version of community building by which people meet on the web to discuss their problems. They even discuss those problems through a new language, which they add on to through the endless interactivity that web communication offers.

The creation of the online community also establishes a news hub which is an alternative to the propaganda inflicted news of the government. Citizens can now perceive two different stories, one of which is given validity by the cultivation of multiple accounts online.

Nevertheless, while NPR provides an insider’s view on Chinese internet regulation, other reports such as an article titled “Crackdown on Bloggers Is Mounted by China” describe a far more restrictive situation. While user-generated opinion is growing more powerful, bloggers still have to be careful as government officials can detain offenders for “malicious rumor-mongering online.” So for now, balancing the fine line may not be as common, or easy, as some testimonies might suggest.

Sources:

• "Crackdown on Bloggers Is Mounted by China" - by Chris Buckley
• "How Internet Censorship Actually Works in China" - by Kentaro Toyama
• "In China, Avoiding The 'Great Firewall' Internet Censors" - interview hosted by Jacki Lyden

Related Sources:

• "China Tries Even Harder to Censor the Internet" - by Bruce Einhorn  
• "Cracking the 'Great Firewall' of China's Web censorship" - by Paul Wiseman
• "How Memes Became the Best Weapon Against Chinese Internet Censorship" - by Alexander Abad-Santos
• The Media of Mass Communication - by John Vivian

Agenda-Setting and Regulation in Egypt

Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef

This blog is dedicated to exploring mass communication practices abroad, especially compared to United States practices. In my last post, I explained Nike's advertisement formula used across international borders. Today, I will discuss the different news practices used internationally, specifically in Egypt.

Bassem Youssef is an Egyptian satirist who hosts a talk show comparable to the U.S.'s Daily Show with Jon Stewart. As you can imagine, this job, in Egypt, is no piece of cake. Recently, private news channel CBC canceled his show claiming he had not followed their editing requirements. Shortly after, Bassem was arrested under charges brought on by leaders of the Egyptian Lawyer's Union.

Studying mass media effects in this case concerns agenda setting both with regards to how and why Bassem was arrested, and with regards to the news coverage of that arrest. I will be analyzing the latter of these two areas.

• Agenda-Setting is the theory that suspects media do not reflect reality, rather, they filter and shape it. 

Maxwell E. McCombs and Donald L. Shaw conducted a study titled "The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media" on voters in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. From their results, they concluded: “the evidence is in line with the conditions that must exist if agenda-setting by the mass media does occur.” This study proved that media distort reality, and, in this case, reflect the views and opinions of whoever is in charge; we can call these regulators. 

Egypt News Daily's post about Bassem report the opinion of the State Commission, which, to the news outlet, is a worthy source. It says, "The report [the State Commission's] meanwhile warned that freedom of expression should respect wider societal values and morals in Egypt, not attack or waste efforts by the state." Egypt News Daily is providing for its readers support for the notion that the state should supersede civil rights such as freedom of speech.

We know that, behind the scenes, Egypt News Daily is either required to report what the government dictates to them, or it is, itself, government owned. Regulation is a key factor here. Regulation in America takes place in the form of the FCC, a government agency, but in countries like Egypt, regulators reign.

• Regulation is, in this case, censorship dictated by an authoritarian government.

Other news outlets (I'll look at two American ones for the sake of this project) attempt to expose the censorship that the Egyptian government imposes on its people. CNN's video on Bassem contains an interview from earlier this year in which Bassem says "the solution for bad speech is not less speech it is more speech." Bassem, a strong supporter of freedom of speech, is only able to voice his opinions on foreign news platforms. It is of vital importance that he is allowed this opportunity.

Other than giving Bassem a voice, American news has provided commentary on what his arrest means for the situation in Egypt. Washington Post's article on Bassem is titled "Wow. Nearly half of Egyptian support suspending TV satirist Bassem Youssef." This title, alone, expresses the unbelieving disapproval of Americans' towards any country that may limit freedom of speech. The "Wow" seems to scoff at citizens who would support regulators to control the flow of news.

