Identificación de los posibles sitios de inicio de la transcripción

B-22. In addition to the explosion of informational technologies in the 20th century being relatively recent, the diffusion of such technologies has been uneven. Technological developments typically spread from the developed and democratic world outward with corresponding political effects on access to information and democratization. Authoritarian regimes severely curtail or influence some media in their countries.

Canadian Networks and Stations

B-23. In Canada, there are a number of national networks, including three main networks for English Canada. One, CBC Television, is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, a government-funded Crown corporation. The other two, CTV and Global, are privately run. The private networks usually use most of their prime-time hours to rebroadcast U.S. shows, while the CBC airs more Canadian programming. Citytv, CH, and A-channel are private systems whose stations have a somewhat enhanced local focus. These stations do not reach all of Canada. In French Canada, particularly Quebec, the main networks are the CBC-owned Télévision de Radio-Canada and private networks TVA and TQS.

United States Networks and Stations

B-24. In the United States, the three traditional commercial TV networks (American Broadcasting Companies [ABC], CBS, and National Broadcasting Company [NBC]) provide prime-time programs for their affiliate stations to air from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Sunday. Most stations procure other programming, often syndicated, for off prime-time periods. Four newer broadcasting networks, FOX, the CW, ION, and My Network TV do not provide the same amount of network programming as do the traditional three networks. Over the past 30 years, cable and satellite TV have come to provide most homes with dozens or even hundreds of TV services.

Latin American Networks and Stations

B-25. More than 500 TV stations exist in Latin America. There are more than 60 million TVs in that same

financial and political troubles that occurred between the mid-1970s and the early 1990s, TV networks in some countries of this region had a more irregular development than did those of North American and European networks. In countries like Mexico or Brazil, one or two networks claim almost all the audience.

In other countries, like Colombia, TV broadcasting had historically been state-dominated until the 1990s. In countries like Nicaragua or Peru, TV has had a troubled history.

European Networks and Stations

B-26. In much of Europe, TV broadcasting has historically been state-dominated rather than commercially organized, although commercial stations have grown in number recently. In the UK, the major national broadcaster is the BBC, which is funded by a television license granted by royal charter. Commercial TV is provided by Independent Television (ITV), Channels 4 and 5, as well as the satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting. BBC1, BBC2, ITV, and Channels 4 and 5 are broadcast on analog terrestrial TV. An abundance of new broadcasters and channels have changed the market over the last few years, giving viewers a level of choice previously associated only with the United States.

B-27. Other leading European networks include SVT, Sweden; RAI, Italy; TF1, M6, and France Télévisions, France; ARD, Germany; ORF, Austria; ERT, Greece; YLE, MTV3, and Nelonen, Finland;

RTE, Ireland; TVP, Poland; RTP, Portugal; TVR, Romania; TVE, Spain; RTV Slovenija, Slovenia; HRT, Croatia; and BNT, BTV, and Nova Televizia, Bulgaria. The largest commercial European broadcaster is the Luxembourg-based RTL Group. There are now also a few Europe-wide networks.

Asian Networks and Stations

B-28. In Asia, TV has traditionally been state-controlled, although the number of private stations is increasing, as is competition from satellite TV. Japan’s NHK is a noncommercial network similar to the BBC funded by a TV license fee. NHK has more editorial independence over news and current affairs than broadcasters like India’s state-run Doordarshan or China’s China Central Television. From 2000 onward, India has encouraged development of new private stations. Star TV based in Hong Kong has expanded to other areas recently. The number of private broadcasters is increasing in some countries. For example, in 2004 Indonesia had 10 private national stations compared to only 1 in 1989.

Middle East Networks and Stations

B-29. Similarly in the Middle East, TV has been heavily state-controlled, with considerable censorship of both news coverage and entertainment—particularly that imported from the West. The increasing availability of satellite TV has eroded control over this medium, and the number of satellite channels in Arabic is second only to the number of satellite channels in English. The best known satellite channel in Arabic is the Qatar-based news service Al Jazeera.

