A journalist is basically a chronicler of events as they unfold. In the process he/she makes the first draft of history, which history may come to the use of a professional historian to record the events objectively and bequeath to the future generations. New technologies have made journalist’s task easy but the rise of media empires and the subsequent formation of culture industries have made his/her job complex at the same time. Since media empires or cultural industries are primarily driven by profit motive and a desire to set the agenda – economic, political, social, cultural, etc., - journalists come under increasing pressures to compromise objectivity and truth. Accordingly at times the mediated history that is produced in the newsroom is a distorted version of reality out there. This is especially so in times of conflict and war. Some media critics goes on to the extent of saying that media is also a maker of war. Media assumes the self-appointed role of actors or agents in the events and processes which they purport only to be reporting. To that extent the media themselves have had an impact on the course of historical events, and been a significant ingredient in their development. This becomes evident when one considers carefully the major historical events of the twentieth and early twenty-first century.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Power of the Media
3. Media and World War I (1914-18)
4. Media and the Rise of Fascism
5. Media and the ‘Cold War’
6. Media and the ‘Fall’ of Berlin Wall
7. Media and the Rise of Nationalism and Xenophobia
8. Media and the War in the Balkans (Kosovo)
9. Media and 9/11, ‘War on Terrorism’ and ‘Anticipatory Pre-emption’
10. Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This paper explores the role of mass media in shaping historical events and public perception during the 20th and early 21st centuries. The primary research question examines to what extent media functions not merely as an observer of history, but as an active agent that influences, distorts, and creates outcomes through its agenda-setting power.
- The influence of media conglomerates on objective reporting.
- The role of linguistic corruption in shaping political and historical narratives.
- The function of media in facilitating or justifying wars and conflicts.
- The interaction between media agendas and the interests of power-elites.
Excerpt from the Book
3. Media and World War I (1914-18)
According to John Pilger in the First World War journalists told lies in order to make acceptable that which would not be acceptable, or accepted, if instead the truth were told.
In other words, in the 1914-18 war, lies changed history, and cost the lives of millions of young men. The false version of events, where a ‘massacre’ became a ‘victory’, was what the public read in their newspapers, and the daily lies added up to an image of the war, as perceived [in UK], which made it acceptable. Untruth masquerading as truth did not just provide the public with a wrong account of what had just happened at the front, it ensured that as a result of that false story, the massacre continued; it determined future events (Theobald, 2004: 55).
Karl Kraus’4 voluminous record of how the war was reported in Vienna is a real eye opener. Kraus’ work which he later turned into a monumental documentary drama The Last Days of Humanity (1919) exposes “satirically the specific processes of discursive deception from event to its ‘mediatic’ transformation to its reception and consequences, revealing the combination of economic, political and journalistic power interests that were operating it” (Theobald, 2004: 56).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter defines the journalist as the primary historian who facilitates the mediation of reality, noting how professional ethics are often compromised by selection, interpretation, and distortion.
2. The Power of the Media: Discusses the transformation of media into a cultural industry driven by profit, focusing on how language is corrupted to serve the interests of powerful conglomerates.
3. Media and World War I (1914-18): Examines how the press served as a commercial and propagandistic tool, transforming massacres into victories to maintain public support for the war.
4. Media and the Rise of Fascism: Explores how the mass-murder of language in the media preceded and facilitated the rise of National Socialism and the atrocities that followed.
5. Media and the ‘Cold War’: Analyzes the ‘Cold War’ as a discursive construction used to justify Western geopolitical interests and the nuclear arms race while distracting from critical global issues.
6. Media and the ‘Fall’ of Berlin Wall: Debunks the myth that the fall of the Wall was a spontaneous revolutionary uprising, identifying it instead as a result of global geopolitics and biased media coverage.
7. Media and the Rise of Nationalism and Xenophobia: Investigates how British media in the 1990s used anti-European and anti-German sentiment to serve nationalist and xenophobic political agendas.
8. Media and the War in the Balkans (Kosovo): Details the sanitization of the Kosovo war in Western media to prevent public opposition to NATO military action.
9. Media and 9/11, ‘War on Terrorism’ and ‘Anticipatory Pre-emption’: Critiques the media’s role in promoting the ‘War on Terrorism’ and facilitating the invasion of Iraq through an elite-promoted narrative.
10. Conclusion: Summarizes the significant impact of media on historical development and urges skepticism toward mass media discourses in collusion with power-elites.
Keywords
Media, History, Mediated History, Journalist, Agenda setting, Propaganda, Discursive Deception, World War I, Fascism, Cold War, Nationalism, Xenophobia, Kosovo, War on Terrorism, Geopolitics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this work?
The work focuses on how mass media has functioned as an active agent in altering history during the 20th and early 21st centuries by shaping public perception and facilitating political and military agendas.
What are the two primary functions of the media mentioned?
The two functions are mirroring society—reporting events objectively as they unfold—and setting the agenda, which often involves moulding historical and current assumptions for the public.
What is the primary objective of the author?
The objective is to elucidate how journalistic practices have frequently reported history falsely and created chains of consequences through misleading discourses influenced by market forces and ideology.
Which scientific method is utilized?
The author employs a critical analysis of media narratives and historical records, incorporating secondary literature and media criticism to demonstrate how the press interacts with political power-elites.
What is covered in the main section of the document?
The main section investigates specific historical case studies, including the First World War, the rise of Fascism, the ‘Cold War’, the fall of the Berlin Wall, nationalist trends in the UK, the Kosovo conflict, and the ‘War on Terrorism’.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
The research is characterized by terms such as mediated history, agenda setting, propaganda, discursive deception, and media collusion with power-elites.
How did media influence the interpretation of the fall of the Berlin Wall?
The media constructed a "useful myth" of a popular democratic uprising, ignoring the complex geopolitical factors and the reality of the annexation of East Germany by West Germany.
What role does linguistic corruption play in the author's argument?
The author argues that corruption of language—emptying words like 'democracy' or 'freedom' of their meaning—is a central tool used by media to exercise control and achieve specific political outcomes.
How does the author connect the concept of 'story' to 'history'?
The author notes that in several languages, 'story' and 'history' share the same root word, emphasizing that news reports act as the "first draft of history" that later becomes part of the historical record.
- Quote paper
- Prof. Francis Arackal Thummy (Author), 2020, Mass Mediated History. Media and the Rise of Nationalism and Xenophobia, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/513239
