Brand Power and State Power: Rise of the New Media Networks in East Asia
Author(s)
Atkins, William
Abstract
During the 1990’s, digital technology and global deregulatory forces have facilitated the restructuring of East Asia’s mediascape, resulting in complex, internationalized relationships within the regional political economy. Transnational media corporations – such as AOL Time Warner and News Corporation – are negotiating strategically important positions in regional distribution and branded content markets in the pursuit of “consumer segments” that form the basis of multiplatform, mass media customer relationships. In the early phase of the internationalization process, there were expectations that one result would be a more liberalized media discourse environment – eroding authoritarian governments’ capacity to control information flows. Evidence to support this contention is unconvincing. Information-sensitive states, notably China, have developed strategies to mediate the distribution of mass information – often in partnership with compliant local entrepreneurs and the international media corporations that may also benefit from uncontroversial customer relationships.
