Media wars in the Gulf how the media influences our political understanding of global conflicts
... Consequently the paradigms of production incorporated by the mass media play a crucial role in shaping the political understanding of millions. ... Therefore, the image stands alone, with its instantaneous messages, as the weapon of mass repercussions, holding public opinion and understanding of global conflicts in the balance. The use of the image in September 11 coverage and the Gulf Wars create a perfect case study to examine how political understanding can be shaped by the media. ... The Gulf Wars by contrast exhibited images focused on the spectacle of technology and attempted to create the mirage of a bloodless war. Despite these attempts, however, the second Gulf War has produced images which conflict sharply with this utopian representation. ... S government has now devised a strategy to win the media war as well as the war abroad. ... Whether or not these images were the catalyst for swinging public opinion away from the Vietnam war, Bush was determined to remedy the situation in the first Gulf War. ... The military press pool, with its dictator-like power ensured that images such as these, shot by Peter Turnley, were never printed by the mainstream media. ... The media applied a form of self- censorship to its stories in order to obtain Pentagon favour and access to exclusive reports. ... The image of American soldiers standing around a destroyed Iraqi tank (refer to image 8) is also indicative of the style of image used by the media to cover the first Gulf War. ... Images such as these had never been seen before the first Gulf War and audiences marveled at the superior weaponry used by the allies. ... The contrast in the style of coverage between the first Gulf War and September 11 is immediately apparent to anyone who examines the images used by the media. ... The media coverage of September 11 emphasized that it was an attack on civilians. ... S attacks in the Gulf were clearly presented as being against inanimate war machines and military compounds, the September 11 coverage depict an army of firefighters steadfast in the wake of an faceless, cowardly evil.