Abstract:
Media attention accorded to foreign countries constitutes a crucial facet of public diplomacy. Studies have shown that proximity in values is a key factor that determines such media attention. Models of media interest generally assume that the impact of value proximity is universal across countries with different societal value orientations. Yet this study shows that the effect of societal value orientation on media attention to foreign countries is more complex. It is argued here that the societal value orientation in different countries primes different sets of values, which are then applied as a criterion for assessing the importance of foreign states. Our empirical examination is based on the visibility of foreign countries gauged by searching web portals in 57 countries. It shows that in line with our theoretical argument, countries systematically differ in recognizing proximity, such that democracies base their judgment on similarity in shared democratic principles, whereas authoritarian countries focus on the affinity in religious culture. We discuss the strategic implications of this finding for the study of mediated public diplomacy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]Copyright of American Behavioral Scientist is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)Notes:
Accession Number: 89716521; Sheafer, Tamir 1; Ben-Nun Bloom, Pazit 1; Shenhav, Shaul R. 1; Segev, Elad 2; Affiliations: 1 : The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel; 2 : Tel Aviv University, Jerusalem, Israel; Source Info: Sep2013, Vol. 57 Issue 9, p1256; Thesaurus Term: SOCIAL values; Thesaurus Term: DIPLOMACY; Thesaurus Term: DEMOCRACY; Thesaurus Term: AUTHORITARIANISM; Subject Term: WEB portals; Subject Term: RELIGION & culture; Subject Term: RELATEDNESS (Psychology); Subject Term: STATISTICAL models; Subject Term: DATA analysis; Subject Term: DYADS; Author-Supplied Keyword: foreign country visibility; Author-Supplied Keyword: mediated public diplomacy; Author-Supplied Keyword: societal value orientation; Author-Supplied Keyword: value proximity; Number of Pages: 21p; Document Type: Article; Full Text Word Count: 7900
