Impact Of Television On The Western Europe - 2221 Words

The Impact of Television on Democracy in Eastern Europe After the second World War , a large part of central Europe was controlled by the Soviet Union and was forced to adapt to the Communism ideology. While the year 1989 was a turning point that some effective revolution interrupted and the Soviet hegemony was destroyed, the demand for democracy and freedom was increased and people tried to find their ways to speak out. With the development of technology, mass media emerged to help address the problem. Among the mass media, radios, newspapers, and televisions were extremely prominent because of their high speed way of spreading information and direct expressions of images and sounds. During this period, people tended to believe the news,†¦show more content†¦In Romania, many independent television stations appeared during the collapse of Ceausescu’s power. Under the control of the Communist Party, any information that was adverse to their regime was forbidden. However, this was soon followed by the second stage of â€Å" growing disillusionment† as political divisions made themselves manifest and the new system developed its own ways of imposing its control on the media , often simply by reintroducing some of the old methods (Jakubowicz 293). The television was used as a transmission platform for people who gained the freedom of words to express their thoughts. Televisions were involved in politics in the Post-Communist Czech Republic. Before, and during the Communism era, television stations were strictly controlled by the government. It was impossible for those people who were considered to dissent and fight against the Communism ideology to show up in the public media. However, in November of 1989, Czechoslovakia’s Communist regime had come to its end; the staffs working for televisions were changed, which led to the conversion of the content in the TV programs. For example, anti-government representatives like Havel and Dubcek appeared on the screens. Thousands of people could now h ear their voices and messages at the same time (Hester Reybold 46). â€Å"In accordance with the institutionally guaranteed freedom of expression, word and press,