Humanity today follows the path of information and communication technologies, while chaotically involving more and more people of various societies into this process. Many experts call this phenomenon a “puzzle of the 21st century”.
UNESCO suggests its own methodology for finding solutions to many disputed issues and provisions of this dilemma. UNESCO adheres to the position of advancing the conception of “knowledge societies” rather than “global information society”. Simple expansion of mass media market neither will make it more rational or manageable nor will decrease the current tension among the counteragents. Therefore indeed, UNESCO designed four principles abiding by which it is desirable for all those, who are employed in the sphere of information policy, management and market. These four principles are as follows:
We hold to the view that the suggestion on the given methodology of establishing a media space and market for media services are well-timed and rational, especially, for the Central Asian region.
Global market segment, which is based on the services now provided by mass media, at the start of the 21st century is not only more extensive and dynamically changing, but also the most complex, and this is not only in technical terms.
Complexity emerges in the making of product and yet more in its dissemination, since oftentimes we don`t know of its true demand, which depends on spiritual, educational, moral, legal and finally on economic level of consumption of an individual person or social group of people, country, and the region, where there is a certain tradition of ideological understanding of the essence of events and phenomena.
Mass media market is characterized, firstly, by superficially visible parameters, and, secondly, by abyssal processes on the basis of which the contradictions between fundamentalism and new ideas operate. This very contradiction may at any moment change or even demolish the balance at the producer-consumer system. Collapse of civilized norms of competitiveness leads to an open confrontation.
Clearly outlined and visible parameters of the media market are as follows:
States or private companies may have the technical means and personnel in full (like in developed countries); in short scale like in countries with new market economies, which the countries of Central Asia belong to; in limited form, if financial restraints are felt.
It paves the way for the initial problem of mass media market:
Following parameters are totally out of sight, which are:
Thus, all these peculiarities of establishing the media market require the attention of the world community, and then elaboration of rules of interaction, based on mutual understanding; since now it is a high time to change the nature of our relations and depart from hostile confrontational ideology to consensus ideology.
I would like to draw your attention to the current tendency of interaction, which is predicated upon the principle of standoff of such basic notions as information – misinformation, truth – lie, democracy – anti-democracy, and so on. In short, there is an active quest for the enemy, but it distorts the reality. The main principle at the media market is a search of the way to destroy the alien information product by any means, and here the “end justifies the means”, but these means are also the product at this very specific market.
To the certain extent, this provision was worth at times of war, especially of world wars, when mass media became the mechanism of control and management of military operations, when information was the psychological weapon and helped to shape the enemy image.
However, as it turned out, that yet now in the 21st century the mechanisms of media market management aren`t changing; on the contrary they are improved in terms of management. In order to gain the parameters of information product the primary information passes through the system of tight organization, the so called “passage”: through the press department; then along the chain: press division, press-service, press-center, press-syndicate; and at each level the primary information is “dressed” on propaganda clothes. Propaganda is a tool of information and psychological influence on the personality and control of his behavior.
Experts believe that the propaganda can be defined as an art of making the people to do that they wouldn`t do, if they would possess every information, related to the situation. For instance, the Russian scientist N.L.Volkonskiy named several types of propaganda, which influence the formation of final information product, and these are: “white”, “gray”, “black”, conversion, disjunctive, consolidated, subversive, manipulative, military and foreign policy propaganda.
A chord in this complex propaganda system is the propaganda barrage, i.e. the type of intensive and focused propaganda campaign, used to prepare the public opinion to some action. Currently, there is a profound demand for this product in many countries of the world and they pay millions for this in convertible currency. But whether is it needed for the progress and humankind? And there are controversial answers for this question.
On the other hand, it is quite evident to optimize and make effective the creation of global information field, it is needed to locate the rational proportions among Anglo-American globalization, Islamic efforts to uphold own traditions and customs under the pressure of this globalization, Roman-German united Europe, Eurasian sentiments of people of Russia and some Central Asian states, Chinese ideology of the “medium state”, and other.
In this complex mosaic the people of Central Asia are looking for their own information segment, by means of which they could be understood.
The policy of relative information “adjustment” of the Soviet period and the times of bipolar world gave place to the supersaturated information field. People faced the inflow of very unexpected information, sometimes the one with a dual meaning, with some underlying theme, which traditional society could not understand.
Information flow of liberal-democratic nature was absolutely new to people of traditional-classic orientation and life concepts began to acquire several meanings, versions, which were not related to one another and by leaps and bounds destroyed a former picture of the world, while introducing into consciousness such destructive phenomena, as inconsistency and instability.
Some western experts highlight the certain layer of the population from the general mass of media product consumers, which surely trust mass media. They number them approximately at 10-15 percent.
The concept of “trustfulness” in Central Asia, as much as in some other Asian regions, emanate from information direction, or rather, the following question comes first: from whom the information originates? If this information emanates from its own society and it is mentally, or rather, even is horizontally, adapted, it can be trusted and one can follow its recommendation.
If mass media, especially television doesn`t consider a psychological spirit of this social group, then occurs the rejection of such media product.
Political elite and intellectuals in Central Asian countries strive to introduce modern style of life into traditionally Muslim way of life, imposed by information communication tendencies of development. Another question is: how to make it most effectively? To precipitate transition from one social structure to another, in our opinion, the modern technologies will help. In this, I would like to draw your attention to new technical achievements in electronic mass media.
It should be noted that new mass media technologies depend on how the media market of the future will be established, and not lastly its Central Asian segment, while considering its greater appeal both in geopolitics of states and commercial prospect on the quantitative market of consumers.
To form the media market in Central Asia, as well as to enhance the technology of telecommunication space, it would be urgent to establish cooperation between mass media, exchange the latest news information, train the skilled cadres in the framework of regional media organization. Also, it would be no less urgent to create the Central Asian media-alliance with the support of one international organization or another with their interests in the region on already existing models of European cooperation and integration activities, including the communication sphere.
World mass media market and prospects of the Central Asian information field
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