The pen and the sword : press, war, and terror in the 21st century

257 Pages·2010·9.493 MB·English

by  Exoo, Calvin F

Praise for This Book
“Iamveryenthusiasticaboutthebook'sclearandforthrightvisionofsystemic
crisis, involving the social institutions of media and government. Prof. Exoo
takes a very strong structural approach in his explanation; this is the most
detailedanalysisofmediarepresentationsofthecurrentwarthatIhaveseen.
The chronological development of the journalistic narrative of the war is
engaging and persuasive...This work is a good example of how responsible
academicscancontributetothepublicdialogue.”
—HarryW.Haines,Departmentof
Communication,TrinityUniversity
“Thewritingisfantastic:Veryeasytoread,tounderstand,andtosynthesize.
The arguments are well crafted and well documented. This is the most up-to-
date analysis of the media coverage of the Iraq War I have read, and it would
putnewscoverageoftherun-uptotheWarintocontext....It'safunread,it's
accessibleforstudents,andit'stimely. Whatmorecouldaprofessoraskfor?”
—AlisonD.Dagnes,DepartmentofPolitical
Science,ShippensburgUniversity
“Thenewsmediapayalotoflipservicetotheimportanceofobjectivereport-
ing and to their role in maintaining a healthy democracy. This book success-
fully challenges both assertions....Exoo's book provides an exhaustive
illustrationofwhat'swrong withthenews media,usinga very relevant and
timelyexample.”
—RobertHeiner,DepartmentofSocialScience,
PlymouthStateUniversity
“This text will challenge students to reexamine their beliefs about the news
media, helping them to become more critical citizens. In doing this, the text
wouldengagestudents'attentionincrucialdevelopmentsinthemedia,inpol-
itics,andintheintersectionofthetwo.”
—PaulR.Brewer,Departmentof
JournalismandMassCommunication,
UniversityofWisconsin-Milwaukee

ForDiane.

Copyright2010bySAGEPublications,Inc.
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Exoo,CalvinF.
Thepenandthesword:press,war,andterrorinthe21stcentury/CalvinF.Exoo.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-4129-5360-3(pbk.)
1. Terrorism—Press coverage—United States—History—21st century.
2. War—Presscoverage—UnitedStates—History—21stcentury. 3. Journalism—
Objectivity—United States—History—21st century. 4. Press and politics—
UnitedStates—History—21stcentury. 5. AfghanWar,2001—Presscoverage.
6. IraqWar,2003—Presscoverage. I. Title.
PN4784.T45.E962010
070.4’49363325—dc22 2009029090
Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaper.
09 10 11 12 13 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
AcquisitionsEditor: ToddR.Armstrong
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Contents
Preface xi
AMapoftheBook xii
OurOmnipresentMedia xv
TheArgumentinBrief xvii
Acknowledgments xviii
CHAPTER1:Media,Democracy,Hegemony 1
DemocracyandthePress 3
WhatDoesMs.SherwinNeedFromthePress? 4
ThePromiseandthePerilofMassMedia 6
TheTheoryofCulturalHegemony 7
HegemonyandtheMedia 11
MediaHegemonyinthe21stCentury:ATurn
oftheScrew 12
America’sPlaceintheWorld:TheHegemonicStory 14
AnotherStory:AmericanEmpire 16
Our“FourthBranch”ofGovernment 17
AmericanEmpire:ActI 19
TheMilitary-IndustrialComplex 20
EmpireBuilding:“NotMissionaryWork” 21
AmericanEmpire:ActII,“Globalization” 22
AmericanEmpire:TheParticularCase
ofthePersianGulf 24
Iran:ConquestandBlowback 25
Iraq:Ally,Enemy,Tool,Archenemy 26
FromAllytoEnemy 27
The“Stability”ofTyranny 28
OurManichaeanMedia 29
TheUtilityofFear 30
Terror:ARealityCheck 32
AmericansandAmericanEmpire 33
Conclusion 35
CHAPTER2:NightFalls:9/11andtheAfghanWar 37
“AllChanged,ChangedUtterly” 38
AMomentofDebate 39
FromMultiloguetoMonologue 42
WarIsSotheAnswer 45
RighttoAssemble? 50
WhenFreedomFightersGoBad 51
SeeNoEvil:CivilianCasualtiesAre
“NotNews” 54
TheEntertainmentMediaEnlist 56
TheBombingBegins 59
RightMakesMight 59
“PowerfulBeyondComprhension” 60
TheRightStuff 61
HappyDaysAreHereAgain:BurkasOff,
MusicOn! 63
Promises,Promises 64
ReturnoftheTaliban 66
Conclusion 68
CHAPTER3:Iraq:WarComestothe“CityofPeace” 71
Vulcanized 73
WarDrums:Fall2002 76
DowntheTubes 76
SwimmingAgainsttheTide 78
OurSurveySays:“Heavy-BreathingHeadlines” 79
War,INC:The“IraqiNationalCongress” 80
SkepticismasTreason 81
The(Too)Loyal(Non)Opposition 82
FinalStretch 82
“WebofLies”:ThePowellSpeech 83
YouDon’tSay 86
WeaponsInspectors:NoWMD=NoNews 86
WatchdogsonaShortLeash 87
VoicesofProtest:CryingintheWilderness 89
TheEntertainmentMediaReenlist 93
Endgame 95
Conclusion 97
CHAPTER4:“AndtheLordDidShockandAweThem
ThatBlasphemedHim” 99
PowerandGlory 100
TheOfficialStory 103
Embedding:APrehistory 104
Embedded 105
TheUnembedded:AtRiskandAtSea 108
KodakMoments 110
The“DaringRaid”ThatWasn’t 110
IncidentatFirdosSquare:“TheWholeWorld
CouldSeetheTruth” 112
TheOtherSideofFirdosSquare 113
MoreInconvenientFacts,MoreObfuscation 115
AWarWithoutWounds 115
WMD:“WeFound’Em” 119
“MissionAccomplished” 121
Conclusion 124
CHAPTER5:Aftermath:WhatRoughBeast,ItsHour
ComeRoundatLast... 127
PicturesFromtheDarkSide 129
TheProblemWithTorture 130
FixingResponsibility 131
HowthePressCovered(Up)AbuGhraib 132
ACasualtyStoryBecomesaCasualty 134
TheBlood-DimmedTide 139
Who’sCaptioningThesePictures? 143
TheFinalStretch 144
“TheSurgeIsWorking!” 145
TheUntoldStoryoftheSurge 146
ObamaandBeyond 148
2009:Change? 149
AfghanistanAgain 150
TheContestedTerrainoftheFuture 152
Conclusion 154
CHAPTER6:Why? 157
TheCommercialImperative 159
IndustrytoBusiness:TheNewOwnershipoftheNews 159
“Crisis”intheNewsroom 161
TheDeclineofNewspapers 161