History of Mass Media Week 15: Persian Gulf Wars.
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Transcript of History of Mass Media Week 15: Persian Gulf Wars.
History of Mass MediaWeek 15: Persian Gulf Wars
Please sign card to thank Prof. Joseph Campbell for speaking to our class about Murrow & McCarthy
Today: Gulf Wars 1991-1992 and 2003-2011◦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: NewsWednesday, 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 Shield1992: Operation Desert Storm (Persian Gulf War I)
2003-2004: 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 1st American hero?
Conventional wisdomContrarian 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