Summary:

Sinikka Wunsch,
The Public Press as a Weapon. The role of Anglo-Saxon newspapers and their coverage of wars, beginning with the First World War to the Vietnam War.
Faravid (2001), 145–172.

In my thesis I concentrate on the role of newspapers, the influence they had on creating the opinions of the general public and the part they played as instruments of propaganda between the First World War and the war in Vietnam. During this time the printed word was the central medium through which information was reported and indoctrination of the masses was made possible. The Vietnamese war occurred at a time of transition when television was taking its place beside the newspaper press and was actually overtaking it. I also use the Persian War as an example of technical development and how information can be controlled.

The First World War was remarkable in the development of delivering propaganda to the masses. The precondition to this was the beginning of a mass medium, the printed word, in the 18thCentury. Newspapers which had a wide circulation showed how, with the power of the press, one could regulate general opinion. This information was used when planning and using war propaganda. The British propaganda machine, in particular, created horror stories to suit the popular press, which effectively blackened the reputation of the enemy. An important propaganda victory can be seen in reports from the Bryce Committee that was presumed to investigate German War crimes. Newspapers that reported information from the committee very effectively brought acts of German cruelty to a level that individuals could relate to. It wasn’t until 1925 that the committee and its report were exposed as spurious.

After this exposure stories of atrocities lost their credibility and during the Second World War they weren’t used to such a wide extent. The effect of influencing the opinions of the masses wasn’t that obvious when focussing on ones own righteous and heroic battles. Indirectly the negative reputation of newspaper propaganda influenced the news that was reported as a result during the Second World War issues such as events in German concentration camps were avoided.

In my study I also describe the image of the Spanish Civil War and significant propaganda successes, if considered from an English perspective, of the Battle of Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain. Both of these latter events proved how English and American expertise in promoting propaganda can turn a battle lost with all its destruction into a victory won. Instead of depressing English morale it boosted it, which is one of the aims of a world propaganda machine. The successful morale boosting news for England had a similar effect on America as it increased the American will to help the Brits.

My conclusion is that in general the press hasn’t tried or been able to describe wars truthfully. Until the Korean War the press usually understood itself as a participant and supported war efforts. However during the Korean War they started to be critical and during the hostilities in Vietnam they openly revolted against war. One reason for this segregation of aims, which I’m introducing, is due to the change from a traditional image of the enemy. In the course of the Korean and Vietnam Wars the press began to question the justification for war. As those particular wars were distant to the general public they didn’t pose a threat to the individual and it was easy to be critical.

As part of my study I’m researching the importance of news photography and the influence it has on opinion formation. I’m analysing photographs from Robert Capa’s ‘Falling Soldier’ 1936, to Ken Jarece’s ‘Iraqi Soldier’ 1991. Jarece’s photograph is one of the few documents from the Persian War that portrays the reality of the war, as the state controls the media completely.

I have found that the media report the ravages of war in an unclear way and with a predetermined purpose and continue to do so. Therefore it is a problem we still face today. Twenty-four hour news channels give us the impression that negative events can’t be hidden from the public’s eyes and ears, however this is far from the truth. In reality we can’t be any better informed than a newspaper reader during the First World War about what really happens.

 

Faravid 25/2001