Suchergebnisse

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

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