Who Owns the Debate: the President, the Congress, Or Media?

The ability of officials in government to define policy options is the paramount power in politics (Schattschneider, 1960). Media allocate power and legitimacy to issues, people, and institutions by how they choose to cover them (Graber, 2006). The allocation of power is dependent on what information media filter to the public and how media define the issues, events, and remedies with the chosen information. Previous literature finds that journalists and reporters are dependent on elite sources of information, especially within the realm of foreign policy (Cohen, 1963; Bennett, 1990; Entman 2004). Past research also finds media reflect the policy debate in Washington (Bennett, 1990; Entman 2004). Using the intervention into Bosnia of the 1990s, this paper investigates how media allocate power among their sources. Through a content analysis of the Congressional Record and Major News Media (ABC World News Tonight, the NewsHour on PBS, the New York Times, and CNN) this paper seeks to explain the scope of the debate regarding the intervention into Bosnia through the frames presented by the White House, the Congress, and Major News Media. Moreover, it tests whether Major News Media reflected the debate within Washington. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]