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MacBride commission-one voice many nations-NWICO

The MacBride Report was published in 1980 by the International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems, chaired by Sean MacBride. The report analyzed issues with the modern mass media landscape, such as the concentration of media power in Western countries. It made 82 recommendations to establish a new world information and communication order with more equitable flows of information between developed and developing nations. However, the report's recommendations were controversial and led Western countries like the US and UK to withdraw from UNESCO.

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MacBride Report
MacBride?  The MacBride Commission named for its president Sean MacBride, former President of Ireland.  Official Chair for UNESCO's International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems.
“Many Voices One World”  Known as the MacBride report  Published by UNESCO in 1980  Written by ICSCP.  82 suggestions named ‘ManyVoices, One World’,  72 suggestions were passed unanimously  10 were opposed by several countries  Aim: To analyze communication problems in modern societies, particularly relating to mass media and news, and to suggest a new communication order to solve these problems to further peace and human development.
“Many Voices One World”  Offers a brilliant analysis of the history and evolution of communications  Focus on media concentration and media domination by western media  Includes a remarkable insight into the emergence of peer-to-peer and grassroots communications.  Evoked a storm of criticism from western media  Was a catalyst in the decision of the U.S. and U.K. to leave UNESCO
ICSCP International Commissionforthe Studyof Communication Problems  Formed as per the decision of the 1976 General Conference of UNESCO.  16-member commission  Met 8 times at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris for facilitating discussion among its members.  Organised 4 round table discussions in Sweden,Yugoslavia, India and Mexico  Comprised experts representing world's diverse ideological, political, economic and geographical zones.
History NWICO NewWorld Information & Communication Order  Political proposal concerning media and communication issues emerging from international debates in the late 1970s.  The term originated in discussions within the Non‐Aligned Movement (NAM), following the proposal for a “new international economic order.”
NAM NonAligned Movement  International organization dedicated to representing the interests and aspirations of developing countries.  Emerged in the context of the wave of decolonization that followed World War II  It had 25 members; today, NAM comprises of 120 countries and 17 observers  India is founding member of NAM  During ColdWar, countries of the developing world should abstain from allying with the United States and the U.S.S.R. and should instead join together in support of national self-determination against all forms of colonialism and imperialism.
History NWICO NewWorld Information & Communication Order  Beginning in the 1960s, US was trying to maintain the “free flow of information” as a core principle in international communications-Governing Global communications  'Oneway free flow’- imbalances and inequalities.  Eg: At the time ofWorldWar II, the British network of sea cables connected Australia, Canada, China, India, and SouthAfrica to the imperial center and established a communications monopoly;  British (Reuters) and French (Haves/French Information Office) press agencies controlled news flows to and from their colonies.
 ThirdWorld countries encouraged by the movement of Non- Aligned Countries (NAM), protest against the global leadership of the Western News Agency ( AP, AFP and REUTER)  These agencies were perceived as controlling up to 95% of worldwide information flows.  They were practicing cultural imperialism through their control of communication infrastructure, news circulation, cultural products, educational software, books, films, equipment, and training. History
New International Information Order (NIIO)  It was the idea that communicators, in order to authentically contribute to cultural and social understanding, must first serve social and cultural development.  New International Information Order (NIIO) appeared during the 1970;s as a result of what they are perceived as their disadvantages situation in the field of information and communication.
 NWICO grew out of the New International Economic Order of 1974.  From 1976-1978, the NewWorld Information and Communication Order was generally called the shorter New World Information Order or the New International Information Order.  The start of this discussion is the New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) as associated with the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) starting from the early 1970s. History NWICO NewWorld Information & Communication Order
History NWICO NewWorld Information & Communication Order  So NWICO became the expression of the aspirations of many countries to democratize the international communication system and rebalance information flows worldwide.  UNESCO played a major role in fostering the debate especially through the work of an independent commission chaired by Irish diplomat Sean MacBride  This was known as MacBride Commission, they came out with a report in 1980 “ManyVoices, One World”.
Some of the main concerns of NWICO were:  Broadcast mass media was dominated by few developed countries America, England and France mainly.  One-sided flow of information from developed countries to poorer countries. Very little news flowed the other way, and often news about developing countries was distorted or rejected by media houses. Thus these countries were not represented in the media broadcasts.  These poor populations saw mostly American channels and were influenced by it. Their culture was not reflected in the media thus there were culture shocks, disparities and trends in developing countries started aping the ‘west’.
 Most of the radio frequency almost 90% of the band was taken by the US! It was mainly used for military purposes.  The developed countries were quickly sending satellites in space, and taking up the few positions in space where it is cheap and easy to keep satellites. In a few years when developing countries would need to send satellites these places would be filled up making it even more difficult for them to bridge the gap.  Many of these satellites sent up had military, commercial and analytic abilities which allowed the developed nation to figure out natural resources of poorer countries
MacBride commission report  The members of the commission were media dignitaries of several countries and experts in various operational streams of the media.  This commission was created under the support of the UNESCO  Report considers the complaints of the NAM nations about the defect in the system of international news transfer.  It tried to analyse the problems related to the world communication  It tried to define the issues that formed the bases of conflict between the eastern and western nation in the field of transnational communication  The report is not a consensus but only a text.
Recommendation by MacBride Commission I. New world information and communication order could be based, among other considerations, on: • Elimination of the imbalances and inequalities in flow of information in present situation. • Removal of the internal and external obstacles to a free flow and wider and better balanced dissemination of information and ideas. • Plurality of sources and channels of information. • Freedom of the press and information. • Freedom of journalists and all professionals in the communication media, a freedom inseparable from responsibility process.
• The capacity of developing countries to achieve improvement of their own situations, by improving their infrastructures and by making their information and communication media suitable to their needs and aspirations; • Respect for each people's cultural identity and for the right of each nation to inform the world public about its interests, its aspirations and its social and cultural values. • Respect for the right of all peoples to participate in international exchanges of information on the basis of equality, justice and mutual benefit. • Respect for the right of the public, of ethnic and social groups and of individuals to have access to information sources and to participate actively in the communication
II. This new world information and communication order should be based on the fundamental principles of international law, as laid down in the Charter of the United Nations. III. Diverse solutions to information and communication problems are required because social, political, cultural and economic problems differ from one country to another and, within a given country, from one group to another
 The MacBride Commission's recommendations and the resolution given above are of nonnative chapter only; nothing in these is binding on the member countries.  In brief, the establishment of the NWICO depended upon five major factors: (a) The will of the developed and developing countries to bring about changes in all areas of communication within their respective regions; (b) Cooperation between the developed and developing nations for removing all obstacles to a two-way and balanced flow of news and information among nations;
(c) Sharing of communication resources, including technologies, for countering monopoly of the international news flow by a few; (d) Cooperation among the developing countries to correct imbalances with their own regions by increasing horizontal flows and (e) Cooperation between the media, for mobilization of resources to strengthen communication infrastructure.
Conclusion  The MacBride Report was written in a much different global context than we witness today  The MacBride Report, and the call for a “new world information and communication order” created a huge political reaction  As a result of the MacBride report, UNESCO launched the “International Programme for the Development of Communication” (IPDC)  MacBride Commission wanted to stop media monopoly. They tried to build a world where information flow will be two way not one way.
  MacBride Commission had a noble intention to make world communication system better and more participatory  In that time MacBride Commission Report created a movement all over the world, though the movement didn’t succeed, it has enormous historical value.