Presentation to NATO college Rome on how news media has become networked with particular reference to public diplomacy

1. Strategic Communication and the
Influence of the Media on Public
Opinion
NATO Defense College
March 2015
Prof Charlie Beckett
Director, Polis, LSE
E: c.h.beckett@lse.ac.uk
Twitter: @charliebeckett
Blog: www.blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis

3. What are the three things you
needed to know this morning and
where would go to find out?

7. Networked News
• On demand – instantly, all the time – the
consumer controls
• Interactive and participatory
• Choice of non-traditional media
providers as well as mainstream media

8. How news is now networked
• Newsgathering – social media is a routine
integrated source for material and information
for journalists
• Publication – social media is now a vital route
to distribute content through sharing
• Sources direct – social media is now a place
where the public can get information direct
from government, companies or other
organisations

9. How did we get from this…

10. …to this?

11. #EuroMaidan: Power to the people?

12. Social Media Tells The Story

13. Social Media Tells The Story

14. Social Media Tells The Story

15. Social Media Tells The Story

16. Media is a battleground

17. Social + Mainstream = Impact

18. Social + Mainstream = Impact

19. Social + Mainstream = Impact

20. Social + Mainstream = Impact

21. Social + Mainstream = Impact

22. The effect on public opinion & policy

23. The effect on public opinion & policy

24. The effect on public opinion & policy
• News cycle much faster – stories framed
instantly and agenda shaped more quickly
• Verification – people want filters but foster
fakes
• Multiple news – people seek trusted sources
in the face of over-abundance of information
including peer referrals
• Personalised – people want to chose news to
suit them: bubbles, solidarity, identity

25. What should public organisations do?
• Organisations need to establish their voice
• Transparency is the online currency of trust
• Interactivity is key to engagement
• Be on all the platforms, all the time
• Be strategic about who you want to influence
(niche, mass, switchers, nodes)
• Be strategic about why you want to influence
(behaviour change, opinion forming, media
space)

26. Global networked news war

27. Strategic Communication and the
Influence of the Media on Public
Opinion
NATO Defense College
March 2015
Prof Charlie Beckett
Director, Polis, LSE
E: c.h.beckett@lse.ac.uk
Twitter: @charliebeckett
Blog: www.blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis