MobilizationA B C D E F G H IJKL M N O P R S T U VXYZWlinked, defi nition of mobilization refers to the
remarkable expansion, until it has become a
cultural phenomenon, of the use of the mobile
phone linked with the internet. Few techno-
logical advances have become so much part
of modern communication at every level of
society and so rapidly as the mobile, to the point
where reference is made to the m-generation,
to m-commerce and to the m-future, in which
the dominance of the computer as the hub of
network transactions is seen to be giving way to
the mobile, with all its manifold functions from
simple telephoning and texting to Internet use,
downloading, listening to radio and watching
TV.
Of particular interest to the study of aspects of
mobilization – or in this case, as Manuel Cassells
terms it, mass self-communication – is the way
public opinion can be mobilized across nations
and globally. In an article entitled ‘Communica-
tion, power and counter-power in the Network
Society’, published in the International Journal
of Communication (Vol. 1, 2007), Cassells writes:
‘Th e spread of instant political mobilizations by
using mobile phones, supported by the Internet,
is changing the landscape of politics.’
Cassell states that it ‘becomes increasingly
diffi cult for governments to hide or manipulate
information. Th e manipulation plots are imme-
diately picked up and challenged by a myriad of
“eye balls”, as debate and mobilization are called
upon by thousands of people, without central
coordination, but with a shared purpose, often
focusing on asking or forcing the resignation of
governments or government offi cials’.
The rapid escalation of popular protests
against government in a number of North
African countries in 2010 and 2011 (the so-called
African Spring) was substantially aided by
what is termed digital activism. No longer is
information confi ned to the authoratitive few:
today news spreads instantly via mobile phones
to thousands and within hours or days vast
numbers can be informed, united in a cause and
organized into action.
Th e brutal killing, caught on camera, of Khaled
Said by Egypt’s security forces in June 2010
received widespread Internet coverage, sparking
protests that led to the January 2011 uprising that
toppled the country’s president, Hosi Mubarak.
As one Egyptian activist tweeted during the
protests, ‘We use Facebook to schedule the
protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to
tell the world.’
In her Index on Censorship (No. 1, 2011) edito-
rial, ‘Playing the long game’, Jo Glanville writes,and that a more accurate term for today would
be the misinformed society: ‘Wherever we look,
in coverage of race, industrial relations, welfare,
foreign relations, or electoral politics, the media
have failed democracy. We live in a society in
blinkers.’
For Golding, the ‘information age’ constitutes
not a devolution of the message systems reaching
ever wider into every part of society, but a scene
made up of media monoliths and a society which
has become increasingly centralized in terms of
decision-making and the ‘reach’ of vital informa-
tion. Golding’s misinformed society is marked by
a narrowing range of media ownership, a reduc-
tion in the number of newspapers (especially
in the US), the casualization of labour in media
industries, and wholesale redundancies.
In terms of programming, Golding warns
of the marginalization of serious information
programmes on TV and an obsession with maxi-
mizing ratings that threaten the range and diver-
sity of broadcasting. He sees the current fl ow
and quality of information as fragmenting rather
than unifying society, furthering not equality but
inequality. Th e media of today render a ‘fl awed
account of social reality’ and shirk the abiding
principle of a self-respecting media, ‘to tell the
truth and make things better’. See globaliza-
tion (and the media); information bliz-
zards; journalism: citizen journalism;
journalism: investigative journalism;
privatization; surveillance society.
Mix, mixing In fi lm-making a mix is a gradual
transition between two shots where one dissolves
into another. It is a soft fade, often used to denote
the passage of time (see montage; shot; wipe).
Mixing is the process of re-recording all original
dialogue, music and sound eff ects on to a single
master sound track. See synchronous sound.
Mobile concept of communication See mobi-
lization.
Mobile phone See next entry.
Mobilization An important capacity of the
media is to mobilize public opinion, that is to
arouse sympathy or concern about certain issues
to the point where action is taken by the public
themselves, or by those in authority. Th e classic
example is the role played by the media in the
preparation of a nation for war. In such a case,
the media are instrumental in informing the
public about the situation, arguing the case for
action and then, when the action takes place,
reporting it – usually – from a strictly partisan
point of view. Th eir role becomes that of propa-
gandist.
A twenty-fi rst-century alternative, but nicely