Suchergebnisse

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

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

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

Argues that Bogota, Colombia, is representative of cities whose memories have been destroyed, thereby robbing people of reference points to their identity. Residents have become fearful, & they no longer have any trust, which makes them insecure & full of rage. It is maintained that loss of a sense of belonging makes civility impossible & eventually results in a negation of citizenship. TV becomes the mechanism through which citizens relate to the city, & the images that are constructed by the media only reinforce imaginaries of fear. Urban processes are explored as processes of communication, emphasizing that it is necessary to examine what makes people take refuge in small private spaces. Fear is said to go beyond violence & danger in the streets to involve long-lasting processes that encompass the cultural anguish that stems from the loss of collective roots in cities; how the city normalizes differences; & the order imposed on residents by the city. How people confront these new fears resulting from the erosion of sociability is examined. J. Lindroth

Scrutiny of the mass media's coverage of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the US is conducted to determine the relationship between the mass media & terrorist behavior. It is contended that the mass media's reporting of the aforementioned terrorist attacks fundamentally changed the "news frame" employed by US journalists in comprehending national security & domestic & international crisis responses. After defining terrorism as a form of coercive, intimidating behavior enacted against civilians in order to fulfill political objectives, the various techniques, targets, & objectives of terrorist behavior are examined; in addition, differences between group & state terrorism are highlighted. An overview of the theoretical notion of the "news frame" is then provided, emphasizing how such frames function within a broader sociopolitical context; specific attention is dedicated to illuminating the mass media's role in creating the news frame surrounding the international war against terrorism. Several articles that investigate numerous aspects of the affiliation between the mass media & terrorism are also introduced. J. W. Parker

The author examines the scarcity of research on the relationship between the media, women, & politics, & traces the under-representation of women in the news media. In addition, she lists five critical areas that need further research: (1) news media coverage of women public officials, (2) the effectiveness of media strategies employed by women candidates, (3) gender differences in press-politician relationships, (4) the effect of a journalist's gender on the public's understanding of politics, & (5) the effects of the media in socializing children about the role of women in the political arena. J. Harwell

The institutional framework implemented by the National Resistance Movement to combat corruption in Uganda is scrutinized to determine why corrupt behavior remains prevalent. The role of several government agencies (eg, the Ministry of Ethics & Integrity, the Inspector General of Government, & the Public Accounts Committee) & the press in fighting against corruption between 1986 & 1998 is reviewed. Measures taken by government agencies in reforming Uganda's framework for combating corruption during the late 1990s are discussed; & changes in economic policy, military programs, & the press are noted. Recommendations for improving the nation's anticorruption framework include the need to better coordinate anticorruption agencies, the empowerment of civil society, & the creation of a political will. 17 References. J. W. Parker

The role of African Americans in Italian public & popular culture is explored as part of a wider analysis of cultural flows between the US & Italy & the impacts of globalization on national cultures. The position of blacks in the Italian cultural imagination, particularly in its "mediascape" -- TV, films, & popular music imported from the US -- is analyzed, demonstrating the semiotic complexities of blackness in the US & how these are transferred, interpreted, & reproduced in the Italian context. Two specific sites where American blackness is reiterated, consumed, produced, & reinforced are examined in detail: urban black street fashion & rap music. The applicability of the concept of cultural imperialism to this example of crosscultural transfer is debated & some problems with the theory are identified. 3 Figures, 36 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

The news frames used by the US mass media in its coverage of Muslim Americans before & after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are examined to determine the extent of change in such journalistic frames. Newspaper articles that covered various aspects of Muslim American life & were published in three NY newspapers from 11 Sept 2000 to 11 Mar 2001 (N = 155), from 12 Mar 2001 to September 11, 2001 (N = 59), & from 12 Sept 2001 to 11 Mar 2002 (N = 653) were analyzed. Several findings are reported: whereas the most common topic concerning Muslim American life prior to September 11, 2001, was the participation of Muslim Americans in politics, the most prominent themes following the terrorist attacks concerned the civil rights of Muslim & Arab Americans; the number of episodic news frames that documented Muslim American life decreased after the terrorist attacks; the percentage of positive/favorable media delineations of Muslim Americans increased after September 11, 2001. It is concluded that the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks forced US mass media to provide more comprehensive coverage of Muslim American life. 4 Tables, 27 References. J. W. Parker

Examines the role of the judiciary in exposing public officials' corrupt behavior in Italy, France, & Spain throughout the late 20th century. The 1992 scandal involving Italian party leader Bettino Craxi is reviewed to illustrate the extent to which corruption definitions have changed in contemporary society. It is contended that the association of legal discourse in the judiciary with moral discourse in the media produced the increased exposure of scandal in the Latin European nations throughout the 1990s. The role of certain Italian, French, & Spanish judiciaries in highlighting the prevalence of clientelism & other forms of corruption in their respective nations is discussed. Claims of judicial legitimacy have necessarily involved the political sphere in investigations of corruption. The place of national business sectors in the judicial-political-media schema for examining corruption scandals is addressed. 1 Figure. J. W. Parker