What I'm Reading at School: Media and International Security

One of my courses this semester focused on the world of media and its relationship with foreign affairs. Here are my two textbooks from this course (they were surprisingly interesting and I would highly recommend to anyone interested in Political Science...though Influence from Abroad might spark some debate):

Title: News: The Politics of Illusion 

Author: W. Lance Bennett
Page Count: 285
Rating: A
Keywords: Media, Journalism, Foreign Affairs, Media Effects, Blogs, Research
Genre: Non-Fiction
Younger Readers: This is a textbook. No inappropriate content. Written in a reader friendly manner, not overly wordy.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Free and attentive news media are essential to the workings of a democratic nation. But how well does the news, in reality, actually serve the needs of citizens, and thereby democracy? How well do the major methods of sharing national political information work, and how well-informed do they leave voters? For years, News: The Politics of Illusion has been the leading textbook to address that question, and in this ninth edition W. Lance Bennett brings his analysis fully up to date, exploring recent developments in news media and showing how they have improved--or hampered--the wide sharing of political news and information.


Title: Influence From Abroad- Foreign Voices, the Media, and US Public Opinion
Author: Danny Hayes and Matt Guardino
Page Count: 149
Rating: A
Keywords: Terrorism, Media, Iraq, Research, Bias
Genre: Non-Fiction
Younger Readers: This book could cause debate as it involves media coverage of the Bush administration's stance on Iraq from 2002 to 2003. However, no inappropriate material. This one is written a bit more densely than News: The Politics of Illusion. Those comfortable with academic material should be fine.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In Influence from Abroad, Danny Hayes and Matt Guardino show that United States public opinion about American foreign policy can be shaped by foreign leaders and representatives of international organizations. By studying news coverage, elite debate, and public opinion prior to the Iraq War, the authors demonstrate that US media outlets aired and published a significant amount of opposition to the invasion from official sources abroad, including British, French, and United Nations representatives. In turn, these foreign voices – to which millions of Americans were exposed – drove many Democrats and independents to signal opposition to the war, even as domestic elites supported it. Contrary to conventional wisdom that Americans care little about the views of foreigners, this book shows that international officials can alter domestic public opinion, but only when the media deem them newsworthy. Their conclusions raise significant questions about the democratic quality of United States foreign policy debates.