“Here it is, the nexus of media power and foreign policy, where television's instantly transmitted images fire public opinion, demanding instant responses from government officials, shaping and reshaping foreign policy at the whim of electrons. It's known as the CNN Effect.”
- Warren P. Strobel, American Journalism Review
- Warren P. Strobel, American Journalism Review
When thinking about the CNN effect theory, I can’t help but think that it is transforming from its original notion, and morphing into a more contemporarily appropriate social media effect. The phenomenon dubbed the CNN effect came about around the 1990’s during the time of the Gulf War and the Somalia famine when CNN had a live 24-hour coverage presence of the war activities and images of the atrocities that were occurring. Due to the real-time reporting, it created the illusion that foreign policy decisions were being made in response to or at the instigation of news reporting. It seems that this theory arose because of the speed at which news was being transmitted to the public - where it was not being reported at that speed and frequency previously. As humans, we like to find correlation and order to explain what looks like phenomena, and the case of the CNN effect is no different. It was a way to explain the apparent connection between the influence of media and of foreign policy actions. In other words it seems that we are trying to answer the question, what came first, the news media chicken or the foreign policy egg?
Some call the CNN effect a myth, citing that, among other things, in actuality “The images of strife and horror abroad that are displayed on CNN and other television outlets also help foreign policy officials explain the need for U.S. intervention.”(Strobel). This position holds that news media actually in some cases help to justify or reinforce foreign policy actions to the public. Others hold that in fact 24 hour coverage from news media such as CNN does effect government action and also public opinion.
When this phenomenon was originally termed the CNN effect, it was a reflection of the illusion of influence created by the speed and frequency of live coverage of news via television media. If speed is a factor in determining the validity of the CNN effect, it seems that, with the instantaneous spread of news and information through social media and internet communication technology that exists now, the CNN effect is transforming to something more appropriately called the social media effect. This has been seen through the protest movements during the Arab Spring, so is the fact that there is power to influence public action through social media networks indicative that it also has more power than television reporting to influence government action and even policy? Not only is news covered live and reported in real-time, it is spread through the network almost instantaneously to a greater number of information consumers. If the CNN effect phenomenon is a myth, is the social media effect more of a reality?
Brittany, you raise a question concerning the power social media networks have to influence public action, and whether or not that same power can influence government action and policy. I definitely think so. Consider how the State Department has completely revamped its approach to public diplomacy by increasingly integrating technology in the ways it operates. They have an office of innovative engagement whose purpose is to remain current with trends in technology. They’ve certainly put into practice Secretary Clinton’s “21st century statecraft” initiative to “use technology as a platform for diplomacy” (http://www.washdiplomat.com/index.php?Itemid=428&catid=1476&id=7955:innovating-public-diplomacy-for-a-new-digital-world&option=com_content&view=article).
ReplyDeleteWe’ve also seen examples in our class readings of the way some governments use social media to repress any sort of anti-government sentiments and public action.
Whether for “good” or “bad”, I think governments clearly realize the potential impact of social media, and are making every effort to better understand how to use it to their advantage in order to remain relevant in this digital world.