This document is downloaded from DR-NTU, Nanyang Technological University Library, Singapore.

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1 This document is downloaded from DR-NTU, Nanyang Technological University Library, Singapore. Title Cultural empathy and a free and balanced flow of information Author(s) Dissanayake, J. B. Citation Dissanayake, J. B. (1987). Cultural empathy and a free and balanced flow of information. In AMIC Workshop on Communication Challenges : Colombo, Mar 16-17, Singapore: Asian Mass Communication Research and Information Centre. Date 1987 URL Rights

2 Cultural Empathy And A Free And Balanced Flow Of Information By J B Dissanayake Paper No.2

3 MEDIA WORKSHOP r? ON COMMLNICATION CHALLENGES IN SRI LANKA Organised by AMIC/WACC/SLFI/SLTTI CULTURAL EMPATHY AND A FREE AND BALANCED FLOW OF INFORMATION By Prof. J.B. Dissanayake Head of Sinhala Department University of Colombo Sri Lanka Foundation Institute 16-17th March, 1987

4 CULTURAL EMPATHY AND A FREE AND BALANCED FLOW OF INFORMATION By J.B. Dissanayoke Of the values that this series of seminars on 'Communication Values in Asia' has chosen for discussion, Tree and Balanced Flow of Information and Communication' end c Cultural Empathy' form two of the most fundamental in the Asian context. This lecture, being the first of the series of lectures to be- held in Colombo, will focus its attention mainly on the 'Free and Balanced Flow of Information c. 'Cultural Empathy', which implies an understanding of one's own culture and an appreciation of another's, will, however, be touched upon only marginally. In no field is the value of Tree and Balanced 1 flow of information more relevant than in the field of culture. This is specifically due to the fact the culture and communication are inextricably inter-related. The renewed emphasis, first, on a free and later, on a balanced flow of information, is undoubtedly the result of the efforts of the Non-alligned nations, in the seventies, to bring about a New International Economic Order. In the deliberations of the several summit conferences of the Non-alligned nations, held during the last decade, more and more attention was paid to the New Order of Information as a sine qua non of the envisaged International Economic Order. The two most crucial features that were chosen for emphasis were the 'free flow' and the 'balanced flow' of information. The need for a new Order of Information implied that the Old Order" was incapable of delivering the goods, as it were, to the satisfaction of the Third World. Firstly, the flow.of

5 information within the old order was anything but 'free': for innumerable were the obstacles and limitations that hindered one's access to information and knowledge. Censorship, of whatever brand, for example, denied one's right to be informed of all the facts relevant to an issue. Secondly, the flow of information within the Old Order was anything but balanced; for it was simply a one-way flow, from the centre to the periphery, from the more dominant nations of the West to the so-called "developing nations' of the Third World. Owing to the political, economic and technological supremacy of the developed nations, the developing nations of the Third World were reduced to more passive recipients of information, chosen, controlled and edited by the former. In the field of the Arts, for instance one *$*,oc<'* observes the large voluiue of films, produced in Hollywood, that ^ ^ floods the markets of the Third World. In order to overcome these two drawbacks, a New Information Order, which insisted not only on a free flow of information but also on a two-way flow of information was envisaged. It was hoped that this New Order would transmit a large volume of information from the Third World to the West as well as to the other Third World nations. This would thus lead to an ideal exchange of information between the communicator and the recipient. As Wilber Schramm has rightly pointed out in his recent essay on 'The Unique Perspective of Communication: A Retrospective View' (Journal of Communication, Summer 1983) "Communication is now seen as a transaction in which both parties are active" (P.14) The New Information Order has succeeded in bringing about some positive changes, which are of mutual benefit to the Nonalligned nations. For example, the establishment of the Nonalligned News Agencies Pool (NANAP) has been able, although to a minor extent, to break the monopoly of the age-old news agencies of the Western world.

6 However, tho 'balanced flow' of information still remains, essentially an ideal. Several factors seem to contribute to this state of affairs: for example, the high costs of production; the high rates of cable transmission; and censorship imposed by governments of tho Third World. In my view, a factor that militates against tho balanced flow of information within the Non-alligned nations is the absence of a lingua franca, such as English or French, t'' at facilitates the transmission of information from the Developed nations to the developing ones. In view of the heterogenity of tho linguistic situation of the non-alligned nations, they are also compelled, rather ironically, to resort to English to communicate among themselves. The insistence on a 'free' and 'balanced' flow of information, however, seems to confine matters only to the volume of information thus conveyed. In other words, the 'balance' envisaged here is merely a quantitative balance which tends to equate the volume of information that is exchanged in this two way process. This does not seem to bring about the desired result of creating a better world in that there tftill exists an imbalance in the quality of information exchanged. Hence the need, not only for a 'balanced flow' of information but also for a flow of 'balanced information'. What then ifi 'balanced information'? A short and simplistic answer would be : balanced information is that which strikes a balance between 'newa" and 'truth'. As Walter Lippman once pointed out "The function of news is to signalise an event; the function of truth is to bring to light the hidden facts, to set them into relation with each other, and to make a picture of reality on which men can act". Jbe ideal balance, thus, will be reached when 'news' coincides with truth". In practice, however, there a many factors that make such a bclance almost unattainable. First, this ideal can be achieved only in restricted areas of activity, which involves results that are precisely measurable. In fields of activity, such as politics, which involves debate and controversy, such a balance is hard to achieve. For 'truth' itself may vary in such fields. An excellent example of this "relativity" of truth is the phenomenon labelled by some as 'terrorism' and by others as "struggle for freedom'.

7 The fact that an ideal balance of information is hard to achieve, however, need not deter mass media men from presenting objective, unbiased information, wherever such information can be obtained. Attempts to distort information, by slanting it or making it sensational will undermine the spirit of the New Order. The success or failure of the New Information Order will ultimately rest, chus, on the responsibility of the media men who handle the public diffusion of such information and knowledge. In the final analysis, what guarantees a better understanding among peoples and cultures of the world - be it the Third World or otherwise - is really a flow of 'balanced information' rather than a "balanced flow* of information, that is biased, slanted and sensationalised. If the information that is transmitted is distorted whether it flows freely or flows both ways is of least consequence. # The famous 'GUARDIAN DECEPTION* episode of July 1983, and the very* recent 'ASIA WEEK' episode are but two illustrations of the irresponsibility of mass media, whether it is practiced in the West or in the East. Hence the need of a free and balanced flow of balanced information for the fostering of cultural empathy in the modern world.