Media as International Actor

Demonstrators stage the Occupy London Stock Exchange demonstration on the steps of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Protesters in cities across Europe take part in rallies inspired by the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in the United States, expressing their frustration at social inequality and corporate greed. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel)

This issue of Communication and International Relations focuses on how the media can play the role of international actor. The media help facilitate communication between countries, whether that means sending messages between leaders, pressuring governments to act on an issue, inspiring humanitarian response to crises, enhancing national images, inciting hate, promoting peace, or advocating for an activist cause.

How media play the role of international actor is quickly changing, thanks to new forms of media and technology. These changes allow more people to take a direct part in international affairs. Whether Tweeting photos of abused protesters in Egypt, or using Facebook to organize coordinated bank protests around the world, people are now interacting with media in ways that are changing the international relations landscape.

As always, we hope you enjoy our work.

Did you know...

Newspaper boxes in Seattle

People walk past newspaper boxes into The Seattle Times building. Like dailies around the country, The Times is drowning in debt and struggling to cut expenses. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Is the Internet killing traditional journalism?

By Johanna Attias

Around the world, journalists are worried about whether traditional media formats can survive. With today’s popularity of free and non-stop online information, many people have concerns about the future of traditional journalism. A survey conducted by PR network Oriella showed that people are indeed abandoning newspapers for Internet news. Among 770 journalists polled across 15 countries, 52.6 percent believe that their respective publication might be taken off the market.