Page 108 - The CNN Effect in Action - How the News Media Pushed the West toward War ini Kosovo

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THE CNN EFFECT IN ACTION
independence under international convention. The attacks in the
Drenica area, according to Albanians, were directed mostly against
unarmed civilians including women, the elderly, and children, in order
to strike fear into the population and pressure them to either flee the
country or submit to Serbian rule.
In the week after images from the Drenica massacre first reached
the West, 22 stories were aired on ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN,
collectively. Each of these stories was reviewed and coded, based on a
selection from four options:
1. Pro-Albanian Framing
Examples of language in this framework include:
● Kosovo Albanian victims, under oppression, repression, suf-
fering et cetera
● Albanians constitute 90 percent of the population of Kosovo
● Albanians have right to freedom, determine own affairs
2. Pro-Serbian Framing
Examples of language in this framework include:
● Serbs trying to control or defend against terrorism (KLA are
terrorists)
● Kosovo is part of Serbia, internationally recognized as part
of FRY 22 21
3. Both positions represented
4. Neutral position
Table 5.2 provides a summary of the framing in the coverage.
Over the week following the massacre, Western media presented
both perspectives in 50 percent of their coverage and the Albanian
position in slightly over 40 percent. Surprisingly, one story framed the
Table 5.2 American Television Framing of the Drenica Massacre
on Leading Networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN): March 5, 1998–
March 11, 1998
Number of Stories Percentage of Coverage*
Pro-Albanian Framing 9 41
Pro-Serbian Framing 1 5
Both Perspectives 11 50
Neutral 1 5
Total 22 100
* Percentage does not add up to 100% due to rounding