ISM Analysis: A Necessity for Effective Strategic Communication

摘要

Ideas have consequences. This simple yet sufficient principle comes from a philosophical work of the same name by Richard M. Weaver, published in 1948. In this book, Weaver refers to the 'channels of information and entertainment' as the 'Great Stereopticon.' The purpose of this 'machine' is to 'project selected pictures of life in the hope that what is seen will be imitated.' According to Weaver, the audience is growing and so is their responsiveness to being 'told the time to laugh and the time to cry.' The media understand this concept and look to wield choice words, in the information domain, to manage a certain perception, in the cognitive domain, through an active process called framing. This thesis postulates that a correlation exists between a given area's system of belief and the framing by the local media of certain topics or events. To determine if this correlation exists, the author looked specifically at events in Iraq and the framing of these events by the media in and around Dearborn (Michigan), which has the highest density population of Muslims in the United States. The study establishes a methodology for deciphering the layers of public information that inform and solidify these views.