Digitization and Information Order in the New World Information Order

"Establishing a new world information order" is a goal for the reform of the global communication system that was put forward at the end of the 70s of the 20th century and was widely welcomed by the third world. This reform is an attempt to rebel against the global communication order dominated by the United States and the developed countries of the West and their global media groups, and to establish a new global communication system that is more democratic, fair, and balanced in the exchange of culture and information with the communication systems of other countries. This is not only the dissatisfaction of the third world countries with the information imbalance, cultural aggression, cultural imperialism and other phenomena caused by the existing or traditional global communication order, and the concern about the possible harm to their own cultural survival and information ecology, but also the appeal and expectation of the new world information communication order, and the response and challenge to the old world information communication order.

Since the world entered the era of mass communication, the developed countries in the West have dominated the discourse power of global communication by virtue of their strong economic strength and advanced communication technology, and have controlled the power and "valve" of world communication, and the information they publish accounts for more than 76% of the total number of information in the world, and their culture dominates the culture of developing countries. As a result, the countries of the third world are increasingly highly dependent on the West's communication technology and cultural products, and on the various books, magazines, news, movies, and television entertainment programs they provide. "In many cases, these cultural forms are seen as vehicles for the spread of consumerism and other Western values that systematically deprive developing countries of their control over their own cultural traditions and perspectives, and prevent them from enjoying the international arena as they wish.

In this regard, UNESCO convened a series of meetings in the 80s of the 20th century to discuss and propose a set of reform plans aimed at breaking the existing pattern of inequality in the dissemination of information in the world. It seeks to protect and promote developing countries' own cultural traditions, cultural industries and cultural identities by providing them with material means and information products, reversing inequalities in the dissemination of information and entertainment, and narrowing the gap between information-rich and information-poor countries.

At present, in terms of global financial information services, there is still an imbalance in the production and circulation of information between countries and regions, which restricts the further development of financial globalization. This is mainly manifested in three aspects:

First, the allocation of information resources is uneven. The polarization between "information-rich countries" and "information-poor countries" still exists, and the "digital divide" has not only not been eliminated, but has become more serious in some regions.

Second, there is an asymmetry in the flow of information. The amount of information flowing from developed countries to developing countries is at least 100 times higher than that flowing from developing countries to developed countries, and it is difficult for many developing countries to actively and fully convey and share the information they need and are suitable for their own development.

The third is the injustice of the information order. The release of financial information is mainly in the hands of a few institutions in developed countries, which makes it difficult for developing countries to grasp the right to publish financial information and the right to speak in the market.

This imbalance and inequality have caused the incompleteness of financial globalization, affected the harmonious and coordinated development of global finance, and hindered the process of regional economy and even economic globalization. Therefore, we call for efforts to eliminate the imbalance and inequality in the production and circulation of information between countries and regions, and to gradually establish a fair and just information order.

The media, as a channel for disseminating information, should and can play an important role in promoting the process of information globalization. News agencies play the role of the main channel in the dissemination of global information, especially financial information, and are the backbone of financial information services. According to statistics, the share of several major world news agencies in the global financial information market is more than 80%.

Therefore, world news agencies have the responsibility, obligation and ability to play a leading role in the establishment of a pluralistic, fair and balanced financial information order.