The impact and sway of politics on global media are significantly shaped by the utilization of propaganda and the strategic employment of related tools. Instruments like agenda-setting, framing, and media bias are crucial; however, in isolation, they often prove insufficient for media organizations to exert substantial international, or even regional, influence. The most influential media agencies combine their inherent resources to maximize their impact.
My foray into the Media and Politics minor was sparked by a keen interest in public policy, fueled by my engagement with political journalism on prominent platforms such as CNN, Times of India, and Al Jazeera. This exposure allowed me to critically assess media bias and its profound impact on shaping public opinion. However, by pursuing this minor, I better understood the complex interplay, more so, the symbiotic relationship between media and political movements.
Firstly, the media plays a crucial role in changing public perception. Through the American Politics and Government course, I delved into the political systems of the United States through a detailed case study analysis of the Texas Senate race between MJ Hegar and John Cornyn. This study provided a comprehensive view of political parties, partisanship, and polarization, highlighting Senator Cornyn’s successful campaign strategies to secure votes. To a large extent, Cornyn’s victory was significantly aided by his adept use of mass media campaigns across various platforms, both digital and print, employing narratives that resonated with core Republican values such as gun law stances, immigration policies, education, and pro-life choices.
Cornyn’s campaign’s ability to appeal to emotions and capitalize on these values ensured the retention of existing supporters while also engaging previously inactive voter segments, notably within the Hispanic and African American communities–who were more aggressively targeted across all campaigns. My fascination was centered on his ability to change public perception. Likewise, it also highlighted the necessity of conducting precise target audience research to ensure that curated messages reach intended segments effectively.
However, the effectiveness of Cornyn’s campaign was underpinned by strategic agenda-setting and framing, tools that were instrumental in influencing societal views. The media’s strong emphasis on Republican ideals not only served the political agenda but also reinforced identity politics and exacerbated partisan divides between Democrats and Republicans within the United States. This case study underscored the power of propaganda, narrative building, and the strategic use of media to frame political issues and agenda-setting to mobilize individuals or groups for policy advocacy, to bring impactful change.
Understanding propaganda and the variability in narrative portrayal across media platforms reveals how information can also be distorted. My coursework in Politics in the Digital World delved into the spread of information, misinformation, media bias, and virality. Using Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal as a case study in my Internet and Society course, I improved my understanding of how even the most reliable and “fact-checked” news on digital platforms can be manipulated, raising ethical questions about the role of propaganda or news in disseminating false narratives. This prompted me to question: Does media bias render information false?
Applying these insights to the news circulated in my home country, India, I examined media coverage and policy frameworks surrounding women’s rights and the extent of their communication or censorship in Indian media. Through analyzing the cases of Jyothi Singh and Laxmi Agrawal—well-known victims and survivors of abuse against women in India, whose stories received unprecedented media attention both nationally and internationally—I better understood how political advocacy leverages virality and how media bias can be a positive force. With the advent of Netflix documentaries, Bollywood autobiographies, retweets, and shares, these individual stories achieved significant media traction, with the media swiftly framing the news to serve justice to their narratives. The stories of these women concerning women’s rights in India demonstrated that media bias is sometimes essential for achieving virality, drawing public attention, and driving policy changes or movements advocating for women’s rights.
Further adding to this theme, my coursework at Georgetown University- Qatar broadened my perspective, introducing me to topics centered around the Arab region as well as the United States. Likewise, the underlying theme of the media’s role in the mobilization of society toward political action further became more apparent. In my International Relations and Small State Security coursework, I analyzed how Qatar’s media and diplomatic strategies concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict heavily relied on the media. Through examining the impact of Qatar’s independent news agency, Al-Jazeera, I was able to see how they were more politically affiliated with the values and norms of Qatar and Islam. For example, what Al-Jazeera deemed as “newsworthy” largely indicated Qatar’s role as a mediator in the international politics of the Israel-Gaza crisis. By taking a strong stance that is pro-Palestine leaning but remaining neutral to maintain relationships with the United States, Al-Jazeera’s news framing showcased how the media is a significant political tool as well as an indicator.
