ABSTRACT
Global news networks intensify international communication beyond traditional spatial and temporal boundaries. Livingston and Van Belle (2005) indicate that the development of communication technology decreases the negative effects of geographical remoteness on levels of news coverage of distant events. Current global news media may cover all events in the world and facilitate international communication beyond spatiotemporal limitations. Recently, horrible natural disasters occurred in several places around the world, such as the Sichuan earthquake in China, Hurricane Katrina in the United States, and the tsunami in Southeast Asia. Although the disasters could be considered nation-state’s problems, global news media converted the national events to salient international issues by disseminating the horrifi c news to the world. As a result, the global news media have played an important role in promoting immediate aid from other countries. Likewise, international communication may be facilitated by the global news media enhancing communication processes among members of the global system (Giddens, 1990).
