Media as International Actor

Famed American recording stars, vocalist Mary Ford and guitarist Les Paul, at U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe in Munich, Germany, during a 1955 broadcast to Iron Curtain listeners in Communist-ruled Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. (AP Photo/File)

A Time of Rapidly Evolving Media Roles

Each day, we are witness to international media being used for a wide variety of purposes: sending messages between leaders, pressuring governments, inspiring humanitarian response to crises, testing policy, sensationalizing conflict, trying to win hearts and minds, promoting national prestige, inciting political change, and much more.

This issue of Communication and International Relations touches on this fascinating array of roles that media play both as an actor on the global stage — and as the stage itself, providing opportunities for international communication to take place.

And, these roles are rapidly evolving. Technology now allows people to take a direct part in international affairs — whether as bloggers in Beijing, citizen journalists during the Iran election, or human rights monitors in Myanmar — in ways that are changing the international relations landscape.

Once again, we hope you enjoy our work.

Did you know...

An Iranian woman records a rally with her phone.

A supporter of Iran reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, standing next to a poster of him, whistles as she films an election rally with her mobile phone in Tehran. As Iran's government cracks down on traditional media after the country's disputed presidential election, tech-savvy Iranians have turned to the microblogging site Twitter. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Small Media Gives Rise to Citizen Journalism

By Michelle Burdette

Citizen journalism (also known as “public,” “participatory,” “democratic” or street journalism) is the concept of members of the public playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information according to Wikipedia. Citizen media refers to content produced by private citizens, not professional journalists, employing cell phones, video cameras, and other “small” technologies to capture events of the day. The success, and reach, of citizen journalism has even seen corporate mass media competing for their wares.