The Role of the Media in Engineering Public Opinion during Crises

Engineering public opinion through the media plays an important role in dealing with crises effectively and managing them. Agitation of public opinion is indicative of the attitudes to which part of the general public are deeply committed and react. In many cases, these attitudes lead to agreements and commonalities that make organizations, groups, governments and people take effective and extensive measures. The media have three functions in regard to public opinion: 1) providing information on various topics through news broadcasting, 2) Transmitting a wide range of messages from government officials to people, and 3) Discussing different issues. Major media bias for directing public opinion occurs when a crisis arises in a community. Successful media should have certain requirements to be able to function correctly in crisis management through providing quick information services and transmitting the necessary messages. Depending on the type of crisis, the psychological and sociological traits of addressees and the type and extent of their understanding of crisis, the requirements of the public opinion engineering media model include different media tools and techniques and for each specific crisis, a particular plan is suggested. What this paper discusses about the role of the media in engineering public opinion is based on the individual and social psychological theories which consider individuals’ free will and inner dispositions, social factors and the role of planning factor in engineering public opinion and is consistent with the religious and national beliefs of Iranians.