Introduction
The globalization of media has broken down the communication barriers between countries and is now more readily available and accessible than ever before. This paper examines how the media plays an active role in influencing our opinion on global politics in regards to the Arab Spring and the new revolution making its way through the Middle East and North Africa. It will also examine the theories of the CNN effect and the Manufacturing consent and how these define the relationship between governments and the news media. The United States involvement with the Hollywood industry raises concerns about this relationship and emphasizes the importance to recognize the role of the media in global politics.
Media today has made significant leaps in terms of advancements in technology since the beginning of the 20th century. Globalization has led to the breaking down of communication barriers between nation states and now news media can be accessed all over the world; giving exposure to events of war, economic, political and humanitarian strife. This in turn will lead to greater awareness of humanitarian crisis in places such as the Middle East. It has only been in the past two decades that ‘new’ media took the world of media even further. The term ‘new’ means to facilitate information sharing, one of the components of effective resistance; those in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to show the rest of the world what the news media is unable to. This type of media was the beginning of an information revolution and the changing of the nature of conflict by strengthening network forms of organization over hierarchical forms. Activists in Tunisia who were ag...
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Robinson, The CNN Effect, 304
Ibid,. 304
Lacey, Anita. “How do we find out what is going on in the world?” Lecture, POLITICS 106, The University of Auckland, March 26, 2012.
Castonguay, James. “Conglomeration, New Media, and the Cultural Production of the “war on Terror.” Cinema Journal 43, no4 (2004):102-108,
Ibd,. 102+
Ibd,. 102+
Piers Robinson: The CNN Effect: The Myth of News, Foreign Policy, and Intervention, (London: Routledge, 2002), pp.7-24.
In “Reporting the News” by George C. Edwards III, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry, the main idea is how the media determines what to air, where to get said stories that will air, how the media presents the news, and the medias effect on the general public. “Reporting The News” is a very strong and detailed article. The authors’ purpose is to inform the readers of what goes on in the news media. This can be inferred by the authors’ tone. The authors’ overall tone is critical of the topics that are covered. The tone can be determined by the authors’ strong use of transitions, specific examples, and phrases or words that indicate analysis. To summarize, first, the authors’ indicate that the media chooses its stories that will air
Shaheen, J. (1985). Media Coverage of the Middle East: Perception of Foreign Policy. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, v482, pp. 160-75.
While many people throughout the world see social media as a trendy new application in the service of personal amusement, the political upheavals in the Arab world have shown how it can change the dynamics of modern day activism. The Arab Spring Uprising interlaced social unrest with a technological revolution. Blogs, news websites, twitter feeds, and political list servers became avenues for communication, information flow and solidarity. Being capable of sharing an immense amount of uncensored information through social media sites has contributed to the success of many Arab Spring activists. Social media played a role in facilitating the events of the Arab Spring, but the main issues are rooted in a broader set of economic, political, and social factors. This paper will examine how social media impacted the Arab Spring Uprising. Specifically, I will look at how social media introduced a novel resource that helped to created internet activist communities, changed the dynamics of social mobilization and revolutionized interactions between protesters and the rest of the world.
In recent years, the word “Media” has become a controversial subject due to the reputation that has been formed surrounding it. When defined, “Media” can refer to any form of mass communication, designed to convey information around the globe. However, due to the influential nature of broadcasting, large corporations such as the American broadcasting Corporation (ABC) manipulate reality in order to convey a specific ideology. Under certain circumstances, mass-manipulation of such information can vastly impact the perception of the public on issues such as insurgency in the Middle East. An example of this effect is the aftermath of 9/11, the monumental act of aggression and revolt that took place on the morning of September 11th 2001 in New York City, NY. At 9:03 am United Flight 175, a Boeing 757, was flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. The aircraft entered the south face at floors 77-85, controlled by several men of Middle Eastern ethnicity (Federal Bureau of Investigation). In the wake of tragedy, the gap between religion and ethnicity was merged. All those of Middle Eastern ethnicity, or Islamic practice (collectively referred to as “Muslims”), were negatively isolated and integrated into the world of broadcasting. It took mere minutes for reports of the catastrophe to be broadcasted globally and mere days Muslims across the United States to become the central target of discrimination. The imagery, videos and language used to represent innocent civilians of the Middle East have been successful in generating a common sense of fear and uncertainty, in regards to what the future holds, across the country. Corporations such as the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Cable News Network (CNN) devotedly b...
Kane, Alex. (30 October, 2004). Losing the Truth in the News. Retrieved April 21, 2005,
In the book, The Media and Foreign Policy, Simon Serfaty, Executive Director of the Johns Hopkins Foreign Policy Institute in Washington, D. C., and research professor of American foreign policy at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced international Studies, shares his own and fellow authors collected essays on the media's effect on foreign policy and foreign policy decision making of the United States, if there is any. Serfaty has edited several books on foreign relations and foreign policies as well as authored many of his books and essays. His work has been primarily focused on foreign policy and foreign relations since the onset and ending of the "Cold War". In The Media and Foreign Policy, Serfaty brings together a collection of essays that defend the media's current and past role of reporting the United States' foreign policy decisions and relations.
Shaw, Anup . Media, Propaganda and September 11 . 26 July 2002. 27 Mar. 2004 .
It’s true the media can shape the views of the public and can serve as a legitimate source that is empowered to analyze a situation and propose possible solutions because it allows the public to believe in its credibility and impartiality, at least that is what we seem to know. However, in reality, research and studies have shown that the media can generate dissent from the public by focusing or repeating information intended to sway the public. The Arab-Israeli conflict has been a topic of consistent debate for many decades, but in this paper, I will simply focus on what we don’t know about the hidden bias in coverage of this conflict.
The digital unarmed strategies in Arab Spring are not the substitute to the physical actions and insurrections, yet they worked jointly with the traditional insurgency methods to reach greater audiences and appeal more public support. Social media is not the strategy that sparked or guaranteed the revolution, but it vitally contributed to the spread of movements.
...e media’s ever-powerful influence. One of my aunts from Belgium was in recently in the U.S. for business and I was interested to speak with her about the current crisis. She was concerned because she viewed our news coverage as having an American filter, and thought that that might allow the American Government to take advantage of the country’s grief and fears.
Gaddis, John Lewis. "Chapter 1 And Now This: Lessons From The Old Era For The New One." The Age of Terror: America and the World After Sept Ll. Ed. Nayan Chanda and Strobe Talbott. New York: Basic, 2001. 1-21. Print.
The changes in social media implied that many people got in touch with the political candidates either directly or indirectly. The people watched their potential leaders of the nation and were able to question them (Mutz 2001).
Americans look to the press to provide the information they need to make informed political choices. How well the press lives up to its responsibility to provide this information has a direct impact upon Americans: how they think about and act upon the issues that confront them.
In our democratic society, mass media is the driving force of public opinion. Media sources such as Internet, newspaper, news-broadcasts, etc, play significant roles in shaping a person’s understanding and perception about the events occurred in our daily lives. But how much influence does the mass media poses on our opinion? Guaranteed by the First Amendment in American Constitution, the media will always be there to inform us about the different events or issues they feel are important for the public. The media constantly bombards us with news, advertisements, etc, wher...