African Networks and Stations

B-30. Despite being the most economically advanced country on the continent, South Africa did not introduce TV until 1976 because of opposition from the apartheid regime. Nigeria was one of the first countries in Africa to introduce TV in 1959. Zimbabwe followed (then Rhodesia) in 1961. Zanzibar was the first area in Africa to introduce color TV in 1973 (although mainland Tanzania did not introduce TV until 1994). The main satellite TV providers are the South African Multichoice Digital Satellite Television service and the predominantly French language Canal Horizons, which France’s Canal Plus owns.

Australian and New Zealand Networks and Stations

B-31. Australian TV began in 1956, just in time for the Melbourne Olympics. Australia has three nationwide metropolitan commercial networks (Seven, Nine, and Ten), as well as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, a government-owned, commercial-free network, and the Special Broadcasting Service, a commercial-supported, multilingual, government-owned station. The Australian Broadcasting Authority has also issued licenses to community groups to establish community TV stations in most capital cities on the ultrahigh frequency (UHF) Channel 31. In regional and rural areas, numerous commercial

stations are affiliated with one of the three metropolitan networks and carry programming generally indistinguishable from those in the cities.

B-32. The New Zealand government owns two TV networks: Television One and TV2. Other, purely commercial networks include TV3 (owned by a Canadian media company), Prime Television (Australia), Sky Network Television, and a New Zealand government-funded Maori Television Service.

F

B-33. The making and showing of motion pictures became a source of profit almost at their invention. The film industry today spans the globe. There is also a large industry for educational and instructional films made in lieu of or in addition to lectures and texts. The major business centers of filmmaking are concentrated in India, the United States, China, and Nigeria. However, most developed nations have their own film industries.

B-34. Much like American popular music, American cinema has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. During the 1930s and 1940s, big studios dominated American cinema. These studios virtually monopolized the production and distribution of film. The costs inherent in big-budget studio film production were also a hurdle to being able to produce, direct, or star in a traditional studio film. Production costs also led to conservative choices in content. Following technological advances and antitrust legislation, the big studios no longer enjoy such monopoly power. Hollywood, California, remains the primary nexus of the U.S. film industry, but today independent filmmaking often takes place outside of Hollywood and major studio systems.

B-35. With the advent of consumer camcorders in 1985 and the arrival of high-resolution digital video (DV) in the early 1990s, the technology barrier to movie production has been drastically lowered. Since the introduction of DV technology, filmmakers can conceivably shoot and edit a movie, create and edit the sound and music, and mix the final cut on a home computer. DVDs, professional-grade video connections, nonlinear editing systems, and other new technologies make moviemaking relatively inexpensive.

However, while the democratization of production has occurred, financing, distribution, and marketing remain difficult to accomplish outside the traditional system. Most independent filmmakers rely on film festivals to get their films noticed and sold for distribution.

B-36. The Indian film industry is multilingual and the largest in the world in terms of number of annual movie releases and annual (domestic) ticket sales. Indian films have been gaining popularity in the rest of the world, especially in countries with large numbers of expatriate Indians. India’s film industry is mostly concentrated in Bombay and is commonly referred to as “Bollywood.” However, there are several smaller centers of Indian film industries in regional languages (Bollywood is largely in Hindi) centered in the states in which those languages are spoken.

B-37. Hong Kong, China, is a filmmaking hub for the Chinese-speaking world (including the worldwide Chinese diaspora) and East Asia in general. For decades, Hong Kong was the third-largest motion picture industry in the world (after India and Hollywood) and the second-largest exporter. Despite a return to Chinese sovereignty in July 1997, Hong Kong film retains much of its distinctive identity and continues to play a prominent part on the world cinematic stage. Unlike many film industries, Hong Kong enjoys little to no direct government support, through either subsidies or import quotas. It has always been a thoroughly commercial cinema, concentrating on crowd-pleasing genres, like comedy and action, and relying heavily on formulas, sequels, and remakes.

