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70. Wolfsfeld, 38–39.
71. Robert Entman, Projections of Power, 6.
72. Ibid., 6–7. For example, media reports referring to Osama bin Laden
would likely trigger a combination of negative and positive feelings for
Americans, involving negativity and anger toward the burning build-
ings, hijackers and terrorism, while generating positive feelings toward
the New York Fire Department and New York mayor Giuliani.
Entman’s insights are based on recent research in the fields of psy-
chology and physiology, the latter involving recent advances in neuro-
logical research using brain imaging technology. It is beyond the
scope of this book to review this subject in more detail.
73. Ibid., 170.
74. It should be noted that the interpretation of the enabling effect here
is different than that of Piers Robinson, who sees it as a means by
which policymakers pursue an agenda already decided upon by using
the media to build public support. This interpretation of the enabling
effect falls within the definition of the propaganda effect in this book.
Robinson, The CNN Effect: The Myth of News, 40–41.
75. This is the inherent assumption within the bureaucratic model of
policy decision–making, and is elaborated upon in chapter 3.
76. Wolfsfeld, Media and Political Conflict, 73. According to Gadi
Wolfsfeld, “One can never prove that the news media played a central
role in a political conflict. The goal is to collect as much evidence as
possible, from as many sources as possible, in order to make an
informed assessment about the extent of media influence.”
77. I thank Piers Robinson for this point. Correspondence from
Robinson, June 13, 2004.
78. This same factor has also been referred to as “societal culture,” which
is “understood to operate at the broadest level, meaning the predom-
inant norms, values, and beliefs of a community.” See Pippa Norris,
Montague Kern, and Marion Just, “Framing Terrorism,” in Framing
Terrorism: The News Media, the Government and the Public, ed. Pippa
Norris, Montague Kern, and Marion Just (New York: Routledge,
2003), 12.
79. Entman, Projections of Power, 14–15, 174. Entman compares his clas-
sification with Hallin’s three spheres of political discourse: consensus,
legitimate controversy, and deviance.
80. Ibid., 14.
81. Ibid., 15–16, 174.
82. Kenneth F. Warren, In Defense of Public Opinion Polling (Boulder,
CO: Westview Press, 2001), 69. According to Warren, polling over
several decades on a number of issues has been a valuable means to
gain historical information on changing elements of American culture.
83. In the United States, all interventions/wars since at least the end of
the cold war were backed by majority support in opinion polls.
Regarding Bosnia, for example, a detailed review of opinion polls