Influence of Online Newspaper Reporting on Foreign Policy in Democratic and Autocratic Countries - Literature review Example

How online newspaper reporting will influence the adjustment of foreign policy in democratic and autocratic countries Literature review Foreign policy making refers to process by which a country formulates strategies and policies which enables the country to achieve its international objectives. The policies and strategies are applied in a way that promotes the interest of the country in its interaction with other countries (Garrison, 2003:155). The process of foreign policy making is influenced by both domestic and international political contexts, which requires that the state must understand both the domestic opinion as well as the international perspective, before formulating a policy on foreign relations (Aday & Livingston, 2008:102). It is at this stage that the media plays a pivotal role in shaping the foreign policy making of a country, considering that the media is the tool through which both the domestic and the foreign contexts, opinions and perspectives can be exploited and understood by the policy makers (Berger, 1995:22). Despite the fact that the media is not directly involved in shaping the agenda of foreign policy, the media influence and power has had the effect of influencing both the subject that is to be discussed under the foreign policy making process, as well as determining the perspective in which the policy formulators will approach the agenda. There are two major aspects that may define the extent to which the media influence the foreign policy making process. First, the level of direct knowledge that the public has on the agenda of the foreign policy discussion determines the level of media influence on the formulation of foreign policy (Croteau & Hoynes, 1997:54). This is because; under circumstances where the public has a high level of knowledge in relation to the agenda, such as the existence of a foreign crisis that the public is aware of, such an agenda is likely to generate a high level of public opinion that demands that the policy formulators must pay attention to the views and feelings of the public, regarding the policy (Altschull, 1984:32). For example, where a country is to enter into a foreign trade agreement with other foreign nations relating to the exploitation of a country’s resources, the media plays the role of informing the public, which in turn raises a public opinion that demands the ear of the policy formulators. On the hand, where the foreign policy agenda is an issue that the public has little or no direct knowledge about, the media plays the role of publicizing the issue, so that the public becomes aware of the existence of such a policy agenda, and thus raises its opinion. Secondly, the nature of the effect that the policy agenda will directly have on the people also defines the level of media influence on the foreign policy making process (Graber, 2006:937). Thus, where the policy agenda is one that will have a direct and substantial effect on the public, the media influences the policy agenda through publicizing the issue to the public, including informing and educating the media on the nature of the effect that such a foreign policy agenda is likely to have on the public. This in turn inspires and triggers public reaction to the issue, which in turn forces the policy formulators to listen to the voices of the public opinion (Philo, 1990:59). For example, where a country is to go into war with an antagonist group, militia or country, the media plays an important role of informing the public on the relevant details of the conflict, causing the public to react based on the best public interest. However, the limit to the level of media influence is determined by the nature of the relationship existing between the media and state (Cromwell, 2002:n.p.). This is because; the media is also shaped by the state or the government, meaning that depending on the nature of the shaping that the government does on the media, its influence on foreign policy may be high or low. The media is only able to influence the opinion of the public, which in turn influences the perspective of the policy formulators’ agenda, in countries operating under representative democracies (Seymour, 1974:33). In this respect, the autocratic countries do not give the media the necessary freedom and space it requires to influence the public opinion, considering that such governments have a tight control of the media, as one of the tools of political power consolidation. The newspaper is one of the media tools that have the ability to influence the foreign policy, considering the fact that the newspaper is a media tool that has a high level of accessibility among the public, compared to other media tools (McQuail, 1987:77). In addition, the newspaper is able to state the relevant issue in details, such that the public is able to understand the full details of a foreign policy, as opposed to the broadcast media, which is limited in time and space for discussing issues. Theoretical argument Newspaper is one of the components of main stream media that has been in existence for centuries. According to the Hypodermic Needle Model of Communication, the intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the audience, due to the fact humans react more or less uniformly, based on the stimulus that comes their way (Croteau & Hoynes 1997:21). This model provides that the media shoots information directly into the head of the passive audience, in the same way that a gun would shoot a bullet into an individual’s head, and thus elicit the relevant reaction (Croteau &, Hoynes 1997:21). Thus, due to its high level of accessibility to the public, the newspaper has the power to influence