Media as National Citizen

Media Strive to Enhance and Protect National Identity

Leo Serrano, 12, takes a free meal together with his brothers inside the evacuation center in Pasig City, east of Manila, Philippines. The U.S. government announced $8.5 million in food aid for the Philippines, which is struggling to recover from back-to-back storms that killed more than 900 people and 123,000 people still in government-run evacuation. (AP Photo/Pat Roque)

The media play a host of critical roles in regard to international relations – whether educating us about other nations, sending informal messages between world leaders, or alerting us to potential crises or conflicts.

Paradoxically, one of the key roles media play relative to international relations is actually that of national citizen: maintaining, protecting, and enhancing nation identity in the context of global affairs.

The media encourage millions of people, who will never meet, to feel a shared sense of citizenship, fate, and national pride through its coverage of the United States as an international actor.

The articles in this issue, written by the Evening Degree students in COM321/POLS330 Communications and International Relations reflect on the actions of U.S. media in this role of national citizen – for better or for worse.

We hope you enjoy our work.

Did you know...

Lab technician

A lab technician for the Louisiana Department of Public Health demonstrates how dangerous substances are opened and handled in a special cabinet that prevents the substances from contaminating the environment. (AP Photo/Cheryl Gerber)

Accuracy of Scientific Broadcasts Found to be Poor

By Brittany Samms

There has always been controversy over the accuracy of our television news broadcasts, specifically when these programs deal with science. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 83% of scientists rate television news coverage of scientific research as poor. Statistics are only slightly better when scientific studies are covered by newspapers, with 36% of scientists rating the coverage good.