Modern diplomacy promotes states cultural, economic, and political interests. Diplomacy aims at enhancing peaceful co-existence, maintaining excellent relations, and advancing the interests of the country through negotiations among states representatives. Global media in modern diplomacy play useful roles through which sound relations between states are enhanced. Most worlds’ governments have been using the media in fighting for public diplomacy with the aim of attracting foreign countries and positioning themselves broadly in the international arena (Barston, 2014, p. 88). Through the media, governments explore their economic, social, political, and cultural activities over the globe and this determines the success or failure of modern diplomacy in states.
Governments understand that the credibility of media plays a significant role in its diplomatic goals success. Among other factors, modern diplomacy gets damaged by negligence and carelessness by the concerned governments. Currently, people are becoming overly dependent on the media information; this call for carefulness by governments when using the media to enhance public and modern diplomacy (Breslin, 2013, p. 620). Further, preventing such incidences of lost public domain requires public awareness campaigns that encourage all people to undertake modern diplomacy events. This essay explains the role of global media in the contemporary diplomacy.
Global media plays a significant role in expanding a common ground under which a peaceful co-existence among citizens from different nations through negotiations is enhanced. Information communication and technology (ICT) promotes growth and expansion of global media, and this has allowed the government through the media to reach all parts of the world promptly (Hocking and Melissen, 2015, p. 44). Further, global media help states enhance international relations and policy-making through consultations between different countries. Through global media, governments can undertake humanitarian and democratic policies in the policy-making processes in their countries. However, global media poses a significant burden on the news reporters and the policymakers (Shambaugh, 2015, p. 99). This arises in the event journalists report live events under live coverage without a detailed analysis of the occasion they are reporting. As a result, politicians respond harshly without also considering the weight of the situation hence harming diplomacy.
Also, the government uses global media in conducting its public diplomacy activities. In this regard, the news media target particular groups of citizens with minor concern on their targeted audiences (Nye, 2010, p. 10). For instance, the BBC and CNN news have shown their significant influence in the foreign decision/ policy-making process through what they report. These journalist firms command a mass following in the whole world and have been adopted by other small media firms such as Russia today, and France 24 in reporting the world’s major economic, political, and social events. In the event, what these media companies broadcast helps states governments in forming and designing democratic policies which promote peace and among amongst their citizens and those of the neighboring countries (Kang, 2010, p. 60). Just to mention a few, AlHurra TV, and Radio Sawa are excellent examples of broadcasters of specialized languages that have been playing an important role in policy-making processes employed by different governments.
Further, policymakers employ global media to their advantage through the publication of their policies and their opinions on specific diplomatic issues. The influence of mass media in modern diplomacy has been growing from time to time due to advanced technology, and this offers the media people a perfect opportunity to share their positions on certain world diplomatic issues. For instance, the American government officials use Al-Jazeera TV in disclosing their positions regarding the countries leadership and their opinions regarding what is right (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010, p. 65). Again, the use of media helps a country attract more international benefits that help in enhancing diplomacy. In this context, the former US president Barack Obama was always interviewed by Al-Jazeera TV, one of the most appealing broadcasters to express his opinions on the Islamic and Arabic cultures. Therefore, this instance portrays the importance of the global media in allowing politicians to express their views, ideas, and wishes since this plays a significant role in promoting modern diplomacy.
Furthermore, global media help politicians win the hearts and minds of the world’s people. Through global diplomacy, politicians have had an opportunity to offer detailed and essential modern diplomacy comprehensive information through sophisticated techniques. The chance to enjoy an extra norm of contemporary diplomacy by politicians has encouraged big powers such as China, the European Union, the US, and Russia in allocating larger budgets to their own global media initiatives.
However, global media is not the remedy for modern diplomacy. The effectiveness of global media in enhancing modern diplomacy depends on the sufficiency, appropriateness, and reliability of the media itself in encouraging peace, harmony, and unity among the nations. The credibility of the information shared by the media matters a lot, when this is not enhanced then no useful results can get reaped (Szondi, 2008, p. 33). Research shows that there is no positive correlation between the audiences of the global media and the frequencies under which the viewers tune into the media and perceive the credibility of information shared over the media. Governments need to advance efforts aimed at improving the reliability and usefulness of the press. Among the strategies of resolving this issue are using the feedback obtained from the audience through social networking services (SNS) which will get discussed in this essay. Also, the combination of both cultural exchange programs and people to people visiting initiatives can resolve the problem. Further, the use of face to face scholarship exchange programs may yield positive results.
