This is the story of a beneficent America, carrying the torch of freedom, like Prometheus, to the world. With Chapter 1 as our introduction, we'll be ready to begin our study of how the press has covered war and terror in the 21st century. Our story begins, unavoidably, on September 11, In Chapter 2 , we'll meet the horror of that day head-on; we'll examine coverage of the ensuing debate and of the war in Afghanistan.
Here we'll see a pattern emerging: At a moment when America most needed the media to be a marketplace of ideas, offering many sides of the story, the press instead became a censor of ideas, offering only one side, one story. This was the uplifting and entertaining story of American right and might overcoming a powerful and incomprehensibly evil enemy. Meanwhile, as our ongoing reverse content analysis will show, the argument that war in Afghanistan might have been ill-advised, costly in terms of money and mayhem, and dysfunctional in its outcome appears only as a forlorn parade of unreported facts and uncovered stories.
In the end, our argument is not that the war in Afghanistan was wrong or right. The argument is simply that there were two sides to this story, and only one was told. In Chapter 3 , we'll examine coverage of the public relations campaign for war in Iraq. It is a tumultuous tale with a colorful cast and would be a ripping good yarn altogether, if only it weren't so tragic. It is also a story of protestors crying in the wilderness; of profiles in courage: Through it all, the story is one of an obeisant press in the face of a [Page xiv] deceitful White House, leading to a simple truth both had forgotten: Instead, as we'll see in Chapter 4 , coverage of the war was a patriotic hymn to the thrilling power of America, and an entertaining fascination with the techniques and technologies of battle: We'll see that, more than ever, the experts chosen to explain the war came from a very selective, pro-war Rolodex.
Finally, we'll focus on the war's iconic moments: We'll see that something about our mass media has changed—and not for the better. In Daniel Hallin's definitive account of the Vietnam War, the press begins in its default position, which is pro-war. But as public opinion and elements of elite opinion begin to turn against the war, the press also discovers an antiwar story In Iraq, that doesn't happen. Instead, as Iraq descends into the chaos of Abu Ghraib, Fallujah, ethnic cleansing, and civil war, the press clings to an increasingly untenable, pro-war story.
In Chapter 6 , we'll ask perhaps the most important question of all: That, indeed, these failures grow from deeply rooted structures and practices of the news business: This diagnosis means that the prognosis is not good. As the media status quo persists, coverage and knowledge of our world and our options are likely to be woefully incomplete.
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Here they have been from childhood, chained by the leg and also by the neck, so they cannot move and can see only what is in front of them. At some distance higher up is the light of a fire burning behind them; and between the prisoners and the fire is a track with a parapet built along it, like the screen at a puppet-show, which hides the performers while they show their puppets over the top.
Prisoners so confined would have seen nothing of themselves or of one another, except the shadows thrown by the firelight on the wall of the Cave facing them. Little did Plato know how prescient his parable was. It is almost as if, unwittingly, he had peered into the future and seen that our lives would one day be dominated by a shadow show of flickering images. A show controlled by fewer and fewer, more and more powerful puppeteers. Does it stretch the truth to say so? Does Plato's allegory overstate the media's hold on our consciousness?
You could, as Casey Stengel used to say, look it up. Here's what you'd find:. Although our main focus, in this book, will be on the news media, we will also pause occasionally to look at what the non-news media, such as movies, ads, and prime-time TV, are saying about war and terrorism. We'll do this because, as we'll see, these media, like the news, are important sources of our thinking about politics.
As we do this, we'll find that often the same few companies, guided by the same corporate goals, own both the news and entertainment media. Once again, we'll learn that we spend a lot of our time and resources in their cave. It would seem important then to consider this shadow show. To understand it fully, we need to ask not just what the media is and does, but why. The latter question is the work of theories. This book will look at mass media through the eyes of cultural hegemony theory.
This process may sound simple and straightforward. It is complex and subtle.
So subtle in fact that those who produce that hegemony are not, for the most part, consciously trying to. They are just doing their jobs. But written, as it were, into their job descriptions are needs, routines, and values that result in hegemony. So this book spends time trying to understand how that imperative shapes the process of making mass media.
