Introduction to Mass Communications (MEDC1010) Essay

Introduction to Mass Communications (MEDC1010) - Essay Example The author will first define power and discuss briefly the two forms of power, hard and soft. Following this, the author will give an overview of the CNN Effect and discuss how the first noted example of the Effect, the Somalia civil war and subsequently, the UN and US joint peacekeeping mission into the failed state, literally changed the face of the media landscape. The CNN Effect turned news in specific, and media, in general, from a delayed broadcast of current events in which the typical viewer was simply an observer; to instantaneous or almost real-time broadcasts, bringing the world into one's own living room, and essentially making the individual feel a part of a greater global community (Hess, S., Kalb, M., Eagleberger, L., Woodruff, J., & Livingstone, S., 2002). Power, by definition, is "the factors that enable one actor to manipulate another actor's behavior against its preferences."(Kegley, C., 2009) Specifically, there are two forms of power that are wielded in order to manipulate the other actor, hard power and soft power. Hard power, simply stated, is the coercion by tangible means of actor B by actor A. Examples of hard power can be seen in military action or coercive diplomacy. Following the end of the Cold War, however, a new form of power became increasingly utilized in order to coerce the other player. Soft power. Due to the changing nature of international politics, intangible forms of power, or 'Soft Power' has gained increasing importance (Nye, J.1990). As media outlets began to relate news in real time, beginning with the US invasion of Iraq in 1991, in which journalists were embedded amongst combat military units, literally bringing the war live to the American public, the armchair, typically uninvolved citizen becomes engaged in issues that previous to this period simply did not exist. The face of the media world was forever changed. The CNN Effect: Somalia The classic example of the power of the media is the CNN Effect. In the early 1 990's media became more global and what was known as the CNN effect became a powerful force to be reckoned with. The CNN effect "was first noted when heartbreaking footage of starving children in Somalia pressured U.S. officials to send troops there." (Hess, S., Kalb, M., Eagleberger, L., Woodruff, J., & Livingstone, S., 2002) Media itself became an instigator for the enactment of policy and action. Before the phenomenon of the CNN effect, though many atrocities had occurred worldwide and had been occurring for as long as humans have wielded weapons, the general public scope of awareness did not connect to the distant occurrences, so far from the comfort of their homes. Once the general public began to learn, through the media, about different atrocities, which began with, but was not limited to the civil war taking place in Somalia, pressure was put on the home governments to take action in order to alleviate the situation (in contrast to the clean, almost poetic, surgical airstrik es aired from the invasion of Iraq). In the case of Somalia, the CNN effect not only led to the peacekeeping mission in Somalia, but also to the subsequent early cessation of the mission. After 18 United States soldiers were killed, and the media broadcasted, "horrifying footage of Somalis dragging the body of a