Militainment has been around since the civil war, when general from the North would read Southern news papers in order to develop a proper defense or offense. These techniques created tension between the media’s right to provide information to the public and the government’s right to protect their interests at home and abroad. Recently the tension between the government and the media has come to a sort of balance. The government created the term “sensitive information” that covers information the military and government wish to control (pg 115 Media and Society). This type of information is considered sensitive and could potentially endanger the lives of our troops.
Many journalists consider how the government lists information as “sensitive” to be a type of censorship. The government’s main concern isn’t just the safety of the troops, but they also are concerned with the morale at home. There is still a debate going on about if the photographing of flag draped coffins of dead American soldiers. The media sees this image as powerful and moving, while the government views this image as a threat to the morale of the American people, which can affect the support for the war.
Today with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan media has played a huge role not only in reporting the war, but in selling the war to the American people. Instead of working against the media, the government has created multimillion dollar facilities for the media, where they package and present the news to the reporters hoping to generate the type of stories that will boost support for the war and the troops. Despite spending all this money on press plans and media pavilions war coverage typically takes a back seat to more popular entertainment stories. On the day when the cost(s) of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were released by a Nobel-prize winning economist, Nicole Richie gave birth to her first born daughter, Harlow Winter Kate Madden (pg 168 Project Censored). The American public was much more interested in the first photographs of the baby than they were about the cost of the war, (close to three trillion dollars).
No matter how much money the government is willing to spend on media relations, you can’t make people interested in the war. However through the use of production techniques, music, graphics, fast camera work the government can make war entertaining, which is becoming the ultimate goal. Make war entertaining and then the public will watch.
The first video clip below features author and activist John Stauber contrasting the American media coverage surrounding the war in Iraq with the coverage the rest of the world saw. This clip really explains and demonstrates the clear link between the media and the “success” of the war in Iraq.
The second video I found fascinating. The author/creator of this clip was able to seamlessly meld together commercials and United States recruiting ads without skipping a beat, which makes you question the heavy use of production techniques in the recruiting ads.
American Military or Music Video?
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