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THE CNN EFFECT IN ACTION
to tactical revisions. This was the case, for example, after the bombing
of Baghdad’s Al-Amiriya shelter on February 13, 1991 during the Gulf
War, when television viewers saw images of civilian corpses, raising
doubts over coalition claims of precision bombing on military targets.
After this incident, policy was amended and targets in central Baghdad
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were largely avoided. In other cases, the impediment effect can lead to
major revisions or even the elimination of a strategic policy.
The challenging CNN effect, like the impediment, largely comes
into play during the implementation stage of a foreign policy, making
existing policy appear misguided or inappropriate under a new set of
circumstances. In contrast to the impediment effect, however, it influ-
ences policy before a military intervention (when the policy is one of
nonmilitary intervention), and often in relation to “other people’s
crises or wars” (whereas the impediment effect is at play during “our
interventions/wars”). In like manner, the challenging effect also has
implications for formulation, as new policy is required to replace the
existing official one. In many cases, such a policy is one of interven-
tion, or shifts to that end. The challenging effect, like the impedi-
ment, is mostly relevant to policy substance, challenging the content
of existing policy and replacing it with a new policy that can fill the
gaps between the old policy and media representations.
There are two other media effects that are worthy of review based
on these classifications—the potential and the propaganda effects. The
potential effect comes into play primarily during policy formulation
and involves the creation of policy with safeguards against future CNN
effects that might damage policy. This effect relates largely to the
substance of policy, which will incorporate either defensive measures,
such as the placement of strict controls on media access, or offensive
measures, such as the utilization of propaganda to counter damage
from unfavorable images and framing that might impede the success of
a government policy.
The propaganda effect involves the deliberate promotion of media
images and framing by the government to promote its official policy.
While the propaganda effect is put into practice during policy
implementation, it is a variable that is often incorporated at the
formulation stage, as policymakers will no doubt incorporate measures
that will maximize the likely success of their agenda. Propaganda
largely relates to the substance of policy. In the context of a military
intervention into “other people’s wars,” for example, it is used to
identify the victims and villain, often exaggerating both the suffering of
victims and the immorality of those it identifies to be at fault.