Media Framing and Foreign Policy

The Elite Press vis-à-vis US Policy in Bosnia, 1992-95

Bibliographic Data

ID3917849
AuthorsYehudith Auerbach, Yaeli Bloch-Elkon (Bar-Ilan University), Yaeli Bloch‐elkon (Bar-Ilan University)
Year2005
Volume42
Issue1
Pages83-99
Publication date2005-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Peace Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0022343305049668
OpenAlexW2091128809
LanguageEN
Citations received28
References cited35

This study assesses the role of the press in shaping US foreign policy towards an international crisis. It explores the scope of attention, positions, and metaframes used by the Washington Post and New York Times, as well as the US administration's announcements, in relation to the Bosnian crisis in its different stages. It is suggested that by discerning and highlighting core US interests and values threatened by the developments in Bosnia - that is, using mainly critical positions and emphasizing humanitarian and security metaframes - the elite press may have pushed the Clinton administration to a more active policy in this crisis. With respect to the differences between the two newspapers, it is found that while both papers expressed criticism of government policy, the Washington Post was much more critical than the New York Times. The main differences between the two papers were in the divergent positions adopted and the different metaframes employed in presenting their respective positions. The central metaframe used by the Washington Post was humanitarian, while the New York Times used primarily frames linked to security and world order. It appears that these two elite papers took upon themselves a dual role in the Bosnia crisis. On the one hand, they served as 'watchdog' over the administration's behavior - expressing criticism and recommending policy; on the other hand, by using meaningful and familiar metaphors, they played an important explanatory role in the realm of public opinion. Examining the role of the elite press in the Bosnia crisis from a combined perspective of Communication and International Relations studies points to the possibility that besides its other roles, the press may contribute to transforming a crisis from a macro-systemic crisis, hardly noted by the decisionmakers, into a micro-perceptional crisis, receiving higher priority from them

Criticism · Elite · Foreign policy · Framing (construction · Newspaper · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Realm · Sociology · History · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Public Administration

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