B-38. The cinema of Nigeria is a developing industry that has become increasingly productive in recent years. Although Nigeria has been producing films since the 1960s, the rise of digital cinema has resulted in a rapidly growing video film industry. The Nigerian video feature film industry is colloquially known as

“Nollywood.” Nigeria has a multibillion-dollar movie industry, churning out some 200 home videos every month to become the third largest in the world after the United States and India. In just over a decade, Nollywood has grown from nothing into an industry that employs thousands of people.

B-39. Nollywood has no studios in the Hollywood sense. Filmmakers shoot movies in locations all over Nigeria. Nigerian directors adopt new technologies as soon as they become affordable. Bulky videotape

cameras. Film industry personnel accomplish editing, music, and other postproduction work with common computer-based systems.

B-40. Currently, Nigerian films outsell Hollywood films in Nigeria and many other African countries.

Some 300 producers churn out 1,000 and 2,000 new titles per year. The films go straight to DVDs and video compact discs. The industry delivers 30 new titles to Nigerian shops and market stalls every week, where an average film sells 50,000 copies. A hit may sell several hundred thousand. Discs sell for two dollars each, making them affordable for most Nigerians and providing astounding returns for the producers. Nigerian video movies are available in even the most remote areas of the continent, and Nollywood films are growing in popularity among the African communities in both Europe and North America. The content of the Nigerian film industry is primarily commercially oriented, but includes Christian- and Muslim-themed work as well.

I

B-41. The Internet is “a network of networks.” Specifically, it is the worldwide, publicly accessible network of interconnected computer networks. This network transmits data by packet switching using the standard Internet protocol. It consists of millions of smaller domestic, academic, business, and governmental networks, which together carry various information and services, such as email, online chat, file transfer, and the interlinked Web pages and other documents of the World Wide Web. Contrary to common usage, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not synonymous: the Internet is a collection of interconnected computer networks, linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections, and so on; the Web is a collection of interconnected documents linked by hyperlinks and uniform resource locators (URLs). The World Wide Web is accessible via the Internet.

B-42. Toward the end of the 20th century, the advent of the World Wide Web marked the first era in which any individual could have a means of exposure on a scale comparable to that of mass media. For the first time, anyone with a Web site can address a global audience, although serving to high levels of Web traffic is still relatively expensive. It is possible that the rise of peer-to-peer technologies will drive the cost of bandwidth down. Although a vast amount of information, imagery, and commentary (content) is available, it is often difficult to determine the authenticity and reliability of information contained in Web pages. In many cases, Web pages are self-published, and practically anyone can create a Web page. The invention of the Internet has also allowed breaking news stories to reach around the globe within minutes. This rapid growth of instantaneous, decentralized communication is likely to change mass media and its relationship to society.

B-43. An estimated 16 percent of the world population has access to the Internet with the highest concentration in North America (68.6 percent), Oceania/Australia (52.6 percent), and Europe (36.1 percent). In terms of broadband access, countries such as Iceland (26.7 percent), South Korea (25.4 percent), and the Netherlands (25.3 percent) lead the world. While Internet use is growing worldwide, some governments—such as those of Iran, the People’s Republic of China, and Cuba—restrict what people in their countries can access on the Internet, especially political and religious content. The countries accomplish this restriction through content-control software that filters domains and content. This makes them difficult to access or obtain without elaborate circumvention. In Norway, Finland, and Sweden, major Internet service providers have voluntarily agreed to restrict access to sites listed by police. Although this list of forbidden URLs is only supposed to contain addresses of known child pornography sites, content of the list is secret. Many states have enacted laws making the possession or distribution of certain material illegal but do not use filtering software. Most governments and businesses, among others, use firewalls that restrict access to many sites to protect against cyberterrorism or cybercrime.