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Revolutionary Media: 

 The eleventh chapter of Robert L. Stevenson’s Global Communication in the Twenty-First Century explores the effects of communication as driving forces in revolutionary movements of the past thirty years.  According to him, we are currently in the midst of the third communication revolution, the first coming after the invention of inexpensive printing with moveable type and the second being the events surrounding the American and French Revolutions. 

Stevenson makes an interesting point when he writes, “Revolutionary information usually reaches a small elite of people sufficiently motivated to seek it out or willing to take the chance of getting caught passing it on, but that can be enough.  Most revolutions are put together by small groups of elites”(Stevenson 264).  An interesting idea is the impetus that causes these elites to revolt. 

 This presentation will focus on several revolutionary movements of the past thirty years including the Polish Revolution led by shipyard worker Lech Walesa, the Black Panther Party in the United States, the Senderos Luminosos (Shining Paths) of Peru and the life of the Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara.   I want to show the similarities and differences among the different revolutions and their revolutionary leaders. 
 

Annotated Bibliography 

Altschull, Herbert J.  “The Advancing Press: Peru.”  Agents of Power: The Media and Public Policy.   White Plains, New York: Longman Publishing Group (1995): 267-289. 

This chapter by Altschull gives a historical account of the advancement of the Peruvian media system, with a specific focus on journalists and newspapers.  The focus is on the revolutionary press experiment in Peru that began after the coup on October 3, 1968 in which General Velasco Alvarado wrested power from President Belaunde Terry.  The chapter also speaks, to some length, of the militant peasant group called Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) and their attempts to disband the remnants of the feudal system still present in the country. 

Goetz-Stankiewicz, Marketa. Good-bye, Samizdat: Twenty Years of Czechoslovak Underground Writing.  Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press (1992). 

This book looks at many years of underground writing in the Czech Republic during the communist regime.  The idea of Samizdat, which means self-publishing in Russian, was used as a vehicle for the oppressed people of the Iron Curtain to express their ideas and critique the government. 

Des Forbes, Roger V.: Ning, Luo; Yen-bo, Wu.  Chinese Democracy and the Crisis of 1989: Chinese and American Reflections.  Albany, New York: State University of New York Press (1993). 

This text gives the account of the student revolutions of China in 1989.  It talks about the speed in which the student activists were able to organize.  The ingenuity of the students to use new forms of mass communication such as fax machines allowed for the seven-week demonstrations that eventually led to the intense brutality of Tiananmen Square. 

Curry, Jane Leftwich.  The Black Book of Polish Censorship.  New York: Random House (1984). 

The book talks about the Polish press system under communism.  For over thirty years Poles lived with media that could not answer or address their questions or concerns because they were either lied to or told only a part of the truth.  The journalists and editors themselves understood their limitations and imposed self-censorship in order to maintain their status and livelihood. 

Stevenson, Robert L.  Global Communication in the Twenty-First Century.  New York: Longman Publishing Group (1994): 261-285, Revolutionary Media. 

The chapter by Stevenson explores the role of mass communication in the past revolutionary movements.  According to Stevenson, the revolutionary concept of the press is less concerned with the rise of information as a replacement for political and economic power than with its utility as a tool in old-fashioned political revolutions.  In this chapter, he discusses the Polish media system as a communist function, with Samizdat publications, through the rise of Solidarity and the subsequent democratization of the country. 

Ash, Timothy Garton.  The Polish Revolution: Solidarity.  New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons (1983). 

The book relates the Polish Solidarity Revolution of 1980 began by the shipyard worker Lech Walesa.  This relatively bloodless movement not only eventually led to Poland’s democracy in the early 1990s but, during the rise of Solidarity, led to a decrease in suicides and alcohol consumption among the Polish people 

Meerson-Aksenov, Michael; Shragin, Boris.  The Political, Social and Religious Thought Of Russian “Samizdat”- An Anthology.  Belmont, Massachusetts: Nordland Publishing Company (1977). 

The book discusses the role and state of Samizdat in Russia.  Samizdat has existed since the times of Czar Ivan the terrible.  It was a social consciousness tool, used to awaken a will for independent journalism and the right to judge the truth. 

Ryan, Henry Butterfield.  The Fall of Che Guevara: A Story of Soldiers, Spies, and Diplomats.  New York: Oxford University Press (1998). 

The book accounts the events of Che Guevara’s life and the responses they received from the American government.  The decidedly pro-American viewpoints in this book attempt to portray Guevara’s insistence of America as his primary enemy as paranoia.  This text also discusses the significant role he played in the Cuban Revolution. 

Waters, Mary Alice.  The Bolivian Diary of Ernesto Che Guevara.  New York: Pathfinder Press (1994). 

This is the diary kept by Che Guevara during his rise in Bolivia and his interests in the Cuban Revolution.  He wanted to end the imperialism imposed by the United States against Latin America by leading a country in a fight against the States. 

http://www.bobbyseale.com/posters/v4n12-2-21-70.jpg 

This website provides front cover pictures of the Black Panther Party newspaper.  This will give the class the idea of the primary focuses of the Black Panther movement. 

http://www.village.com/features/9847/noel.shmtl 

Stokely Carmichael, influential 1960s black power activist recently died from prostate cancer.  I thought this was interesting since this event fell so closely to my presentation time.  I want to add it in the presentation to give more relevance to the ideas of the leaders of the movement. 

http://cs.oberlin.edu/students/pjaques/etext/bpp-program.html 

This website provides the platform for the Black Panther Party as it existed on October 1966.  Every issue of the platform begins with either WE WANT or WE BELIEVE.  The Party was interested in the welfare of the entire black community. 

Gorriti, Gustavo.  “Living Dangerously: Issues of Peruvian Press Freedom.”  Journal of International Affairs.  Summer 1993 (vol. 47, no. 1): 223-241. 