Another global media challenge that requires examination is the limited impact of global media to all corners of the world. Some parts do not welcome global media; instead, they dismiss and discourage its access (Zhao, 2013, p. 550). It is the role of diplomats to engage all local people in global media activities through enhancing comfortableness with the local languages as well as a vast understanding of the local politics.
Social Networking Services (SNS) plays very critical roles in modern diplomacy. However, the traditional forms of media such as the radio, newspapers, and TVs cannot get replaced or outshined by SNS. Traditional forms of media have been criticized due to their use of one-way of communication that creates a huge gap between the audiences’ perceptions and what the media intends to convey to the audience.
Contrastingly, SNS employs a two-way communication strategy that minimizes the gap between the information that the media intents to convey and what the audience perceives. SNS enables diplomats to share their public opinions to a more significant number of the audience especially the youth as compared to the traditional media. Again, SNS allows diplomats to to reach people from different nations in a precise manner where formal public relations do not exist, and all traditional channels are disenabled. Further, SNS establishes a fairer communication opportunity under which the locals needs get emphasized, and this is done with the help of countries representatives.
SNS allows the dissemination of messages sent from traditional media channels with a shorter period as compared to when using the traditional channels. As a result, bilateral communication is enhanced and thus establishing a synergy under which traditional media and SNS yield optimal benefit for diplomacy. This aspect has attracted many global outlets to operate their SNS systems to monitor public responses which may be significant in future policy-making processes by the government. Therefore, every government must assign larger budgets and more employees towards SNS projects.
For a government to achieve the goals of modern diplomacy, global media must get used. Media integrity is an issue of great significance that requires proper agenda and processes to address the entire policy-making process. Every medium uses its own body to formulate governance, management, and operations decisions. For instance, the US has established the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) to foresee media credibility and integrity in its aspirations to promote modern diplomacy. The Board oversees the designing of policies, goals, and strategies for the WorldNet TV and the Voice of America broadcasts as well as its associates such as Radio Sawa and Radio Free. This governing body sets basic guidelines under which the programming of media contents is monitored, and its independence is promoted.
The credibility of media promotes decision making approaches adopted by the government in enhancing diplomacy. The establishment of decision-making boards by media associations funded by the government forms a firm basis for ideal democracy and freedom for the citizens. The creation of strict policies and detailed instructions that regulate media activities promote its credibility, and this encourages diplomacy (Gilboa, 2005, p. 120). The media enjoys credibility only if the set regulations are adhered to, and this leads to a perception of government reliability. This government’s reliability ensures elevation of a nation’s credibility of information and hence attracting foreign governments to discuss peace, economic, and political agenda for the region.
There have been issues related to the integrity of media/ journalist specialists which require proper actions. Journalists’ integrity directly relates to media credibility. When a media specialist lacks integrity, then the credibility of the information they share is questionable. Editorial biasness poses a great threat to modern diplomacy, and this requires government intervention. However, the government should always shun from media independence to promote specialists’ conscience (Gilboa, 2002, p. 730). Global media specialists need to balance the actual analysis and presentation of diplomatic news since the audience is always watching and prepared to judge them. The competitive nature of the media industry, the choices of the audiences has become the most preferred decision maker. Viewers’ opinions remain the most crucial tool to check against the misuse of the power of the media under which SNS plays a useful role.
The case of the BBC serves as a perfect example of distinguishing between the “truth” and the reporting “facts.” During the World War II, the BBC became famous for just discussing the “truth.” As a result, even citizens from enemy’s countries tuned to the BBC since they preferred to hear the true situation on the field. Today, this occasion ham made BBC gain broader reputation across the globe and is considered dedicated to enhancing the long-term goals of modern diplomacy (El-Nawawy, 2006, p. 22). Therefore, the global media needs to ensure proper maintenance of its reputation, mission, and accurate reporting rather than facts reporting to enhance public diplomacy.
