The war coverage in the American media is a theme that
shows the reality of the American democracy. Though the
media in the U.S. is rarely limited by law it was often used for
special purposes. The latest example is the war with Iraq
where all kinds of media were employed to create a pro-war
opinion within the population of the USA. I will lead further into
that in chapter 6.
The history of the American media makes up the beginning of
this paper (chapter 2, page 4) and the history of the American
war coverage (chapter 3, page 8). In my opinion the
knowledge about these things is important to understand how
the American media act and work today.
A summary of all chapters and some of my personal
conclusions can be found in chapter 7 from page 19.
Examples for the coverage of American led wars are the
Vietnam War (chapter 4, page 10), the second Gulf War
(chapter 5, page 12), and the third Gulf War (chapter 6, page
14).
There were various sources for this paper. First of all I want to
mention “The American Age” by Walter LaFeber1. Furthermore
the “Länderbericht USA”2, the “stern”, “The Media in American
Politics” by Paletz3, and several articles from the seminar
reader which will be listed in the list of sources (page 21).
Additionally I used the “Microsoft Encarta 96”4 which was a
very useful starting place for me.
1 LaFeber, Walter: The American Age. U.S. Foreign Policy at Home and Abroad. W.W. Norton &
Company, New York, London, 1994.
2 Adams, W. P., E.-O. Czempiel, B. Ostendorf, K. L. Shell, P. B. Spahn, M. Zöller (Hrsg.):
Länderbericht USA I; Länderbericht USA II. Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, Schriftenreihe Band
293/I und 293/II, Bonn, 1992.
3 Paletz, David L.: The Media in American Politics. Longman, 2002.
4 Microsoft® Encarta® 96 Encyclopedia. 1993-1995 Microsoft Corporation.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 History of the U.S. media
3 History of American War Coverage
4 The Vietnam War Coverage
5 The Second Gulf War Coverage
6 The Third Gulf War Coverage
7 Summary
8 Sources
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines the evolution and strategic utilization of war coverage within American media, specifically analyzing how the press has historically influenced public opinion and been used to serve government agendas. It explores the transition from early media precedents to the highly controlled, "embedded" reporting environments in contemporary conflicts, focusing on the intersection of democratic ideals and state-led information management.
- Historical development of the U.S. media landscape
- Evolution of American war reporting from the 19th century to the present
- The impact of visual media and censorship in the Vietnam War
- Government management of media during the Gulf Wars
- The role of propaganda and disinformation in modern foreign policy
Excerpt from the Book
The Third Gulf War Coverage
Coverage of the third Gulf war started long before the war really had begun. On September 11 the whole Western world was traumatized by the terrorists attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. After that, Afghanistan was attacked by the USA because Osama bin Laden was accused to have organized the assault on New York. The UN blue helmet troops are still in Afghanistan but though the Taliban organization seems to have been cracked, there are still a lot of things to do for this country. The public has already forgotten about it.
After the terrorist camps in Afghanistan were destroyed President George W. Bush seemed to want more. His next plan was the removal of Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq. A threatening scenario was created about weapons of mass destruction, wrong facts and false documents were presented to convince the world that is necessary to attack Iraq. It did not work. The resolution 1441 was not even voted by the UN. Bush did not get the help that would have made this a legal mission against terrorism and for democracy. Only Great Britain, Spain, and Bulgaria were on Bush’s side. At the moment Spain seems to pay for his support. The terrible assaults in Madrid appear to be the work of Muslim terrorists.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Provides an overview of the paper's scope, including the importance of understanding media influence on American democracy and the research sources used.
2 History of the U.S. media: Traces the origins of American journalism from early colonial newspapers through the "penny press" to the emergence of television and investigative reporting.
3 History of American War Coverage: Examines early war reporting, beginning with the Mexican-American War, and the evolution of coverage through the World Wars.
4 The Vietnam War Coverage: Analyzes the pivotal role of television in broadcasting the cruelty of the Vietnam War and its impact on public opposition.
5 The Second Gulf War Coverage: Details the government's successful management of the media through reporter pools and sanitized military terminology.
6 The Third Gulf War Coverage: Discusses the systematic use of embedded journalists and pre-war propaganda strategies employed by the Bush administration.
7 Summary: Concludes that American war coverage has become increasingly untrustworthy due to government manipulation and the suppression of dissenting facts.
8 Sources: Lists the academic texts, news articles, and encyclopedic references utilized throughout the paper.
Keywords
War Coverage, American Media, U.S. Foreign Policy, Vietnam War, Gulf War, Propaganda, Journalism, Freedom of Press, Embedded Journalists, Censorship, Public Opinion, Pentagon, George W. Bush, Media History, Investigative Journalism
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this paper?
The paper examines how American media handles war coverage and the extent to which the government influences news reporting to shape public perception during military conflicts.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The work covers the history of U.S. media, the evolution of war reporting, the transition from independent journalism to state-managed "embedded" reporting, and the influence of propaganda on foreign policy.
What is the main objective of the research?
The objective is to demonstrate that war coverage in the U.S. is often used as a strategic political tool, challenging the notion of a completely free and objective press in times of conflict.
Which methodology is applied?
The author uses a historical and comparative approach, analyzing specific conflicts (Vietnam, Second Gulf War, Third Gulf War) to observe how government control over media has evolved over time.
What does the main body of the paper address?
It covers the historical rise of American newspapers, the transformative impact of television in Vietnam, the restrictive media handling during the Gulf Wars, and the systematic use of disinformation by the Bush administration.
Which keywords best describe this study?
Key terms include War Coverage, Media Manipulation, Freedom of Press, Embedded Journalism, Government Propaganda, and the history of American media.
How does the author define the "media war" strategy?
The author describes it as a coordinated effort by the Pentagon to manage information, hire set designers for press briefings, and ensure that reporters adopt military terminology while embedded with troops.
What is the author's conclusion regarding the trustworthiness of the American press?
The author argues that contemporary American war coverage is not reliable because it has become a mechanism for government deception, manipulated by political entities rather than serving the democratic need for truthful information.
- Quote paper
- Juliane Weuffen (Author), 2004, War Coverage in the American Media, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/30393
