The University of Mississippi Undergraduate Research Journal Volume 3 Article 1 5-1-2019 Syrian Crisis Representation in The ediM a: The CNN Effect, Framing, and Tone Savannah S. Day University of Mississippi, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/umurjournal Part of the Communications Law Commons, Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, Comparative Politics Commons, History of Religions of Eastern Origins Commons, International and Intercultural Communication Commons, International Relations Commons, Journalism Studies Commons, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Models and Methods Commons, Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Television Commons, and the Terrorism Studies Commons Recommended Citation Day, Savannah S. (2019) "Syrian Crisis Representation in The eM dia: The NNC Effect, Framing, and Tone," The University of Mississippi Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 3 , Article 1. Available at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/umurjournal/vol3/iss1/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in The nivU ersity of Mississippi Undergraduate Research Journal by an authorized editor of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. University of Mississippi Undergraduate Resarch Journal Humanities Introduction ing relationship between media coverage and refugee crises will impact policy for In March of 2011, the Arab Spring centuries to come. began. As part of this large uprising to dethrone oppressive leaders across the Middle East, and in efforts to take down A General Reflection of The Syrian the authoritarian government of President Crisis in The Media Bashar al-Assad, Syrian rebels went to war against their own state. Syrians saw “that A crisis such as this civil war in Syria Syrian Crisis Representation in The Media: it was possible to challenge what had long is the perfect recipe for a successful news been thought to be beyond alteration,” (Na- story due to “deep seated news values such The CNN Effect, Framing, and Tone jem, Soderlund, & Briggs, 2017). Because as drama, conflict, violence, human interest of this war, over six million Syrians are cur- and, in the case of visual news media, ar- Savannah Day rently displaced, five million fled as refu- resting images and spectacle” which plays Honors Candidate for B.A. Public Policy Leadership & B.A. Journalism gees, and 13 million within the country still a role in “prioritizing and shaping the images need aid (Mercy Corps, 2018). This is now and events of war and occluding others,” Reviewed by Dr. Zenebe Beyene known as the worst humanitarian crisis in (Cottle, 2009). Associate Professor for School of Journalism and New Media and Coordinator of International Programs the modern age. What’s even more enticing editori- Defining a global situation as a crisis ally is not just the war, but the human in- involves “the humanitarian consequences terest of a person’s livelihood at risk, the Abstract of war, the threat of terrorism, and anxiet- refugees. Journalists tend to emphasize ies associated with rising unemployment,” and exaggerate the “exalting stories of im- Over the past seven years of the Syrian Civil War, Syrian refugees have been painted in a neg- (Moore, Gross, & Threadgold, 2012). When migrant success and the infuriating stories ative light by news media outlets around the world. History of media coverage regarding global reflecting on a crisis in history, one may ask of immigrant victimization at the hands of humanitarian crises shows that with various tools and processes, media can shape public opin- where it all begins. Media plays a pivotal role incompetent bureaucrats,” (Suarez-Oroz- ion and policy in whichever direction it desires, and oftentimes policymakers and the public are in defining crises. co, Louie, & Suro, 2011). Media represen- quick, as well as emotional, to react. In this paper, my objectives are to analyze specific exam- Media documents and defines his- tation of refugees “frequently objectifies ples of this CNN Effect phenomena within news coverage of the Syrian refugee crisis, as well as tory. Without this form of communication them, dismissing their historical, cultur- generally explain the negatively correlating relationship between media and humanitarian crises displayed in newspapers, broadcasts, and al, and political circumstances,” (Wright, like the Syrian refugee crisis. now the Internet, citizens would not be ed- 2010). The Syrian refugee crisis is no ex- ucated interconnectedly on what happens ception to this phenomena. around the world. When news media often Especially with refugee crises, it is reports on humanitarian crises such as civ- difficult for news organizations to maintain il wars and forced migrations, it either hu- their unbiased virtues when reporting as manizes its audience or dehumanizes it, in an outsider to such a perplexing cultural order to bring awareness to the situation. conflict. “Reporters, commentators, and Humanitarian content such as this is prior- editors, being human, are bound to be in- itized by the media, and in turn, this news fluenced in the information they present, coverage becomes a frame to push opinion and in the manner in which they present it, and shape policy. by the prevailing attitudes and opinions of Media around the world has partic- the public,” (Najem, Soderlund, & Briggs, ipated in infiltrating the news with charged 2017). But it is the job of a journalist to de- content regarding the Syrian refugee crisis, compose, simplify, and disseminate these which results in propagandized stories, complex stories to an average consumer, in framing, and the CNN effect. This polariz- an unbiased way, in order to fully compre- 54 UMURJ | Volume III | Spring 2019 Day, Syrian Crisis 55 University of Mississippi Undergraduate Resarch Journal Humanities hend the situation at stake. way, result in both slanted decision-making calling policymakers to action, the media suggested that Syrian refugees, through It is important to remember a journal- and public opinion. is one of the top framing and agenda-set- possible connections with terrorist net- ist’s purpose, and their integrity. A journal- For example, over just a matter of six ting bodies of society. Citizens form opin- works, represented a threat,” (Wallace, ist’s job in this respect is not to “advocate days in August of 2013 when United States ions based on what information is avail- 2018). for immigrants or what we conceive to be leaders were debating an attack after Syr- able to them. In a journalist’s defense, But the media sets the agenda, and their interests,” instead, their duty is to “ed- ia’s confirmed status of possessing chemi- “[framing] is nothing more than placing it can do so through various outlets. The ucate our readers about a very complex, cal weapons, six cable networks in the U.S. events for target audiences in a context story of the Syrian refugee crisis took a turn multifaceted immigration offered 321 stories with a total of 21 hours they might more easily understand or in September of 2015. A photo of a three- system,” (Suarez-Orozco, Louie, & Suro, of coverage (Najem, Soderlund, & Briggs, relate to,” (Najem, Soderlund, & Briggs, year-old Syrian refugee boy flooded the front 2011). This is because in order to proper- 2017). This coverage ultimately generated 2017). The media provides consumers pages of major media outlets, seeing his life- ly educate viewers of the news and infor- 61 percent of Americans being in oppo- their information, and generally in democ- less body washed ashore in Turkey which mation going on around the world, a jour- sition of strikes and led President Barack racies such as the U.S., this information “changed, temporarily at least, the media nalist must not be biased. Objectivity is a Obama, who had previously been support- is trusted and valued. However, govern- debate on asylum” (Berry, Garcia-Blanco, & fundamental tenet and value of journalism, ive of military reaction in this situation, to ments “cannot often, or for very long, Moore, 2015). Part of this continuous, con- whereas advocacy is inherently biased decide to not strike Syria that year. This is a pursue policies that are strongly opposed tentious debate led to the policy decision of (Chouliaraki & Stolic, 2017). Especially in prime example of the CNN effect. by significant segments of their citizenry,” the EU shutting its borders in March 2016. tense, opinionated situations like the refu- The CNN effect is a term coined in (Najem, Soderlund, & Briggs, 2017). This Hysterical media coverage such as this “can gee crisis, the news must be objective. the 1990s due to technology’s new ability is where the media takes advantage of its be thus easily used by political figures to ex- Regarding management of human- at the time to constantly cover the Gulf War. powerful process of setting agendas and acerbate the already very emotional debate itarian crises, the United Nations’ Inter- It represents the pressing relationship be- event-driven tool of framing opinions for on immigration,” (Szczepanik, 2016). On the national Commission on Intervention and tween media coverage and policy action, the general public. other hand, in an interview with The New State Sovereignty (ICISS) was created and the effect has been shown to work. Framing came early in the Syrian cri- Yorker, President