scholarly journals Do the Media Affect the Decisions of Policy Makers in Foreign Policy?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Mazen Ajjan ◽  
Syed Mehartaj Begum

On July 16th 2021, the U.S. newly elected President Joe Biden hosted Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi at the White House. The main topic was the future of the U.S. troops in Iraq. The controversial American invasion, after more than eighteen years, is again in focus. The American media in particular is allocating long hours of its live coverage in discussing this sensitive topic. This paper investigates the complex relationship between media and policymakers in the USA. The paper uses the invasion of Iraq in 2003 as a case study to address the question of the media’s influence on policy decision-making. By choosing two main media outlets in the "stalwart" on democracy: The New York Times and Fox News. The paper goes through a detailed account of how the Bush administration was able to impose their interpretation of the situation and how the media fostered misperceptions among the American public in one of the most world’s controversial crises. The conclusion from this analysis was that the media don’t affect policymaking. On the contrary, the American administration shaped the news coverage almost entirely. The Bush administration in 2003 was able to employ media to form its war agenda and spreading it to the public. Media, even in a democratic system, was unable to give counter argument or even a critical attitude towards Bush administration foreign policy.    Received: 5 August 2021 / Accepted: 4 October 2021 / Published: 5 November 2021

2000 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga V. Malinkina ◽  
Douglas M. McLeod

This study analyzed newspaper coverage of conflicts in Afghanistan and Chechnya by the New York Times and the Russian newspaper Izvestia to examine the impact of political change on news coverage. The Soviet Union's dissolution included dramatic changes to the Russian media system. In addition, the dissipation of the Cold War changed the foreign policy of the United States. A content analysis revealed that the changes to the media system in Russia had a profound impact on Izvestia's coverage, but political changes had little impact on the New York Times' coverage.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 28-42
Author(s):  
E. S. Golousova

With rapid development of Latino communities and their members’s active involvement in the US social and political life the attitudes toward Latinos (Hispanics) have changed, both from the outside and the inside. The Latino people themselves came to realize their self-identification and, consecutively, the portrayal of Latinos in the media has been altered. In this paper the author argues, that the range of Latino stereotypes has become wider today and that the model that used to work decades ago in picturing Latino migrants is no longer relevant. Thus, the main goal of the study is to mark out and describe the changes that have occurred in the US media regarding the images of ‘Latinos’ (/Latinas). Comparative analysis is the key method in addition to the content analysis of media publications. The empirical basis consists of 80 publications, including digital media footage, published in 2016-2020 (both in English and Spanish languages) – such as the New York Times, The Time, The Washington Post, El Opinion, etc. These newspapers and magazines are considered to be highly influential as they set the agenda, shape the opinion and affect public consciousness. The material of the study also comprises 20 TV episodes related to the coverage of Hispanic issues in the USA. Having analyzed the media content related to the Latino issue (mainstream media, online sources, TV footage), the author comes to a conclusion that the number of roles that are attributed to the Latinos/Latinas has increased significantly and the today’s narrative to a larger degree is aligned with the changes occurring in real life of the Latino community.


2018 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 525-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Volker Daniel ◽  
Magnus Neubert ◽  
Agnes Orban

Abstract We study the role of global media during the Greek debt crisis and relate it to the transmission of events on financial actors’ expectations. To identify news coverage about the Greek debt crisis, we apply topic modeling to a newly compiled dataset of over 430,000 articles from The International New York Times and Financial Times from 2009 to 2015. We identify a Greek debt crisis topic and relate it to events concerning Greece during this time period. Our finding is that events are only relevant for financial markets when they are covered in the media, whereas events without media coverage have no effect. News coverage without immediate events is equally irrelevant for financial markets.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-38
Author(s):  
Yelena Yermakova

The changing situation in the Arctic due to global warming has prompted media coverage of a supposed “scramble for the Arctic,” an “Arctic boom,” or an “Arctic Bonanza.” Some even go further, deploying the rhetoric of a “New Cold War,” predicting an inevitable clash between the United States and Russia over interests in the region. The press coverage in both countries over the past decade reflects this new sensationalism. The academic literature unequivocally confirms that the press exerts substantial influence on governmental policy makers, and vice versa. However, while scholars agree that international organizations (IOs) are essential to shaping policies, the existing literature lacks research on media’s relationship with IOs, which often struggle to obtain the coverage and publicity they deserve. The Arctic Council has provided an effective platform for constructive dialogue and decision making involving the USA and Russia. Accordingly, despite disagreements in other regions of the world, the two global powers have managed to cooperate in the Arctic – notwithstanding recent media coverage painting a different and incomplete picture. This project surveys the media coverage of the Arctic over the past decade in Russia and the USA and its correlation with the Arctic Council’s activities. The analysis draws upon two prominent news organizations in Russia (Kommersant and Izvestiya) and two in the USA (the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal), as well as the Arctic Council’s press releases from June 2006 to June 2017. The paper finds that there is a clear disconnect between media coverage of the region and the Arctic Council’s activities. It recommends that the media pay more attention to the organization, particularly since it is the only prominent platform for international cooperation in the Arctic.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Erin M. Evans ◽  
Edwin Amenta ◽  
Thomas Alan Elliott