Likewise, in a more detailed study of Qatar within the Small State Security course, I better understood the strategic ties Qatar has with the United States. What is remarkable and most noticeable within Qatar’s diplomatic ties, is the educational initiative taken by the Ministry of Education and Qatar Foundation’s Education City, including the current six international branch campuses from the United States. These initiatives add to Qatar’s soft power and are largely publicized and rely on media networks to maintain relevance and publicity to leverage the educational infrastructure of Qatar in global politics. Political entities leverage media and digital platforms to influence public perception and policy initiatives. Essentially, the media plays a crucial role in shaping and navigating power dynamics. In sum, the media being cultivated and produced all add to the image of Qatar as a global and international actor. Although the thematic links are not seemingly related, they essentially reiterate the significance of media in mobilizing people or driving policy and projecting a public image.
My experience with courses within the minor has given me the necessary skills and background to analyze the influence of media and politics within local and international education policy, a key interest in my undergraduate career. A pivotal example/case study that encapsulates this theme, is my research of education/pedagogy policy in Qatar, India, and other regions. Within all research projects, I more specifically focus on how policies and politics define international and national education for female students, international students, and marginalized populations.
During my time spent as a tutor in Qatar’s Qutor’s Foundation, internships/volunteer work within Tamil Nadu’s local schools and Project Hope (a non-profit orphanage for displaced women), research projects on pedagogy within Education City, I better understood the role of Education in an economy. Within the realm of my experiences, the Education City initiative in Qatar stands out as one of the most successful educational infrastructures. The portrayal of the Education City across all paid and owned media, as discussed by Neha Vora in “Teach for Arabia,” not only highlights Qatar’s stances on the empowerment of women but also links it to Qatar’s economic ties with the United States and advanced its international image being associated with the superpower. This is crucial to consider because once again Education City, while ostensibly aimed at broad societal benefits, also served economic interests and is largely a political move too, illustrating the duality of politics in educational reforms. Likewise, the media drives this image internationally.
The amount of media coverage, endorsement, and investment that continues to go into Qatar’s Education City, stands as a testament to how effective policies, coupled with strategic media coverage, can promote public goods with societal benefits. Indeed, the sum of these experiences has shown me how almost everything is political and relies on the media. The media is necessary to make these changes. Reflecting on my academic journey in the Media and Politics minor, I’ve come to realize its profound impact on reshaping my understanding of policy formation, strategic motivations behind policy advocacy through media campaigns, and the critical role of rhetoric in political mobilization. This experience has not only broadened my perspective, encouraging me to view these dynamics from a global lens but also deepened my comprehension of the dynamic interplay between media strategies and political movements.
My engagement with the curriculum, particularly in exploring the art of persuasive communication tailored to sway public opinion, has illuminated the power of agenda-setting and framing. These tools are indispensable in sculpting compelling narratives across both digital and traditional media platforms, which are pivotal in rallying support for social and political causes. Such narratives underscore the media’s significant influence on public policy and societal transformation. Moreover, the program has enriched my understanding of the media’s watchdog role in sustainable development goals and political transparency, highlighting its capacity to reduce censorship and foster the global spread of information. Despite the prevalence of media bias and misinformation, I remain optimistic about its potential to enlighten the public, enhance freedoms, and empower activists.
This enriched perspective is a product of blending rigorous undergraduate research with practical classroom learning, offering profound insights into the media’s influence on public policymaking. My passion, particularly for educational policy, aligns with understanding how media discourse shapes the agenda, influencing both policymakers and the public. This synthesis of media studies and public policy underscores my commitment to delve deeper into the field, aiming to contribute to the development of educational infrastructure and policies in India and beyond, leveraging media to effect meaningful change.
The journey through the Media and Politics minor has not only enriched my academic knowledge but also ignited a passion for leveraging media as a powerful tool for advocacy and change, particularly in areas that directly impact community well-being and global development.
Within the Indian context, this encompasses advocating for and implementing improved programs for women from rural communities to access education, developing policies aimed at providing better incentives for students to remain in school, offering subsidized education, and enhancing the visibility of existing initiatives that drive these progressive ideas forward. Effective coverage of such issues can help to draw greater attention to these topics, making them more relevant within governments and among leaders of societies that fail to make education equitable for disadvantaged communities. With an interest to pursue academia further, I look forward to studying education and public policy and analysis at either Harvard or the University of Pennsylvania this fall.