The pen is mightier than the sword
Of course, a book about war, terror, and media is interested in more than the process by which those media are made. Ultimately, our interest is in the product that emerges from that process. In particular, we'll ask, What are the media's messages about international conflict? And what effects might those messages have on our political life? Press messages about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars will be described in detail in Chapters 2 through 5 , but here we can say this much: Those particular messages about war conformed to the general contours of the media's two foundational hegemonic messages:.
All of this is yet to come. But let us begin by acknowledging that a quiet coup has occurred in American life. We are its willing prisoners, watching its images by its firelight.
Seeing it clearly and making out its meaning for our politics and society will not be easy. After all, it's dark down here. But it seems important to try. Let me express my deep and heartfelt gratitude to the colleagues, students, friends, and family who are the sine qua non of this book. To the reviewers of this book, for your keen insights and your gracious encouragement: The testament of their work reeducates me every day about commitment to what we do, to scholarship and teaching. To two colleagues, in particular, whose friendship has been with me in better and in worse, in sickness and in health.
To Alan Draper, whose influence can be seen throughout this book, and who has shown me, by his wonderful example, how scholarship and leadership should be done. To Kerry Grant, my teaching partner, who has taught me so much about the media, about teaching, about life. Above all, thank you, Alan and Kerry, for the filia that Aristotle called a virtue, for the amicitia Cicero wrote a book about. To Patty Ashlaw, secretary for the Department of Government, for your infinite patience and your unfailing good cheer.
Pen and Sword Books: Military History and Nostalgia Book Publishers
To my students at St. Lawrence University, for making mine the most wonderful job in the world. Thank you for reassuring an aging man that the future is in such good hands. Above all, thanks to my coconspirator, yokemate, best friend, love of a lifetime: Exoo is professor and chair of the Department of Government at St. He is also the author of Democracy Upside Down: CQ Press Your definitive resource for politics, policy and people.
Back Institutional Login Please choose from an option shown below. Need help logging in? Email Please log in from an authenticated institution or log into your member profile to access the email feature. Sherwin Need from the Press? The Hegemonic Story Another Story: Conquest and Blowback Iraq: Burkas off, Music on! A Prehistory Embedded The Unembedded: The Commercial Imperative Industry to Business: Paying the Piper, Calling the Tune? Praise for this Book.
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Includes bibliographical references and index. Aja Baker Production Editor: Kathy Paparchontis Cover Designer: Netizens have suggested that a edition of Erasmus ' Institution of a Christian Prince contains the words "There is no sworde to bee feared more than the Learned pen" [29] [30] but this is not evident from modern translations [31] and this could be merely a spurious quotation.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. A Play in Five Acts second ed. The Dramatic Works of Auston. A Play, in Five Acts. Saunders and Otley, Conduit Street. Retrieved 8 December — via Internet Archive. Sir Frederick Pollock, ed. The Sovereignty of Art. Library of Congress and the Interior Decorations: A Practical Guide for Visitors. New York, Washington, St. Old Testament Parallels 3rd ed. Claudius, the God and His Wife Messalina. Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. Retrieved 13 November Notes similar imagery also used in Revelation verses 1: Open Preview See a Problem?
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This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Apr 29, Craig Strydom rated it it was amazing. A journalist with a huge amount of integrity, and main player in the fight against apartheid at a time when the press was bombarded daily by the ruling party. I highly recommend this book. Sep 10, Gerald Du preez rated it it was amazing.
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Five stars says it all. A must read for South Africans and anyone else who seeks to gain a glimpse of the South African narrative through the eyes of one of its brave, influential and loyal patriots. An utterly interesting book, telling the story of South Africa as witnesses by one of its finest journalists. Blending in personal experience makes it so much more real. I strongly recommend it to all interested in a balanced view of SA history. Mar 30, Daniel Mouton rated it it was amazing. An excellent book, giving an account of a full life, and an overview of the tumultuous six decades of South African history Sparks reported on.
Sep 27, Ryan Wulfsohn rated it it was amazing. Should be read by everyone with any interest in South African politics and history. Daniel Mesham rated it it was amazing Apr 06,