Page 38 - The CNN Effect in Action - How the News Media Pushed the West toward War ini Kosovo

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THE CNN EFFECT
come into play. The dimensions of reach, density, and speed, in this
regard, are particularly useful parameters by which to conceptualize
the emergence of these networks.
Reach
The reach of television networks by the first decade of the twenty-first
century is more transcontinental than ever. News is gathered from
almost anywhere and transmitted to almost any place. In terms of
reception, there are over 1.4 billion television sets scattered across
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While the distribution is far from
every continent of the planet.
egalitarian, there are still at least 50 sets per 1,000 inhabitants in every
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Access has
continent covering almost every country on the planet.
increased for three reasons: First, there has been a continuing decline
in the cost of satellites and reception dishes, making the technology
much more affordable for larger numbers of people. Second, there has
been a remarkable shrinkage in the size of the equipment, making it
more feasible to install where previous size constraints existed. Third,
there has been a general improvement in the legislative environment
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favoring the spread of these technologies. These trends have widened
access even in the remotest regions of the world, and by combining
technologies, a few satellite receivers can pick up signals and distribute
them widely through cable networks. This system breaks the natural
monopoly of limited electromagnetic frequencies that dominated the
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earlier years of television. As such, states that have desired to control
television content, such as Iran and Afghanistan during the reign of the
Taliban, have resorted to banning satellite receivers. 53
In terms of news-gathering, three major organizations gather and
distribute news throughout the world: Reuters, the Associated Press
(AP), and Agence France-Press (AFP). 54 In the late 1990s, each of
these organizations had approximately 100 foreign bureaus and
produced about 100 to 250 international news items per day.
Collectively, these agencies have almost 1,500 journalists around the
world. Each of these groups is larger than CNN, which only has 20
foreign bureaus, 35 international journalists, and produces at most
about 20 foreign news stories per day. 55
There are two other important factors that have contributed to the
breadth of news-gathering and made an enormous difference in terms
of the reach of the media. First, many more local, national, and
regional media companies throughout the world are now supplying
news. This trend has been driven by the shift toward the privatization
of media companies and assets over the 1990s and by the declining