From Alibaba to Xinhua: Where's the Reverse Flow?

• In Event: BRICS Building a New World Communication Order?

Abstract

The success of BRICS countries in significantly ‘reversing the flow’ of communications products between what used to be called ‘first’ and ‘third’ world countries, while notable, has been limited. The US, either alone or in combination with other ‘first’ world countries, is still preeminent in most broad spheres of the communications economy. Indeed, some of the strongest claimants to success in reversing flows in this field belong to countries that are not commonly assigned to the BRICS category (e.g. South Korea’s Samsung; Qatar’s Al Jazeera). Among the strongest of BRICS institutions that show future promise in this regard is China’s ‘new media’ exponent, Alibaba. Following a brief overview, this paper focuses on the dimension of news, with particular reference to CCTV News (China), Xinhua (China), Interfax (Russia) and RT (Russia). Taking the case of Interfax, the paper shall explore some of their features that suggest promising leads for future strategizing.

Author

• Oliver Boyd-Barrett, Bowling Green State U