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Independent media constitute a crucial component of a liberal democracy, especially for the critical role they can play in advancing the pace of democratization. In the late Soviet era, after Gorbachev lifted state control of the media as part of his glasnost policy, they helped release the hold of communist ideology on society & then went on in the 1990s to mobilize public support for democratic development. Essentially the media constituted the "engine for democratization." More recently, however, the media have become less influential. This chapter focuses on why this has happened & what its implications are for the future of democracy in Russia. J. Stanton

The role of transnational media organizations in influencing diplomacy, foreign affairs, & security has increased in the post-Cold War era. The media has evolved from domestic agencies into interdependent transnationals, as evidenced by CNN's role in the Gulf War. The evolution, structure, & operation of the two major global media players -- CNN & BCC News -- are charted. The media are involved in promoting government activities, but at the same time, need to be harnessed for national security. A "CNN effect" is disputed -- the immediacy of the new media does not necessarily underlie a loss of policy-making control in government. Media issues related to war coverage, military operations, & humanitarian missions are discussed. Traditional barriers to the flow of information will be further dissolved by new technologies, so security policy needs to stay on the cutting edge to address these. M. Pflum

Introduces an edited volume exploring the effects of the media on US foreign policy in the post-Cold War era. New geopolitical realities & changes in international communications have altered media behavior, changed public opinion, & affected foreign policy making in the US & Europe. The host of problems now faced by policymakers is not conducive to consensus, as were the bipolar issues of the Cold War. CNN coverage informs the public instantly & forces decisionmakers to respond rapidly, often without sufficient time to deliberate. Public access to the Internet makes it difficult for governments to control the information the public receives. Articles in this volume explore the extent to which shifts in news reporting & global communications have provided information to the mass public & the resulting impact on national leaders & decisionmakers. Also explored is the extent to which national leaders have used the media to form & lead public opinion. The 21st-century foreign policy process may be more transparent, making it essentially "decision making in a glass house." The contributions & thought of each contributor is explored. L. A. Hoffman

This chapter analyzes the emergence & growth of the German branch of ATTAC (Assoc for the Taxation of Financial Transaction for the Aid of Citizens), a transnational social movement organization (TSMO), focusing on how transnational protest events affected its development. It is first noted that in June 2001, after 18 months of mobilization efforts, ATTAC Germany had only 400 members & no national political or media standing. In July, it began attracting some 100 members a week & by year's end, had almost 4,000 members, making it the single most important organization in the German global justice movement. An attempt is made to explain this development based on an adapted version of the political process theory of social movements (McAdam, 1982; Costain, 1994). This theory, which argues that the trajectory of social movements is shaped by contentious interactions with its antagonists & by factors originating from the institutionalized political process, is expanded here to include the mass media & international politics. Applying this theory to analyze empirical data drawn from a media analysis, it is concluded that ATTAC's successful mobilization at that particular time was the result of extensive media coverage of the protests against the European Union (EU) summit in Gothenburg, Sweden, in June & against the G7 summit in Genoa, Italy, in July. Figures. J. Stanton

Although radical solutions to the faults of the media in the UK may not exist; government has a responsibility to encourage high-quality policy reporting & civic education. The current "lifestyle reporting" is not a good substitute for background reports that explain the heart of the story. Involved citizenship will require better quality information rather than a larger quantity. The media now uses the Internet through Web sites where the reader can study the original source documents. The Internet is also a means for ordinary people to inform the government about their views. Regulation of the public broadcaster, BBC, gives direction for all media, that of providing quality, substantive information. A more active citizenship will demand responsible information from the media. L. A. Hoffman

The author examines the role of the media in influencing public opinion. Concern about the media's focus on communicating gloom to increase the audience's emotional response is expressed before the author discusses ways the media can be used to increase citizen participation in public policy making. References. D. Miller

This chapter discusses the diasporic experience of Iranians living in London (ILIL) & the roles the media can play in this experience. The media can help to integrate Iranians into British culture, make feelings of dislocation worse, bind Iranians to the global Iranian diaspora, or do a little of each. While ILIL do not constitute a single community, they are a "community in action," coming together for cultural events. They are also informally bound by different forms of media, eg, newspapers, women's & film magazines, & radio. This range of media contributes to the institutionalization of Iranian diasporas in different countries. Also found was a psychological shift occurring among some participants -- from viewing themselves as exiles who were eventually going back to Iran to immigrants who were building a new life for themselves in GB. A generational gap exists; older ILIL were more likely to be nostalgic for Iran, while the younger generation was already immersed in British culture, media, & education. The issue of identity is also discussed; there are differing views on how important the preservation of Persian is in maintaining an Iranian identity. A. Lee

