Even MTV considers 'indigenous'

Most of you readers know that I am a big proponent of the term 'indigenous' when it comes to missions. We must be helping to erupt indigenous communities of faith. Much more on that later, as I started reading The Shaping of Things to Come this past weekend.

In the meantime, check out the article titled "World Tour", a great read on how MTV is expanding internationally by focusing on local, indigenous culture.

Here is a snippet:
Until recently, MTV International's formula has been to race into unchartered markets and be the first to plant a flag, through channels with broad regional appeal, like MTV Latin America and MTV Asia. Now it wants to turbocharge the strategy by expanding in a dozen key markets with more MTV Networks brands, like Nickelodeon, across a range of technologies, like cable, satellite, even over cell phones. "We just finished another plan ... and international is in the DNA of every sentence," says MTV Networks CEO Judy McGrath, who runs the business day-to-day for Freston. The key to pulling off the strategy, though, is sticking with the winning approach of mixing universal youth sensibilities with local tastes. All that helps MTV avoid coming across as a cultural imperialist. One example is the hit U.S. show, "Pimp My Ride." In Germany, it's "Pimp My Bicycle." MTV Indonesia airs regular "calls to prayer" for its Muslim audience. Every outpost, which gets it own local stylized spin on the MTV logo, offers a window into that society. On MTV India, "you get a sense of the colorful street culture," says Bill Roedy, president of MTV International. "MTV Japan—a sense of technology edginess; MTV Italy—style and elegance."

Photo: A picture of a police officer saluting some soldiers in a Memorial Day parade, Fairfield, CT, Memorial Day 2005.