Sources:
Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef
"The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media"
Egypt News Daily's post about Bassem
FCC
CNN's video on Bassem
Washington Post's article on Bassem

The Power of News Media: "Diplomatic Meltdown" or "Growing Anger"?

You have likely heard all about the Edward Snowden/National Security Agency (NSA) leak scandal that has been prominent across many media outlets since Snowden’s first “leak” in June of 2013.

Get an overview on Edward Snowden, former U.S. NSA employee, here.

The global coverage continues today with media outlets (TV, radio, newspaper) confronting the leaked information about secret CIA and NSA operations in different ways. 

Most recent scandal: The NSA likely surveilled German Chancellor Angela Merkel's private communications. (Information revealed by Snowden, of course. And yes, this means tapping the Chancellor's personal cell phone.)

This article will compare United States' and Germany's newspaper coverage of this issue.

See the Abendzeitung Munich: "Diplomatic Meltdown."

See the New York Times: "Anger Growing Among Allies on U.S. Spying."

Trends to notice:

• Political Controversy: Like I said in my last post, controversy, especially on this global scale, means interesting content. Interest equals profit for media companies.
• Newspapers worldwide covered this material.
• Demassification: Both newspapers emphasized specific information that was relevant to their audience. 
• For example, each paper published it in their country's respective language.

• Media Purposes:
• Community building
• Other articles in the German press suggest tips to make sure you, a potential NSA target, aren't being surveilled. These articles create a community through country-wide shock and outrage.

Abendzeitung Munich headlines concerning the NSA scandal.

• Inform & entertain
• Because it's political controversy, these stories are newsworthy (selected because they are deemed important by gatekeepers) as well as interesting.
• Both articles are serious and informative, but as seen above, Abendzeitung Munich posted more creative articles like, "How to make life difficult for the NSA."
• Effects:
• Framing
• What the NY Times calls a "diplomatic challenge," Abendzeitung Munich calls "completely unacceptable."
• Each paper explains the same event in a different way, giving their audiences a different frame of understanding from which to draw conclusions.
• Agenda-setting
• Media decide what their audience is aware of. By covering and dramatizing this event, these papers force the controversy to the front of knowledge.

It is critical to note media's huge function in our lives, especially when considering powerful news sources. Without proper consideration, media can decide what we, their audience, thinks about. You must be aware of media motives and trends to be an informed citizen. Simply relying on articles in your favorite newspaper is no longer enough.


Check out the full sources for more info.

• Sources used in this article:
• "Anger Growing Among Allies on U.S. Spying" by New York Times
• "Diplomatic Meltdown" by Abendzeitung Munich
• "Generating Newsworthiness: Interpretive Construction of Public Events" by Marylin Lester
• "The Case for Demassification" by John Sheridan
• "The Media of Mass Communication" by John Vivian
• Extra news sources
• "Edward Snowden is NSA Info Leaker" by CNN
• "How to make life difficult for the NSA" by Abendzeitung Munich
• "NSA Files Decoded" by The Guardian
• "Why Angela Merkel is Outraged" by Miami Herald

Hollywood "Charisma Men" in Japanese Commericals

The appearance of male Hollywood stars in Japanese commercials involves more than famous buzz words such as American cultural imperialism and globalization. It is instead more closely an effect of:

1. A negative stigma within the United States that looks down on Hollywood actors who take jobs for TV advertising. (i.e. Hollywood/film is high-brow and should not mix with low-brow televisual content.)
2. A romanticized exoticism associated with the Western man.

In Japan, unlike the United States, celebrity appearances in commercials work to promote fame rather than stain it. Japanese companies put forth an agenda of associating stars with brands in order to sell products based on celebrity fandoms. This is true to an extent in the United States, as some stars will do big budget commercials for events such as the Super Bowl, but no one sees a blockbuster star starring in an ordinary coffee commercial among the majority of the American media landscape. However, one can certainly see it in Japan as Tommy Lee Jones has become grounded as the symbol of Boss coffee.