Examines audience beliefs related to social conflict as presented in the mass media, considering variances in these beliefs according to type of media & level of personal involvement. Survey data from 385 people, ages 19-30, in university & shopping settings in three mid-Atlantic & New England states reveal that beliefs about social conflict can be attributed to TV & newspaper coverage. Further, sets of beliefs varied according to type of media dependency & level of personal involvement. Results are consistent with Isaac Ajzen & Martin Fishbein's (1975) theory of reasoned action, ie, that people adhere to distinctive beliefs about social conflict, which themselves are shaped by past experiences with the media, & these beliefs influence their choice of information goals. 3 Tables, 1 Appendix. D. Ryfe

Considers issues regarding the media's intermediary role in cases of international intervention, asserting that in democratic societies, when a government wants to involve itself in another country, it ought to obtain & uphold public support for its actions. Thus, the government must offer & the media must present reliable, comprehensive, & comprehendible information. In this light, four problems inhibiting the media's capacity to steer public opinion are discussed: (1) state regulation, influence, or manipulation of the media; (2) news flow imbalance; (3) stereotypical framing of certain foreign events as social conflicts; & (4) inherent cognitive difficulties in TV news production that impairs viewer comprehension. As these problems are exacerbated in relation to foreign news, the solution for producers is to domesticate the news, providing a familiar context for domestic viewers. Because TV seems to be the main source of news, & in light of the problems addressed, how the situation can be improved to make the public discourse on intervention more responsible is explored, arriving at three potential directions: (A) Demand reliable information from the government & other agencies. (B) Insist that journalists & broadcast organizations improve methods of informing the public. (C) Promote media literacy for better information processing & to generate public concern with international affairs. J. Zendejas

Examines why various institutions looked to provide Turkish-speaking services to German Turks, how such targeted media helped shape transnational cultural spaces in Germany & Turkey, the impact of these developments on the sustenance of German Turks' multiple cross-border affiliations, & their influence on the creation of cosmopolitanism in the context of the mid-1990s rise in media & advertising interest in German Turks. At issue is shedding light on the interrelationships between states, transnational groups, business interests, & cosmopolitanism. How the German Turks were determined to be a worthwhile consumer group for Turkish-speaking media is addressed, highlighting the impact of two surveys & the rapid effects of Turkish-oriented & -speaking marketing efforts. Focus turns to radio broadcasting & Metropol FM to discern the connections between the advertising sector, media, & public sphere in terms of a sort of vernacular or localized cosmopolitanism that its programming fosters. The implications for cosmopolitanism of the Turkish media's establishment in the public sphere are considered in closing. J. Zendejas

Carl von Clausewitz's (1976) understanding of the relationship between politics & military action is used to comprehend the nature of relations between the mass media, the government, & the military during times of national security crisis. After reviewing contemporary literature that has scrutinized the role of the mass media in international conflict, an overview of Clausewitz's understanding of goverment-military relations is offered, emphasizing his contention that military action is an extension of political processes. The effects of particular social changes & technological advancements upon the military-political relationship within the modern US are then examined. Three hypotheses regarding the nature of the mass media's influence upon international military action are presented, eg, media coverage presently affects US martial strategies; indeed, examples of the media's effects upon the US's war strategies in Kosovo & Afghanistan are cited to bolster these suppositions. In addition, analysis of the UK mass media's reporting of UK operations in Afghanistan has revealed that such media influences have spread beyond North America. 69 References. J. W. Parker

Explores the contradictory role of the mass media in relation to class power & its reproduction in contemporary societies, drawing on the theories of Stuart Hall (eg, 1986) as an entry into a critique of cultural & media studies. It is argued that Hall & other critical theorists have overemphasized the importance of ideology & the function of the media in the capitalist social order. Here, it is asserted that the media play a direct role in the reproduction of capital & the perpetuation of class struggle, specifically, through control over the system of governance & through the promotion of dominant ideologies. The use of information management, secrecy, & censorship by the corporate structure & capitalist class to maintain their power is described. However, these entities also use strategies beyond & outside the media, including lobbying, private debates, withstanding hostile media coverage, & ignoring public opinion & protest. The ideas of Antonio Gramsci & Karl Marx on class struggle & ideological hegemony are reviewed, & an alternative model of the relationship between media & class power is developed. K. Hyatt Stewart