Abstract In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a marked increase in non-moderate, or “radical,” non-human animal advocacy organizations. Social movement scholars argued that these organizations have greater difficulty than “moderate” ones in receiving substantial news coverage. But forms of substantive news coverage have increased for both moderate and non-moderate animal advocacy organizations. To address this, media analyses were conducted using content coding of The New York Times articles from 1946–2011. Logistic regression and qualitative, comparative analyses examined the conditions under which both moderate and non-moderate organizations had their demands in news coverage. Aligned with an augmented political mediation model, the findings indicated that non-moderate organizations are more likely to get substantive coverage when they target non-governmental entities on a local level through “assertive collective action.” The conclusion was that non-human animal advocacy organizations that have radical goals or tactics do not compromise the quality of media coverage in the long-term.


2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre Billeaudeaux ◽  
David Domke ◽  
John S. Hutcheson ◽  
Philip Garland

This study examines the interplay among President Bush, key members of the administration and military and the news media between Sept. 11 and Oct. 7, 2002, when the U.S. military campaign began in Afghanistan. The research suggests that the administration messages influenced the editorials in The New York Times and The Washington Post.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 1053-1054
Author(s):  
Mijin Jeong ◽  
Sarah Jen ◽  
Hyun Kang ◽  
Michael Riquino ◽  
Jaime Goldberg

Abstract Based on clinical and epidemiological evidence, COVID-19 infection can occur in people of all ages; however, the media typically focuses its attention on the vulnerability of older adults and individuals with chronic illnesses. This study aims to explore the representation of older adults during the first month of the pandemic in the U.S. by comparing the narratives of older adults and younger adults in national media sources. A systematic search identified 115 articles published in four major newspapers in the U.S. included USA Today, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post between March 11 and April 10, 2020 in which older adults and younger adults were quoted on topics related to the intersection of COVID-19 and aging. Quotes were inductively reviewed using thematic content analysis. In 115 articles, there were 265 quotes from older adults (n=104, 39%) and younger adults (n=161, 61%). When comparing patterns that were common or distinctive between older and younger individuals quoted, three key themes emerged: 1) impacts of COVID-19 on older adults and resulting vulnerability, 2) debated perspectives over the value of older adults’ lives, and 3) a counternarrative of resiliency among older adults. This study provides the opportunity to understand how the pandemic may impact representations of older adults and findings emphasize the importance of voice among older adults to combat ageist messaging and promote counternarratives to assumptions of vulnerability. Also, it suggests for policymakers and practitioners to insight into how the representation of older adults is disseminated by media.


Author(s):  
Julie Land

The essay looks at the LGBT/Queer movement in the United States during the late 1980s and early 1990s. During this time, when AIDS activism was at its peak, began a number of processes, which continue to have an effect on the LGBT and Queer movements in the USA. Through an analysis of the New York Times' coverage of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), one can observe the process through which media certified a certain type of activism (mainly lobbying, court cases) as 'grown up' and 'effective', and direct action (protests, visibility actions, etc.) as 'childish'. At the same time, the more conservative strands of the gay/lesbian movement began to eschew more radical groups like ACT UP and Queer Nation, even though it was these groups that breathed new life into the movement during the AIDS crisis. I argue that, since this time, one can see the development of two distinct movements in the US (though they are often thought of as one): the gay movement and the Queer movement.


2019 ◽  
pp. 28-50
Author(s):  
Katherine A. Brown

This chapter examines how the American public was reintroduced to Afghanistan after the events of 9/11 and how the U.S. broadcast and print media began to frame this “good war” in October 2001. It analyzes the American news media’s relationship with Afghanistan beginning in the 1980s and the reality it has constructed since 2001 about Afghanistan and the conflict. It also reviews U.S. officials’ perceptions about their responsibilities to the press. During these 15 years, the news coverage, especially that of the broadcast news media, was tightly indexed to the degree of White House attention to the war and the intensity of conflict for American soldiers. Yet some American print news agencies, especially the Associated Press, New York Times, and Washington Post, have stayed committed to covering Afghanistan despite decreased American presidential attention.


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