Page 93 - 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
and key decision-makers linked policy change to the media, then there
is evidence to support a CNN effect as a factor in the West’s policy
change in support of military intervention. However, it should be
noted that even if a CNN effect is demonstrated, this does not mean
that it was the only factor at work. The shift toward NATO’s war in
Kosovo was a complex process involving a range of influencing
variables including the conflict’s historical background and a number
of macro factors that were at work. Accounting for the background
and macro factors, therefore, is important in understanding the role
and limitations of the CNN effect on the overall situation. As such,
before proceeding to the case study, a review of the background and a
number of macro factors will be conducted.
Background
Kosovo was relatively unknown to the public in the West until well into
the dissolution of the FRY. This lack of awareness, however, was not
just a manifestation of the 1990s. Described as the lost heart of the
Balkans and as unknown and inaccessible as Central Africa, even
European maps of the region had major inaccuracies regarding
2
Kosovo’s geography until the twentieth century. Since World War II,
this ignorance was exacerbated by the fact that Kosovo was buried
under numerous identities. First, it was only an autonomous region in
one of seven republics that formed Yugoslavia. Second, Yugoslavia was
masked to a large degree from Western eyes behind the cloak of the
monolithic communist world, which officially claimed to have buried
national and religious differences as historic relics. In reality, of course,
much of this perception was misplaced. Josip Broz (Tito) made great
efforts to follow an independent path from other communist states
after breaking away from Stalin in 1948. As a result, Yugoslavia was dis-
tinct from other Soviet satellite states both politically and economically.
Kosovo Albanians also never lost their national character and ambitions
throughout their 45 years within a cohesive Yugoslavia. There were
constant struggles by Albanians to preserve and maintain their unique
culture within Yugoslavia, and even Tito relinquished initial attempts
to homogenize them by accepting many of their demands in the 1974
Yugoslav Constitution. This new constitution, which remained in force
until the breakup of Yugoslavia, gave the autonomous region of
Kosovo almost all the rights of Yugoslav republics, including direct
representation in Yugoslav federal institutions. 3
While wars were taking place in Croatia and Bosnia, few media
reports in the West mentioned Kosovo, even though regional experts
identified it as a ticking time bomb. The province had many of the