the public opinion, and in turn cause the public opinion to influence the foreign policy formulation process. First of all, in the reader’s eye, the newspaper is perceived to present trustworthy information (Berger, 1995:27). Secondly, just as provided under the hypodermic needle model of communication, the news and information obtained from the newspaper will trigger the mind of a passive reader to react, depending on the nature of the information contained in the newspaper (McCombs & Shaw, 1972:95). Thus, if the information is very new to the public, or if the information is of the nature that is likely to affect the public directly, such information will trigger a reaction, through the formation of a public opinion. The Media influence Communication Theory provides that the influence of the media is directly reflected on the behavior and thought process of the audience (McCombs & Shaw, 1972:177). Therefore, the tradition of the elite class, the middle class and the working class is that they will always start their day with breakfast and reading a copy of their newspaper, in search of news, information, or something new that is happening in the society, either locally or globally. The online newspaper has played even a more significant role in this respect, due to its high level of accessibility from the computer and other mobile gadgets, making it even more prone the public opinion. In addition, the most significant aspect of the online newspaper and its ability to influence the public opinions is that; it does not only provide information and news related to the single newspaper copy, but also links to other news sources, while also encompassing individual readers opinions (Katz, 1957:69). Therefore, the online newspaper does not only trigger a behavioral reaction from an individual newspaper reader, but also triggers a form of thought process, which is shaped by the opinions of others presented in the online newspaper opinion columns (Picard, 1985:104). This makes it possible for the reader to understand a policy agenda that is discussed in the newspaper from diverse sources, as well as get access to the diverse opinions, thought process and facts informing such public perspectives. Therefore, in addition to the online newspaper increasing the accessibility of the newspaper news through added convenience, ease of accessibility and the economical cost of accessing the online newspaper, it allows readers to gain insight from varied sources and diverse population spread through their comments on different newspaper articles. This shapes the strength of the overall public opinion that is formed on the policy matters (Durham & Kellner, 2001:81). According to the Media influence Communication Theory, the media affects the way the audience thinks and behaves directly (McCombs & Shaw, 1972:177). The agenda-setting process is an inevitable phase of policy formulation, which requires the policy formulators to gather the essential information related to a policy formulation (Cromwell, 2002:n.p.). Among the sources of the information for such agenda-setting stage of the policy process is the media, which gathers information related to the public opinion and perspectives regarding an issue of national or international importance. The media then disseminates the same to the policy formulators and implementers through news and opinion forums (Grossberg, 1998:63). Most especially, there are various media agencies that disseminate serious and important information in a balanced, ethical and unbiased manner, giving them the authority when it comes to commanding public opinion (Croteau & Hoynes, 1997:57). Therefore, it is the balanced, unbiased and unprejudiced reporting that defines how power and ideologies are mediated between the state and the society. Nevertheless, while the above theories have provided that the media will influence the public opinion, and in turn influence the foreign policy making, the limitation associated with the theories is that they have not differentiated the media influence in different forms of political structures. This limitation has been overcome by the Political Contest Model, which provides that different elements within a state, including the government, will compete for the media attention, in order to achieve political influence (Cottle, 2003:72). Therefore, the government will try to mobilize the support of the media in order to achieve its political course. In this respect, the representative democracies will see the media wield a high power of influence in matters of foreign policy making. This is because; the media in democratic countries is able to reach and inspire the formulation of public opinion directly, due to less restriction by the state (Williams, 1968:42). On the other hand, the media in autocratic countries will have less influential power in shaping foreign policy making, due to the tight control that the media faces from the state, which hinders the media from reaching and directly eliciting reactions and public opinions on important matters of the state (McQuail, 1987:38). Thus, it is conclusive to state that the power and the influence of the media on foreign policy making, is determined by the type of political structure in a country, whether as a democratic or autocratic country. Therefore, the foreign policy is adjusted due to the media reporting in democratic countries, while it is less affected in autocratic countries. References Aday, S. & Livingston, S. (2008).Taking the state out of state—media relations theory: how transnational advocacy networks are changing the press—state dynamic. Media, War & Conflict April 1(1), 99-107. Altschull, J. H. (1984). Agents of Power: The Role of the News Media in Human Affairs. 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