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Wartime Reporting and Propaganda 1. There are few situations in which the government has a stronger desire to mediate people’s reality than during war. Given the enormous human suffering, economic costs, and moral ambiguity of large-scale interstate violence, the government attempts to persuade its own citizens, those of its enemy, and interested third parties that its cause is just and its actions appropriate. There are recurrent themes in the messages (propaganda?) of a warring state. The enemy is an evil/immoral/barbaric outlaw that must be stopped. In response to this enemy, the actions of the state and its military have been characterized by great bravery/restraint/effectiveness. Those who oppose the war are either muddled, cowards, or traitors. 2. Most people rely on their government or the media to report and evaluate what is happening, since they have no direct experience of the fighting. Even the unfortunate civilians and military personnel who are in the battle zone look to others to explain what is happening on the broader scale. During the Vietnam War, Americans were increasingly horrified by the graphic footage of the war presented on their televisions every day (Hallin 1986). 3. In contrast, the military maintained strict control over the information that was available during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Basically, U.S. citizens were extensively exposed to the information that the military permitted the media to present (Hachten 1996). No pictures of American dead (corpses, body bags, coffins) were allowed, the military took reporters to specific places to film the hostilities, and most of the media’s information came directly from military briefings. The manipulation of language was pervasive. There were never any estimates of enemy dead and wounded, who were referred to vaguely as “collateral damage.” The military reported that it was involved in “airborne sanitation,” as it delivered “ordnance.” 4. The leaders of both Iraq and the United States used the media extensively to communicate their perspectives. Spokespersons for both countries insisted that their country desired peace and was forced into war by the opponent. Before the war, Saddam Hussein had insisted that Kuwait was historically a province of Iraq that had been snatched away by colonial powers and handed over to despots. His message to Iraqis and others was the illegitimate intervention by the American infidels required loyal Muslims to sacrifice all in the “mother of all battles.” In turn, President Bush openly equated Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein with Adolf Hitler and called him a “maniac.” Each side exaggerated and widely publicized the acts of cruelty committed by the opponent. 5. In one of the more interesting attempts to use the media during the Gulf War, Libya’s leader, Muammar Qaddafi, telephoned Cable News Network and requested that he be allowed to propose a peace settlement on television. CNN staff hung up on Qaddafi several times, assuming it was a crank call. Finally, the Libyan ambassador contacted CNN to verify that it was Qaddafi on the telephone. Now CNN recognized its opportunity for a scoop. Soon Qaddafi was explaining his plan to the world on live television from his tent in Tripoli. Which of the following statements best expresses the central point of the selection? a) Most governments are honest with the citizens of their countries regarding war. b) All is fair in love and war. c) Governments use the media to communicate their perspectives regarding war. d) The news media cannot be trusted. which is the answer

Public Comments

1. The answer is c)Governments use the media to communicate their perspectives regarding war. The selection uses several examples to make the point that during wartime each involved government "spins" the war news in such a way as to promote its own agenda and to convince its own citizens that the expenses and losses sustained during the war are necessary and justified.