Global media plays a significant role in maintaining proper political relations that promote modern diplomacy (Kathy Fitzpatrick, Fullerton, and Kendrick, 2013, p. 74). The use of CCTV helps the media production and broadcast excellent documentary series that educate governments on the right political strategies that enhance public diplomacy, for instance, “Rising of Great Powers” series. In this series, the CCTV aided film portrays how traditional great powers made it o historical achievements. The documentary recognizes the usefulness of democracy such as justice, humanitarianism, freedom, and fairness in the development agenda of a country (Ang, Isar, and Mar, 2015, p. 381). Via this broadcast, international audience has advanced an impression that the Western imperialism made countries such as China to slowly get more open-minded by recognizing the same values pursued by the Western countries over a long time.
Awareness campaigns are making countries modern diplomacy unfold in a recommendable, acceptable, and trustworthy manner. However, there is a need for careful attention by governments on the negative impacts of global media to modern diplomacy (Tumber, 2013, p. 50). Over the past decade, cartoons depictions have been a hot debate since some countries, and religions feel humiliated by the same. Due to the increased use of sophisticated technology in the media sector, there have been increased cases of misbehavior and indiscipline through the global media (Clarke, 2016, p. 102). Some video clips depict misconduct of the military for particular nations, and this tarnishes the image of the government since the military is considered to be part and full parcel of the state. Under such instance, these distorted images attract media audience attention and are easily disseminated by SNS and the media. When these cases are picked by the media, they may tarnish the efforts of modern diplomacy that government has engaged in for a long time.
The use of public diplomacy also clashes with the freedom of expression. Media outlets may decide to undertake an embarrassing news report, and this gets determined by the outlet itself as stipulated under the principle of journalistic integrity (Bjola and Holmes, 2015, p. 100). Therefore, there is an urgent need for the outlet’s audience and not the government to check and balance this issue to enhance media credibility. Media awareness campaigns for modern diplomacy need to get well planned to gain support from all domestic people in the whole world. The use of internet also helps in promoting diplomacy through online broadcasts via YouTube, and this requires proper planning to avoid establishing adverse reputational impacts.
The media cannot get held liable for the negative effects caused by cartoons, videos, and photos are explained in this section above. Rather, this is a matter of the personality, and people’s conscience whose only way to prevent is educating the people on how to avoid these incidences (Adler-Nissen, 2014, p. 670). The critiques of public diplomacy postulate that modern diplomacy has neglected the involvement of the local peoples in policy-making processes. Citizens from different countries miss numerous chances of conducting people to people diplomacy when the government hides foreign policy information to the citizens (Acuto, 2013, p. 10). The fact of the matter remains that modern diplomacy requires all citizens’ involvement in policy making, and not only the governments aided initiatives.
Conclusion:
The power of global media and the progress of technology in mass communication have enabled the media to reach all corners of the world. There have been increased numbers of viewers all over the world to both governments and private owned broadcasts. Global media aims at serving the common good and will of the citizens of a country. In the past, government aided broadcasts aimed at promoting the national interests of their host nations whose reporting followed a nationalistic perspective. Diplomacy incredibly values justice, fairness, peace, social wellbeing, and all people’s fundamental rights. In this view, global media plays a significant role in the promotion of noble values that upgrade the general welfare of all people. However, it is not easy for global media to offer programming information that serves the common good for all people. This difficulty is created by differences in audiences’ cultures, history, customs, and mindset.
Diplomacy attracts world community’s attention to concrete international activities and events. Global media needs to value the opinions of citizens in policymaking. Global media needs to exercise its influence to promote the common good of people beyond domestic borders. Mass media is used in covering international intelligence, and this makes mass media a powerful weapon of influencing policy-makers and the perceptions of the world’s people. In conclusion, diplomacy remains the best form of communication between states. Communication holds all powers to conflict resolution, situation control, and the proper gathering of credible information and mass media that represent the opinions of the state. These opinions represented help states promote and achieve political, economic, and social-cultural interests. Therefore, governments should allocate sufficient budgets to global media campaigns to encourage diplomacy most intelligently and credibly that is acceptable to all citizens.
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