This article explores the precarious relationship between the Peruvian media and the government.  Wealthy families have run the majority of Peruvian mass media sympathetic to the government regime which put limits on what they were allowed to say or publish.  But, Gorriti sites independent papers as making a push towards a more free press. 

Gross, Peter.  Mass Media in Revolution and National Development: The Romanian Laboratory.  Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press (1996). 

This text looks at mass media in revolution and the role of the underground press and the political police, which are important ideas for this presentation.  Romania under the guise of Ceausescu is the focus of this book. 

 Developmental media, development journalism or development communication, no matter what one calls it, there is a common theme that runs through them all.  "It is the belief that communications, mass media and especially telecommunication, can stimulate economic growth and political stability (Stevenson, 1994, p. 231)."  Nevertheless, what is development media? 

According to Edeani, "Development Journalism is the kind of journalism that pays sustained attention to the coverage of ideas, policies, programs, activities and events dealing with the improvement of the life of people (Edeani, p. 126).  Kunczik says that "Development journalism is a notion of journalism according to which reporting events of national and international significance should be constructive in the sense it that it contributes positively to the development of the country concerned (Edeani, p.126)."  Along with these there is Cees Hamelik's notion of a "People's Media" whose aspiration is development through self-empowerment (p.142). 

Yet even with all these idealistic visions of purpose, there is no escaping the fact that there is a blurry line separating Development media from Authoritarian media, and sometimes the line is invisible.  In most of the countries that we have studied that practice some form of Development media, there is a strong government control over journalism.  Development is rarely the only aim of the media system at work and it could be classified as Authoritarian. 

According to Stevenson, Development media concept came about as an offshoot of the problems facing the recently independent nations of Asia and Africa could be fought with the same techniques used in the United States.  Along with this existing program, three scholars, Rostow, Lerner and Scharamm helped to solidify and really create the ideals and ideas behind Development media (Stevenson, p. 232). 

W. Walt Rostow argued in his book, The Stages of Economic Growth, that developing nations could repeat the economic success of Western countries on a much more rapid scale through the use of mass media.  Not long after Rostow's book, Daniel Lerner introduced his semi-theory known as the "Dominant Paradigm."  In it a theoretical model was laid out on how mass communication and mass media could stimulate social change.  Several years later Wilbur Schramm released his book that expressed the thoughts that though mass media and mass communication can be used to speed development toward economical and political stability,  it will not change traditional values or a culture overnight (Stevenson, p. 234). 

Not everyone agrees with Stevenson's outlook on Development media. In his essay "Books on Global Communication Become a Philosophical Tussle between the Right and the Left," Shelton Gunaratne criticizes Stevenson's arguments saying, "It appears that Stevenson is arguing based on equivocation or false analogy to claim victory for Western journalism (p.3)."  As far as the failure of Development journalism, Gunaratne points out, "that the social responsibility theory provides the most fertile ground for reaping the full potential of development journalism (3)." 

In our presentation, we will take a deeper look into the role that development media has played in countries like Nigeria and India, and the success of Radio Gambia's Mass Media Infant Health Project and the future of Development media, the Internet. 

Bibliography 

Adam, Lishan, "Africa on the line?" 
 http://www.fao.rog/WAICENT/FAOINFO/SUSDEV/Dodirect/DoengB04.htm 
accessed: 11/20/97 

All India Radio Web Page (introduction). Http://www.allindiaradio.org/introfrl.htm 
accessed: 11/22/97 

 Ansah, P. A. Broadcasting and National Development.  Tema, Ghana.  Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.  1985. 

Awasthy, G. Broadcasting in India.  Bombay, India.  Allied Publishers. (1965). 

Bie, Stein, "Development Communication and Internet: Introduction." 
 http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/SUSDEV/Cddirect/CDDO/intro.htm 
 accessed: 11/20/97. 

Edeani, David, "Role of development journalism in Nigeria's development." Gazette Vol. 52, 1993, pp. 123-143. 

Ekorido, Moffat, "Africa's Beleaguered Giant," World Press Review March 1997 pp. 18-19. 

Hamelik, Cees. World Communication London, UK. Zed Books, 1995. 

"Indian Broadcasting - a government free zone?" BBC Summary of World Broadcasts November 7, 1997.  Accessed via Lexis-Nexis. 

Microsoft Encarta ‘95 CD ROM. 

"Paper comments on new autonomy for AIR."  Doordarshan.  Hindustani, Delhi, India. 
 September 16, 1997. 

Pritish Nandy Communications Web Page (Profile). 
 http://www.indiawatch.org/pnc/profile.htm.  Accessed: 11/15/97. 

Puri, Shamal, "‘Difficult Times Lie Ahead,'" IPI Report January, 1994.  pp. 23-26. 

 Richardson, Don, "The Internet and Rural Development: Recommended for Strategy And Activity."  http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAINFO/SUSDEV/Cddirect/CDDO/chapter1. 
 http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAINFO/SUSDEV/Cddirect/CDDO/chapter2. Accessed: 11/20/97. 

 Stevenson, Robert L.   Global Communication in the Twenty-First Century New York: Longman 1994 

Sussman, Gerald & John A. Lent ed. Transitional Communication - Wiring the Third World.  Newbury Park, CA.  Sage Publications.  1991. 

Videsh Sanchar Nigam Web Page (profile). 
 http://www.indiawatch.org.in/vsnl/profile.htm.  Accessed:11/15/97 

Videsh Sanchar Nigam Web Page (structure). 
 http://www.indiawatch.org.in/vsnl/structure.htm.  Accessed:11/15/97 

Wendell, George ed. Making Broadcasting Useful: The Africa Experience.  Manchester, UK. Manchester University Press.  1986.