War, the Press & the Public

 

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The press has always played an important role during war times. Newspapers and news broadcasts are our resources to keep up with what's going on in foreign affairs. Since we tend to pay attention to the news when war is occurring, is that how we shape our views on war?

In the video, we see that patriotism rose after the tragedy of 9/11 and the press held some responsibility for that. We see reporters making emotional comments, President Bush making such comments during press conferences and newspapers using language to encourage citizens to unite.

Aside from encouraging patriotism, we also see these informers putting the blame on Saddam Hussein, painting him as the enemy. After the troops were sent over, newspapers began printing pictures of civilian casualties as front page news. 

Some newspapers were threatened by people in high positions. They believed printing these pictures painted the U.S. as the bad guy and were "anti-war." Sound familiar?

Reporters began finding out that some new stories covering the "War on Terror", were fabricating information. For example, one story claimed that Saddam Hussein had placed a biological weapons facility under his residence.

"The Fourth Estate" idea of journalism focuses on the press being a part of the political system. Since news stories tend to sway people's political beliefs, it could be considered a part of the system. 

In this case, the press informed people on what was going on in Iraq, but also swayed their beliefs when it came to foreign affairs. This may also lead to misinformation being spread. 

The role of journalism when it comes to the government should just be reporting news. It may be difficult to put biases aside, but for the sake of truthful storytelling it must be done. Now we've seen what fabricated stories can do to a journalist or publication's credibility.

Watchdog journalism is where reporters take responsibility in making sure these stories are truthful. This is a form of investigative journalism they use in order to create accountability. When a war is happening, a lot of wrong information tends to circulate.

During times of war, a lot of stories may be fabricated to make the U.S. seem like heroes. In the video, we saw how the news portrayed the Middle East poorly, even though we saw pictures of the casualties done by the U.S. (and then people threatened news publications for showing them). 

Even if we want to seem like the heroes, the truth should still be told. The idea of watchdog journalism and its prevalence during wartime shows that the country will do anything (include lie) to be seen as heroes. (Don't get me wrong, 9/11 was a horrific tragedy but how the Muslim community was treated after what happened was just as bad).

These stories "drum" up the public's support of the war. Imagine citizens disagreeing with their country going to war? What would that be like? Protests? Riots? 

I believe the press tries to do this to make it seem like war isn't such a bad thing. It shows people that when someone messes with you, you must get them back. An eye for an eye.