Introduction Since Israel became a state in 1948, protecting it has been a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy. As with any political issue, the media plays a key role in shaping public opinion, which in turn can affect how policymakers make decisions. With this in mind, it is important to understand how these issues are covered and what effect decisions of the media have on public opinion. H1:People who consume the majority of their news via U.S. television will have a more favorable view of Israel than those who consume the majority of their news via social media. Previous research has demonstrated that mass media plays a critical role in shaping public opinion about foreign policy. Soroka (2003) tells us that mass media the main source …show more content…
As defined in “Cultivation Revisited: Some genres have some effect on some viewers,” (Cohen & Weimann, 2000) cultivation is “the independent contributions television viewing makes to viewer conceptions of social reality.” Generally, these conceptions of social reality are adverse effects, causing the viewer to perceive the world as a scarier place as a result of the television programs viewed (Cohen & Weimann, 2000). Cultivation is “ not concerned about variations in interpretations; instead, cultivation focuse(s) on the dominant meanings that the media present(s) to the public” (Potter …show more content…
television news affects the way that the viewer understands the issue. The more U.S. television news consumed will result in more exposure to messages about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict; which in turn, makes them believe that the issue is highly important. If the issue is perceived as highly important, people are more like to push for action to create a solution. In the Israeli/Palestinian conflict’s case, research suggests that viewers would support the U.S. government taking a more active role in the conflict. Conclusion Through theoretical backing from the CNN effect, cultivation theory, and agenda setting theory, insight is provided into exactly how the media influences public opinion on foreign policy. Specifically, the media works to serve the political elite and paints a picture of the world that is perceived as more threatening than reality. When this is applied to the case of the United States and Israel, these issues become particularly important, given that the conflict has persisted for many decades. This means the media has had an extended period to influence public
Piers Robinson: The CNN Effect: The Myth of News, Foreign Policy, and Intervention, (London: Routledge, 2002), pp.7-24.
398).It is also stated that news divisions reduced their costs, and raised the entertainment factor of the broadcasts put on air. (p. 400). Secondly, the media determines its sources for stories by putting the best journalists on the case and assign them to areas where news worthy stories just emanates. (p.400). Third, the media decides how to present the news by taking the most controversial or relevant events and compressing them into 30 second sound-bites. (p.402). finally, the authors also explain how the media affects the general public. The authors’ state “The effect of one news story on public opinion may be trivial but the cumulative effect of dozens of news stories may be important. This shows a direct correlation between public opinions and what the media may find “relevant”. (Edwards, Wattenberg, Lineberry, 2015, p.
Bill Moyer’s PBS series, Buying The War, focuses on journalist’s impact and failure to go up against the Bush administration regarding the sought war in Iraq post 9/11. This documentary portrays how powerful the media was towards the nation, and how useless it was when challenging Bush and his team about whether America should go to war or not with Iraq. We can see how Bush and his administration persuaded the media enough, and to some extent controlled them, in order for them to communicate the message that going to war was the best choice. Patriotism played a vast role because reporters could not go against Bush and reject what he was saying or it would be considered “unpatriotic”. In addition to this, the bias in the media was also a major player that can be connected to patriotism. The media post 9/11 was
People around the globe rely on the media to interpret the events that occur in the world. They get the latest information about national and global news from the radio, television, and newspapers that have correspondents waiting to tell the story. People also heavily rely on the media during times of crises like war, economic insecurity, or other global events that affects their lives. One of the most impactful times Americans depended on the media was during World War II, which illustrated the triumphs and defeats of the war and its impression it left during the post-war era. It was around this time, movie clips and radio shows geared its messages towards patriotic themes that persuaded Americans to support the war.
Television, more so than any other form of communication, has been the ultimate tool of the propaganda effort. It is the trustworthiest medium to give us the subjective validity of our beliefs which can not be proven physically. It is the ultimate source from which we get evidence about objective reality, motivated by our desires to form an accurate view of this reality and to act correctly. United States is the biggest economical power in the world today, and consequently has the largest media and news industry. The gatekeepers of the American news industry control all the information, and decide what to publish or broadcast, based on the ideology and the structure of the institution. Therefore, whatever is presented in the news would probably be a part of the popular culture (created by the entertainment industry) or would serve it since the popular culture itself is created for the growth of the capitalist economy and the homogenization of the society, which are essential elements for a stable system. That is why the American media is terribly bias in many respects, especially in the matters of foreign affairs, driven by self b...
Americans focus on what the media frequently shows us rather than the little heard of issues of greater importance. A large nu...
