Taken by Storm: The Media, Public Opinion, and U.S. Foreign Policy in the Gulf War

by Bennett, W. Lance

• ISBN13: 9780226042596
• ISBN10: 0226042596
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1994-10-03
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

In the most comprehensive study of the media and foreign policy, twenty distinguished scholars and analysts explain the role played by the mass media and public opinion in the development of United States foreign policy in the Gulf War. Tracing the flow of news, public opinion, and policy decisions from Sadam Hussein's rise to power in 1979, to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, through the outbreak and conclusion of the war, the contributors look at how the media have become key players in the foreign policy process. They examine the pre-war media debate, news coverage during and after the war, how the news-gathering process shaped the content of the coverage, and the media's effect on public opinion and decision makers. We see what goes on behind the scenes in the high tech world of political communication, and are confronted by troubling questions about the ways the government managed coverage of the war and captured journalists at their own news game. Taken by Stormalso examines more general patterns in post-Cold war journalism and foreign policy, particularly how contemporary journalistic practices determine whose voices and what views are heard in foreign policy coverage. At stake are the reactions of a vast media audience and the decision of government officials who see both the press and the public and key elements of the policy game. The first book to fully integrate our understanding of the news business, public opinion, and government action,Taken by Stormtranscends the limits of the Gulf War to illuminate the complex relationship between the media, the public, and U.S. foreign policy in the late twentieth century.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xv
PART ONE Introduction to the Media and Foreign Policy
Provocations
A View from the Press	3	(4)
Marvin Kalb
A View from the Military	7	(1)
Thomas W. Kelly
A View from the Academy	8	(4)
Bernard C. Cohen
The News About Foreign Policy	12	(31)
W. Lance Bennett
PART TWO The News as Political Information
The Press As Prologue	43	(20)
Gladys Engel Lang
Kurt Lang
News and Historical Content	63	(19)
William A. Dorman
Steven Livingston
The News Before the Storm	82	(23)
Robert M. Entman
Benjamin I. Page
PART THREE Constructing the News
Domesticating A Crisis	105	(26)
Timothy E. Cook
Strategic Public Diplomacy	131	(18)
Jarol B. Manheim
The Gulf War As Popular Culture and Television Drama	149	(18)
Daniel C. Hallin
Todd Gitlin
PART FOUR How Public Opinion Is Shaped by the News
News Coverage of the Gulf Crisis and Public Opinion	167	(19)
Shanto Iyengar
Adam Simon
Elite Leadership of Mass Opinion	186	(24)
John Zaller
Crisis, War, and Public Opinion	210	(21)
Richard A. Brody
PART FIVE The Impact of News and Opinion on Policy-Makers
A Mutual Exploitation Model of Media Influence in U.S. Foreign Policy	231	(19)
Patrick O'Heffernan
Strategic Politicians, Public Opinion, and the Gulf Crisis	250	(27)
John Zaller
Conclusion
Just Deserts?	277	(16)
David L. Paletz
Appendix: Gulf Conflict Event Guide	293	(4)
Contributors	297	(4)
Index	301