History of Mass Media Week 15: Persian Gulf Wars
Please sign card to thank Prof. Joseph Campbell for speaking to our class about Murrow & McCarthy
Today: Gulf Wars and ◦ Pick up papers, after class Wednesday: Advertising’s Golden Age with Jim Clark Friday: Exam 2 ◦ Five short-answer questions ◦ One essay question (in class) ◦ Take-home essay due May 13
Monday, May 2: News Wednesday, May 4: sports, photography, plus leftover news Friday, May 6: advertising, production, business office FORMAT: 3-4 minutes, one PPt slide
Reporter, news editor, managing editor, editorial-page editor Biggest story: Mount St. Helens eruption & ash fallout (May 1980) Biggest success: hiring, mentoring successful reporters, editors
1991: Operation Desert Shield 1992: Operation Desert Storm (Persian Gulf War I) : Operation Iraqi Freedom 2005-present: nation building, prevent civil war
Response to Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (long-standing border dispute) U.S. Ambassador told Saddam, July 1991: “We don’t have a position...”
JAMM 100 Hill & Knowlton ◦ Washington, D.C. 1991: Citizens for a Free Kuwait ◦ Front for Kuwaiti royal family Goal: build support for U.S. military action against Iraq
JAMM 100 Hill & Knowlton’s tactics: ◦ Testimony to Congress ◦ ‘Incubator babies’ scam to show Iraq’s brutality ◦ Witness was actually daughter of Kuwait’s ambassador to U.S.
U.S., allied forces expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait, but left Saddam in power Pool coverage by media ◦ Relied on Central Command HQ ◦ Independent journalists discouraged
“The build-up to war had taken so long that the media was determined that this would be the most thoroughly reported war of modern times. It would be the biggest news-gathering operation in the history of television.” --Philip Knightley
Pentagon’s media policy changed Embedded journalists (“embeds”), assigned to units PRO: Access to combat, less risk CON: Subject to censorship
“When you depend on a unit, your natural tendency is to protect them… and it affected coverage.” --Chris Hedges, NY Times
Donald Rumsfeld ◦ Secretary of Defense Behind-the-scenes PR campaign “Rumsfeld has turned the press conference into an art form….”
The 1 st American hero?
Conventional wisdom Contrarian view (Campbell) March 23, 2003, Nasiriyah (S. Iraq) Iraqis ambushed U.S. troops Lynch captured, hurt, hospitalized April 1: U.S. special ops rescue Lynch A stage-managed stunt (“War Spin”)? OR simply reporting errors by the Post? Americans eager for a story that showed heroism under fire “Inter-media agenda setting”
VIDEO: War Spin
Be sure to sign card for Campbell Check date for presentation next week