Apply the global citizenship assessment matrix to the six media messages.

Scenario

You are a major journalist for a global media network and have decided to analyze to what extent media messages adhere to standards of global citizenship. You chose a recent crisis—a mining incident in China that killed members of a UN-led exploratory mining expedition—which ended a month ago. In addition to concerns about an oil and gas process called fracking, and whether it may have contributed to the earthquake that caused the mine to collapse, global tensions amongst superpowers remain high. Also, China’s economic and cultural influence is far-reaching—too far, for some. You decided to analyze specific measures of global citizenship and apply those to six media messages from diverse sources and areas around the globe. Afterward, to round out your report, choose how authors could have changed their messages to be in line with the global citizenship elements of social equality, environment, and political issues.

Note that the scenario and associated research is a fictional event created for educational purposes.

Directions

Apply the global citizenship assessment matrix to the six media messages.

Use the background information to get a sense of why each party would be sending the message, and to whom.

Consider carefully whether each media message has elements of political responsibility:

Are there intercountry relations that are relevant?

Are there issues internal to the country that are relevant? For example, are the civil rights of citizens being upheld or trampled on?

Consider carefully whether each media message has elements of environmental responsibility:

Are there any sustainability issues? For example, any problems with nonrenewable resources?

Are there any specific issues that deny the interdependence of people and the land they live on?

Are there any disagreements with the importance of natural capital?

Consider carefully whether each media message has elements of social equality:

Is there inequality of race, gender, or other groups?

Is there upholding of basic human rights for all parties?

Is there a fairly even distribution of wealth, where people can provide for themselves?

For each assessment, mark if the element of global citizenship is present. If it is not present, leave that spot blank, and use the Explanation column to explain if there is simply no information or if it is blatantly problematic. If it’s problematic, please describe briefly.

Assess the messages for the delivery method as well as changes that could be made to make them more in line with global citizenship.

Assess each delivery method for timeliness, dissemination techniques, and intended audience. Analyze which are effective, and explain why or why not.

Choose 1 to 3 messages that do not fully align with global citizenship. For each of the main categories (social equality, environment, and political issues), draw on your knowledge of intercultural communication techniques to suggest a change. This change should bring the message in line with that element of global citizenship. Note: It does not need to cover all aspects of global citizenship, just the one you are targeting