Natalie Gonzalez’s discussion

1. After reading and discussing Stevenson’s (1992) in class, international communication is the analysis and comparison of two or more countries based on their culture, influences, and information that they spread from one country to another. Stevenson states that international communication “in terms of (1) a focal variable, which is some aspect of communication, (2) a unit of analysis that can range from the individual to the entire globe, and (3) the delineation of national or cultural boundaries, in most studies, provide the basis for comparison or explanation,” (Stevenson, 1992, p. 549).
 
2. I believe that the study of world media systems fit into international communication because we can study media systems around the world and learn about how the media systems run through each country. Also, world media systems fit in international communications because when using the media, a country can spread their ideas, culture, and influences to other countries around the world through forms of newspapers, televisions, radio, etc. Another reason that I believe the study of world media systems fits is because of the ability to have a comparison analysis about the way each country uses the media systems they have and the issues that occur both inside and outside of their media systems.
 
3. There are many pervading issues that make the news within the countries of the United States, Cuba, and Ghana. In Cuba, the main pervading issues within the media are racial segregation and racial inequality. For example, Cuba animalized blacks in newspapers by making them look like monkeys. Not only did this occur in Cuban media, but also white-washed many famous black Cubans, such as Antonio Maceo, by giving him more European facial features and a lighter skin tone after studying his skull once he was dead. In Ghana, one of the main pervading issues is free speech and giving the ability to have people within the media say what they want.  Private and State medias are constantly challenging each other since the private media is covering all of the topics that the State media doesn’t want to send to the public to see. The USA also has a pervading issue of being a dominant influence around the world by depicting this perfect image through the use of propaganda.  
 
4. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk on The Danger of a Single Story helped me think about how to write about media systems in the Global South by being cautious about stereotyping and the lack of diversity within education. First, the idea of stereotyping because she mentioned in her talk about how when she met her roommate in America, she was stunned by her education levels, ability to speak English, etc. This relates to the idea of how the world stereotypes other countries and the people within those countries to be a part of that stereotype. The stereotypes that the media has placed on these countries is also what happens within education systems around the world. Adichie also mentions that when she was young, she only read books about white people since they were easy to access. This leads to the idea of how Anglo-American Dominance can take over the world and need to consider the correct representation of the country by asking about those who live there about the topic I would be writing about.