The Myth CNN Effect: The Myth of News Media, Foreign Policy and Intervention

The CNN Effect examines the relationship between the state and its media, and considers the role played by the news reporting in a series of 'humanitarian' interventions in Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo and Rwanda. Piers Robinson challenges traditional views of media subservience and argues that sympathetic news coverage at key moments in foreign crises can influence the response of Western governments. The Last Decade Has Seen An Increased Willingness By Western Governments To Use Force To Intervene In Distant Humanitarian Crises, And This Has Been Coupled With Significant Levels Of Media Attention To The Human Casualties Of War And Conflict. Central To This New Policy Of Intervention Is The So-called 'cnn Effect': The Saturation Of Western Viewers With Non-stop, Real-time News Footage Of Wars And Military Actions On Television And The Internet. In Turn, These Images Constitute A Powerful Plea For Action. But Can News Media Drive Foreign Policy, Or Are Governments Oblivious To Partial News Coverage? Are There Any Connections Between Media Coverage Of Humanitarian Crises And Western Intervention, And What Is The Truth Behind The 'cnn Effect'? The Cnn Effect Examines The Relationship Between The State And Its Media, And Considers The Role Played By News Reporting In A Series Of 'humanitarian' Interventions In Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo And Rwanda. Piers Robinson Challenges Traditional Views Of Media Subservience And Argues That Sympathetic News Coverage At Key Moments In Foreign Crises Can Influence The Response Of Western Governments.--jacket. 1. The Cnn Effect Considered -- 2. Developing A Theory Of Media Influence -- 3. The Cnn Effect Myth -- 4. The Cnn Effect In Action -- 5. The Limits Of The Cnn Effect -- 6. The Cnn Effect Reconsidered. Piers Robinson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 161-169) And Index.

From the Gulf War to Kosovo, the last decade has seen a new found willingness by Western governments to use force to intervene in "distant" humanitarian crises. Central to this new policy is the so-called "CNN effect," the saturation of western viewers with non-stop, real-time news footage from civil wars, which constitute a powerful plea for action. But is the media genuinely influential in shaping foreign policy, or are governments oblivious to partial news coverage.

The CNN Effect examines the relationship between the state and its media, and considers the role played by the CNN effect in a series of "humanitarian" interventions in Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo and Rwanda. Piers Robinson challenges traditional views of media subservience and argues that sympathetic news coverage at key moments in foreign crises can influence the response of western governments. Included is discussion of the US' recent "bread and bombs" tactics in Afghanistan.