International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

Media diplomacy has become a major instrument of foreign policy, and journalists are more frequently and more intensively engaged in diplomatic events and processes. Sometimes they even initiate diplomatic processes. There are several ways in which the media can help or hinder diplomacy. The media functions both as an independent actor and as a tool in the hands of policymakers and journalists. Knowledge about media diplomacy is still very limited, and scholars from the fields of communication, international relations, and diplomatic studies should be encouraged to conduct multidisciplinary research on this topic. Media coverage of negotiations and summit meetings among leaders transformed traditional, mostly secret, formal, professional diplomacy. The new diplomacy became a dominating ingredient in contemporary international relations due to three interrelated revolutionary changes in mass communication, politics, and international relations. First, the revolution in communication technologies created all-news global networks such as International, BBC World, Sky News, and Al Jazeera (→  Arab Satellite TV News ; BBC ; CNN ; Newscast, 24-Hour ), capable of broadcasting, often live, almost every significant development in world events to almost every place on the globe (→  International Communication ; International Television ). The →  Internet has also revolutionized communication ... log in or subscribe to read full text