Our views of world conflicts such as war are influenced by the part of the world in which we live. When exploring media coverage of discord, it is important to think about where the author is from and how it has influenced the way he/she has portrayed disharmony. Reports on a world conflict can express extremely different views depending on the social values and understandings of the writers. One must read articles that address the issue of war with cultural relativism by taking into account the local values and historical experiences of the writer. By neglecting this approach, a reader may be persuaded to believe biased and often untrue facts. When researching the war in the Middle East, for example, I found that different countries presented the fighting in different ways. A U.S. newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, presents the conflict in a biased manner and blames the Palestinians for the fighting because we are allies with the Israelis. On the other hand the Dawn, a Pakistani paper, presents the same issues but gives a more accurate and sympathetic view of the Palestinians’ situation. Reflecting on these differences, I realized that culture and national interests shape newspapers’ presentations of war. As an informed reader, it is important to know that I am often given a biased presentation of the facts surrounding a conflict and with this in mind I have changed the way I view reports on war presented by the media.
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...
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.
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.
In the US, mass media plays a significant role in politics. One of the key roles mass media plays in politics includes the airing of the platforms of various politicians. The media influences the view of people on politics and politicians. As the opinion of individuals is affected, the results of the votes are consequently changed (Holden, 2016).
Rather than being a neutral conduit for the communication of information, the U.S. media plays an intricate role in shaping and controlling political opinions. Media is extremely powerful in the sense that without an adequate functioning media, it is virtually impossible for a sophisticated social structure like the U.S. Government to exist. Henceforth, all known sophisticated social structure, have always dependent upon the media’s ability to socialize. The U.S. government generally will exploit the media, often times manipulating the enormous power of the printed word. Ultimately empowering the U.S. government, strengthening it with the ability to determine and control the popular perception of reality. One way in which government achieves this objective, is by its ability to misuse the media’s ability to set the agenda. Contrary to popular belief, media is in fact an enormous hegemony. In fact, separate independent news organizations relatively do not exist. Rather than creating an independent structured agenda of there own, generally lesser smaller news organizations adapt to a prepared agenda, previously constructed by a higher medium. Based upon this information alone, it is quite apparent that media functions in adherence to the characteristics of a hierarchy. This simply means that media is structured in a way that it operates functioning from top to bottom. This is also identical to the hierarchical nature of the human body, in that from the commands of the brain transferred through the central nervous system, the body responds accordingly. In order for the U.S. government to control and determine the public’s popular perception of reality, the government must shape and oversee the information that the media reports to the existing populous. This particular process of democracy is known and referred to by political scientists as cognitive socialization. However, many of us, who do not adhere to the cushioning of political correctness, refer to it as the propaganda machine. Numerous political scientists consider cognitive socialization to be the most effective form of political socialization. According to theory, cognitive socialization is doctored up information, which is strategically fragmented in such a manipulative manner, that the probability of its rationalization is highly predictable. The manipulative properties of cognitive socialization are so diabolical and Machiavellian in nature, that I consider it to be the ultimate perversion of the democratic process. In all seriousness, numerous intellectuals, and gentleman held in good stature agree, that cognitive socialization is the product of an evil genius.
As Americans we take pride in our liberating government. But, it is essential to ask how much we, the general public, know about our democracy. Because of the representative structure of our government, it is in our best interest to remain as knowledgeable as possible about political affairs so that we can play an active role in our democracy by voting for candidates and issues. The media, which includes print, television, and the internet, is our primary link to political events and issues. (For the purposes of this essay only print and television will be considered.) Therefore, in order to assess the success of our democracy it is necessary to assess the soundness of our media. We are lucky enough to have a media, in theory, free from government influences because of our rights to freedom of press and freedom of speech, but we are still subject to the media’s interpretation and presentation of politics, as is the danger when depending on any source for information. So, we must address how the media informs us; how successful it is at doing so; and how we should respond to it.
The current role of mass media in politics has definitely played a significant role in how view and react to certain events and issues of the nation. Newspapers, magazines, television and radio are some of the ways information is passed onto many of the citizens. The World Wide Web is also an information superhighway, but not all of the sources on the Internet are credible. Therefore, I will only focus on the main three types of media: written, viewed, and audible, and how they affect whether or not democracy is being upheld in the land of the free. The media includes several different outlets through which people can receive information on politics, such as radio, television, advertising and mailings. When campaigning, politicians spend large quantities of money on media to reach voters, concentrating on voters who are undecided. Politicians may use television commercials, advertisements or mailings to point out potentially negative qualities in their opponents while extolling their own virtues. The media can also influence politics by deciding what news the public needs to hear. Often, there are more potential news stories available to the media than time or space to devote to them, so the media chooses the stories that are the most important and the most sensational for the public to hear. This choice can often be shaped,
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...