JAMM 445 History of Mass Media Week 14

JAMM 445 History of Mass Media Week 14: Media Coverage of War

Monday, April 18 n Schedule update n Extra-credit opportunity n Murrow vs. Mc. Carthy (conclusion) n Media coverage of war, part 1

Oral-history interviews n Today: Outlines due for completed interviews – Late contacts may submit outlines Weds. n Wednesday: Outlines returned with comments n Monday, April 25: Papers due (2 -3 pages, double-spaced)

Extra-credit opportunity n n The Once and Future Space Program Michael Griffin – Former administrator, NASA n TODAY, 4 p. m. – Admin. Auditorium n Reaction paper n – 1 page, single-spaced – Due: Monday, April 25 Max. 2 E/C papers for 2 nd half

Murrow vs. Mc. Carthy n “To say that the Murrow broadcast of March 9, 1954, was the decisive blow against Mc. Carthy’s power is as inaccurate as it is to say that Joseph R. Mc. Carthy … single-handedly gave birth to Mc. Carthyism. ” – Fred Friendly, CBS producer

Media coverage of war Today: U. S. Civil War (ch. 7 Voices) n Wednesday: World Wars I-II (chs. 11 & 14, Voices) n Friday: Vietnam & Walter Cronkite n Next week: Persian Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan n

Quote of the Day “The first casualty, when war comes, is truth. ” --Sen. Hiram Johnson, 1917

Media Coverage of War n n The First Casualty: The War Correspondent as Hero and Myth-Maker from the Crimea to Iraq Phillip Knightley (London Sunday Times)

War Reporting, pre-1850 n Reprints from foreign newspapers n Dispatches from junior officers – Newspapers paid for letters n Pronouncements from generals, admirals far from war scene

Crimean War, 1854 n Crimean peninsula (Black Sea) n Britain vs. Russia n Charge (Tennyson) of the Light Brigade

William Howard Russell n n 1854: Times of London sent him Crimea Accurate, detailed reports angered British generals

William Howard Russell n “Wounded men and dismounted troopers flying towards us told the sad tale. . . at 35 minutes past 11, not a single British soldier, except the dead and the dying, was left in front of the Muscovite guns. ” --The Times, Nov. 14, 1854

U. S. Civil War n “It was during the Civil War that New York newspapers gained their first [realization] of two fundamental principles. . . first, the surpassing value of individual enterprise in getting early and exclusive news, and second, the possibility of building large circulations by striving to meet a popular demand for prompt and adequate reports. . ” --New York Times, 1901

Civil War: Underlying Causes n Different regional economies n Different cultures: North vs. South n Breakdown of 2 -party system n Expansion of slavery into West – Dilemma: Balance in Congress between pro-, anti-slavery factions

Build-up to Civil War 1850: Fugitive Slave Law n 1854: Kansas-Nebraska Act n 1857: Dred Scott Decision n

Build-up to Civil War 1860 presidential election n Electoral votes: n – Lincoln (R) – Douglas (Northern D) – Breckenridge (Southern D) – Bell (Const. Union) n 180 12 72 39 6 Southern states secede to form Confederacy

Civil War: 1 st battle n April 12, 1861: Confederates fire upon Ft. Sumter, Charleston, S. C.

Civil War: Documentary n 1990: Ken Burns, ‘The Civil War’ n http: //www. pbs. org/civilwar/film/video. html

Civil War: Coverage n North: 500 reporters – “saturation coverage” – Bohemian Brigade (pack journalism) n South: 50 -100 reporters n England: 5 -10 reporters, including W. H. Russell – England’s neutrality proves critical to North’s victory

Civil War: Telegraph n n “For the first time in American history, it was possible for the public to read what happened yesterday, rather than someone’s opinion on what happened last week. ” Changed definition of ‘news’

Civil War: Censorship Battle of Bull Run (Union defeat) n Reporter got story to D. C. n Gen. Winfield Scott blocked AP report to New York n

Civil War: Propaganda Edwin Stanton, Secretary of war n Altered casualties n Delayed release of news n Banned correspondents from front n Arrested editors, threatened owners n 1864: issued own ‘dispatches’ (press releases)

Civil War: Photography n n Matthew Brady, associates Newspapers lacked technology to publish photos until 1890 s Artists documented battles for illustrated weeklies (Harper’s, Leslie’s) Americans first saw Brady’s photos in galleries

Civil War: Photography The Dead of Antietam, 1862, NYC n “Mr. Brady has done something to bring to us the terrible reality and earnestness of the War. If he has not brought bodies and laid them in our door-yards and along [our] streets, he has done something very like it. ” --New York Times

Civil War: Photography Archival photos found new audience in TV documentaries n http: //www. pbs. org/civilwar/cwimages/ battlefields/index. html n

Reading for Wednesday Voices of a Nation Chapter 11: World War I Chapter 14: World War II