Headline Diplomacy: How News Coverage Affects Foreign Policy

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This text explores the many ways in which news coverage shapes the design and implementation of foreign policy. By influencing the political attitudes of opinion-shaping elites and the public at large, the news media can profoundly affect the conduct of foreign policy. Seib's text analyzes important examples of press influence on foreign affairs: the news media's definition of success and failure, as in reporting the 1968 Tet offensive in Vietnam; how public impatience, fuelled by news reports, can pressure presidents, as happened during the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-81; how presidents can anticipate and control news media coverage, as was done by the Bush administration during the 1991 Gulf War; how press revelation or suppression of secret information affects policy, as in the cases of the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban missile crisis and various intelligence operations; how coverage of humanitarian crises affects public opinion; the challenges of live TV coverage; and the changing influence of news in the post-Cold War world. By covering a wide range of issues and examples, this important text should stimulate thoughtful appraisal of the relationships between the news media and those who make policy. It should be of interest to students and scholars in journalism, political communication and international relations.

Reviews

.,." Seib has offered a stimulating analysis of how the ground has shifted for journalists and policymakers alike. It is evident that he cares deeply about its consequences. That makes [this book] a worthwhile reference for specialists in the field as well as a useful textbook for courses in international journalism and history."-Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
... Seib has offered a stimulating analysis of how the ground has shifted for journalists and policymakers alike. It is evident that he cares deeply about its consequences. That makes [this book] a worthwhile reference for specialists in the field as well as a useful textbook for courses in international journalism and history.-Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
..." Seib has offered a stimulating analysis of how the ground has shifted for journalists and policymakers alike. It is evident that he cares deeply about its consequences. That makes this book a worthwhile reference for specialists in the field as well as a useful textbook for courses in international journalism and history."-Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

Author Bio

PHILIP SEIB is Professor of Journalism at Southern Methodist University. He is also a columnist for the Dallas Morning News and a political analyst for WFAA Television, Dallas's ABC affiliate. He is the author of nine books, including Campaigns and Conscience: The Ethics of Political Journalism (Praeger, 1994).