The Operational Mechanism Of American Media Diplomacy

In the Media Age, One country can carve out a new way in dealing with its international relationship through news reporting. When the Media Diplomacy applied, the discourse power of a country can be realized and be transformed into a soft power at any time. This thesis suggests that the United States begins to utilize its media power early in the last century, meeting its own needs and suiting its purposes in terms of its diplomacy and strategy. The Media is a valuable communication channel between politicians and the public. In US, the president and the administration have an effective control over the selection and setting of news agenda, providing a sound foundation for the promotion of the US diplomatic policy. Nevertheless, as for the Contemporary International Relations, several issues should be concerned with the application of Media Diplomacy—i.e., the internal relations between the Media Diplomacy and politicians, the Media Diplomacy and political elites and the Media Diplomacy and public opinion; the US news release system; the operation of information censorship and management in the wartime; the internal logic and operation mechanism of Media Diplomacy. Presenting the model—"President/Administration(?)Media(?)Public opinion", the thesis seeks to analyze the mechanism of US Media Diplomacy and to decipher its internal logic. The thesis begins the analysis with the micro-level reflections of Media Diplomacy, and then focus on the role government and presidents played in Media Diplomacy, including the social elites’impact on the promotion of news agenda and their influence on public opinion.