With the onset of the independence of the Pacific
Island States, the role of the mass media and their
developmental processes began to be examined. This was
of particular interest due to the obvious lack of a
sufficient native media infrastructure to meet the
demands of an indigenous population who were being
introduced to a new world sphere and system.
The main problem of mass media development in the
Pacific lies in the fact that the nations in this area
are still relatively behind in the basic structures of
media participation. They lack technological knowledge
of the various forms of media, the basic training and
skills, and, moreover, the monetary means to address such
deficiencies in the media. The outcome of this
circumstance has been that Pacific media have become
increasingly dependent upon the Western, industrialized
nations such as the USA, Australia and New Zealand.
Such dependence on these foreign nations has given
rise to the question of 'cultural imperialism'. The
aforementioned countries have a large influence in the
Pacific through the unequal relaying of communication and
cultural products and in the ownership of mass media
agencies. This history of foreign based, imported
culture has manifested itself in increased urbanization,
social disruption, and greater commodity dependence and
consumerism in the Pacific.
This study will therefore be an attempt to analyse
the media development processes of the Pacific by using
Fiji as a case study. The critical analysis will come
from Wallerstein's World System perspective. Further, it
will be shown how Fiji's historical, involvement in the
'capitalist world economy', and her history of racism in
the political and communication aspects of her society
have helped shape her present media system. The
underlying premise of the argument, will be that these
factors have not been beneficial to achieving mass media
development based on self-sufficiency, nor on harmony
between the ethnic groups of Fiji.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219055 |
| Date | January 1993 |
| Creators | Jaugietis, Ingrid, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Communication, Media & Tourism |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Ingrid Jaugietis |
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