Crossing the Water’s Edge: Elite Rhetoric, Media Coverage and the Rally-Round-the-Flag Phenomenon, 1979-2003
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Available online. Printed copy to be added to collection.
“The most widely accepted explanation for the rally-round-the-flag phenomenon is a relative absence of elite criticism during the initial stages of foreign crises. In this study we argue that the nature and extent of elite debate may matter less than media coverage of any such debate, and that such coverage is heavily influenced by commonly held professional incentives and norms that lead journalists to strongly prefer certain stories over others... We test our theory by examining public opinion data and network news coverage of all major U.S. uses of military force from 1979 to 2003..."
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