MEGATRENDS AND MEDIA

MEGATRENDS AND MEDIA
Scheme 1: Media Interaction Scheme based on Robinson’s Policy-Media
Interaction Model
Policy
certainty
Media
Inluence
absent
Media
Coverage
Indexed
to oficial
agenda
Policy-Media Relationship
– well articulated objectives =
government sets news agenda
– media coverage – unlikely to
inluence the policy
Policy
uncertainty
present
Critical/
Extensive
– government vulnerable to the
media attention
– critically framed news
– media advocate the course
of action
Source: ROBINSON, P.: The policy-media interaction model: measuring media
power during humanitarian crisis, p.615
As in the model, the policy uncertainty occurs under some speciic
conditions occurred in decision-making, as shown in Scheme 1 above.
It may happen “if an issue suddenly arises and no policy is in place, or
if there is disagreement, conlict of interest or uncertainty between the
executive subsystems” resulting into three eventual consequences which
are relected as an absence of policy line or this policy line is frequently
changed (so called shaky policy line) or it may result into impossibility of
the representatives (executive subsystems) to reach a common position/
policy line seen as an inconsistent policy line.
As stated by Robinson, 30 political inluence of media appears when there
is uncertainty on policy taking and then media offer sharply framed
coverage with role to empathize with people suffering in a conlict.
The policy –makers, pushed and followed by media, got under public
pressure with having in mind a potentially negative reaction of the public
and are willing to produce media inluenced policy. The Scheme above
proves that if the government has and is following clearly stated policy in
the given issue (i.e. if there is a policy certainty to decide under, i.e. policy
certainty), then the media cover that oficial political agenda which
30 ROBINSON, P.: The policy-media interaction model: measuring media
power during humanitarian crisis. In Journal of Peace Research, 2000,
Vol. 37, No. 5, p. 613-615.
274