Broadcasting and globe

Broadcasting a global view
When you think of broadcasting, you picture radio and television as you know them. Radio means mostly music and DJs, with an occasional all-news station or talk show thrown in for variety. Television means daytime drama, sitcoms (situation comedies), adventure shows, game shows, and newscasts-all punctuated by frequent commercials. Large cities usually have at least one chan­nel devoted to cultural and educational programs. But what does broadcasting mean to the rest of the world? What would you find if you became a world traveler armed with a radio and television set?
Nowhere in your travels would you find the variety of choice you take for granted in the United States. You would not find AM and FM radio jammed with dozens or even hundreds of sta­tions-often you would find only one station. In many parts of the world, you would find television stations that broadcast only late
in the afternoon and leave the air before midnight. You would even find some radio stations that operate only in morning, afternoon, or nighttime segments.
In many European nations and Canada, you would find more cultural and educational programming than in the United States. These governments feel that advertising should not determine programming content. The British Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), for example, carries no advertising and is supported by a tax paid every time a TV set or radio is purchased. Great Britain, however, does have commercial radio and television with pro­grams similar to those in the United States. In fact, some American series have been successful in England and, conversely, some English programs have proven popular in the United States. The same holds true for Canada.
Some countries establish offices or commissions to act as a kind of "nutritionist" for the national diet of TV and radio. They aim for a balanced diet of programs, without what they view as
Small countries that strive to provide balanced programmir.-g know that viewers want entertainment, but producing TV shows is expensive. So they buy U. S. television shows dubbed into the appropriate language. Government leaders may find American val­ues inconsistent with their own national values; nevertheless some American TV shows, such as "Dallas," the "Bill Cosby Show. and "Miami Vice," are popular in many countries.
We think of broadcasting primarily as a source of entertain­ment, but much of the world knows that broadcasting means power. In many Communist and third world nations, all broadcast­ing is controlled by the government. In fact, governments own and operate most of the world's radio and television stations. In your travels, you would find many radio transmitters guarded by high fences and machine guns. In some third world countries, the government controls both the military and the broadcast transmit­ters. In newspaper accounts of attempts to overthrow govern­ments, you may read a sentence such as, "Rebels launch a coup to overthrow General (insert name of current dictator) by seizing the radio transmitter." They seize control not because they object to the local DJ but because they know the radio is a way to com­municate with the people; it is the nation's electronic drum.
Governments who own broadcasting outlets use the stations to encourage patriotism and to control news. They know that con­trol of broadcasting means control of minds. You may find pr~ gramming in such countries rather dull-programs promote good citizenship rather than provide entertainment. Since the government owns all broadcasting, there is no competition and thus no incentive to provide "what the people want." Instead, the pro­grams are what government officials deem "good for our people."
In the Soviet Union, there are about 350 television sets for every 1,000 people; in the United States, the figure is about 650 sets per thousand. Part of the difference is economic and reflects problems in production and distribution, but another reason is that programming is not attractive, so many people are not moti­vated to buy sets. Soviet television has become increasingly sophisticated and does pay some attention to popular tastes, but it is far more serious and less varied than American television.