Who Defines National Identity? Perspectives on Media and Governance

Abstract

The idea of national consciousness has developed as the attachment of secondary symbols of nationality to primary items of information moving through channels of social communication, or through the mind of an individual. In creating certain uniformity within nations, many countries look up to the media to lead the way. The media therefore plays a pivotal role in the maintenance of societal structures, values and identity. Several scholars have argued that the media have been the foundation over the past three centuries in the shaping, distribution and institutionalization of identities, affirming that the mass education system and the media are major agencies of socialization.