How online newspaper reporting will influence the adjustment of foreign policy in democratic and autocratic countries - Literature review Example

Download file to see previous pages... 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). ...Download file to see next pagesRead More