 

Therefore, why are Hollywood actors, such as Tommy Lee Jones, George Clooney, and Harrison Ford, taking face-time in Japanese commercials despite the negative stigma?

The answer is money – the bottom line. They can make a lot of money because the stigma is not in Japan. Even Dennis Hopper commented to Entertainment Weekly, “I couldn’t believe the money they were paying me. If I could do one of these every year, I could retire.” They also do it because the likelihood of the commercials becoming vastly visible in the U.S. is small. After all, media tend to go out of America, not in it.

Furthermore, the big money given to these male superstars is mostly for their exoticism as “Charisma Men.” “Charisma Man” is a stereotype in Japan that assumes Western men are more charming, doting, and easygoing than Japanese men, and it is both originated and perpetuated by the frequent Hollywood male presence within Japanese channels. The result is that Japanese women get to utilize media to fawn over actors like George Clooney, while Japanese men are left with a cultivated ideal that they may see as either competition or normative.

Sources:

• De Zoysa, Richard, and Otto Newman. "Globalization, soft power and the challenge of Hollywood." Contemporary Politics 8.3 (2002): 185-202. Print.
• "Hollywood's Secret Japanese Commercials Are no Longer Secret" - by Brian Ashcraft
• "Leonardo DiCaprio and the easy money of foreign commercials" - by Jeff Labrecque 
• "The return of Charisma Man" - by Lisa Gay

Coca-Col-ization: How Coca-Cola Advertising Embodies Glocalization

Yes, you read it right.

Glocalization is a more precise term for the its well-known counterpart, globalization. Before discussing its use in Coca-Cola's advertising, there's a distinction to understand:

  
   

• GloBALization:
• Connection of many cultures that forces homogenization of all cultures.
• Culture 2 transforms to mimic Culture 1.

• GloCALization:
• Products and ideas intended for a global market, but customized to suit local cultures. 
• Culture 2 is affected by Culture 1, but retains some original qualities.

A perfect example of a company harnessing glocalization to advertise to a huge, diverse audience is The Coca-Cola Company.

Check out this Coca-Cola advertisement from their Happiness Without Borders campaign:

Coca-Cola Small World Machines - Bringing India and Pakistan Together 

by The Coca-Cola Company

The video exemplifies both specific trends of effective mass communication and the social process glocalization.

Mass Communication Trends & Effects:                                                               

• Political controversy
• Audiences like conflict. It’s interesting.
• Here, the ad portrays Coca-Cola as a global product that may solve tension between India and Pakistan. 

• Agenda-setting
• The media’s ability to influence what publics think about
• In this case, shedding light on the conflict.

• CNN Effect
• The ability, through emotional video, to elevate distant issues on the domestic public agenda
• Because of the footage in the ad, viewers worldwide feel sympathetic and action-minded toward the situation.

Glocalization:

• By placing the "Small World Machine" in a rural environment, the technology is exciting and novel. So, Coke extends that global image in a local setting. 

• The theme of the video also corresponds with Coca-Cola's ad campaign: "Open Happiness."

Final five seconds of "Coca-Cola Small World Machines"

While Coca-Cola narrowed the content to fit local groups, their "happy" brand remains potent. From individuals drinking Cokes and laughing to the final slogan, neither the American brand nor the locals completely conformed to the other's culture. 

Instead, Coca-Cola combined the local culture with its global trademark and created a perfect example of glocalization in mass communication. 

Check out the full sources for more info.

• Sources used in this article:
• "Defining Glocalization" by The Global Policy Forum
• "Global Modernities" (Chapter 2: Glocalization: Time-Space and Homogeneity-Heterogenity) by Roland Robertson
• "Glocalization as Globalization: Evolution of a Sociological Concept" by Habibul Khondker
• "Happiness without Borders" by Jay Moye
• "The Media of Mass Communication" by John Vivian
• "Transnationalism, Cosmopolitanism and Glocalization" by Victor Roudometof