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Reporting the War: Freedom of the Press from the American Revolution to the War on Terrorism
Threats to freedom of the press and the need for democratic dialogue are always greatest in wartime. At a time when the debate over the role of the free press is as contentious as ever before, John Byrne Cooke, son of the veteran journalist Alistair Cooke, delivers a must-read exploration of freedom of the press in wartime throughout American history. Reporting the War brings to life how the press has affected the course of some, but not all, American wars, how the government has tried to suppress opposing opinion, how the press has struggled, and continues to struggle to preserve the principles of the Founding Fathers. Cooke charts a fascinating journey from the American Revolution to the ongoing War on Terrorism.
- GenresHistory
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
24 people want to read
About the author
John Byrne Cooke
19 books9 followersJohn Byrne Cooke was an American author of five books, road manager to Janis Joplin from late 1967 until her untimely death in 1970, a musician, a photographer, and a documentary film maker. He was the son of Alistair Cooke, and the great-grandnephew of Ralph Waldo Emerson.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 30, 2013
Cooke expertly displays the fifth estate in its complicated wartime glory.
He points out the convoluted links- and secrets- between the military, government, and media during American wars. The book is filled with an impressive amount of nuanced research. At times he gently chastises the press' lack of involvement; at others, he commends them for fulfilling their watchdog role to point out how political actions and motivations are often hidden or distorted. However, I don't think he emphasized media's shortcomings strongly enough for me to believe that this is an attempt at objectivity (especially during the war on terror/Bush administration...not American media's finest hour).
Regardless, this is impressive. He inverts the typical argument structure. Here every example is followed by results and his implicit opinion; most other research starts with an opinion, then an example. Here every single detail is concretely contextualized. It keeps things interesting.
That said, this still reads like an extremely long research paper rather than a bland textbook. The structure is as follows: background leading into war, war itself, results of war and how the press was involved. It isn't boring, but it's dense with tons of specific examples regarding how certain media outlets responded to war-related events.
Overall I would have liked to see more of the effects on the American public, and how that played out into the greater scheme of events. But this was engaging and a definite MUST READ for anyone interested in media criticism, media literacy, history, public relations, government, etc...and basically every American citizen. It's just another reminder that we shouldn't take what any "higher" structure spoon feeds us as "truth," and that we must be aware of existing biases of certain media outlets.
He points out the convoluted links- and secrets- between the military, government, and media during American wars. The book is filled with an impressive amount of nuanced research. At times he gently chastises the press' lack of involvement; at others, he commends them for fulfilling their watchdog role to point out how political actions and motivations are often hidden or distorted. However, I don't think he emphasized media's shortcomings strongly enough for me to believe that this is an attempt at objectivity (especially during the war on terror/Bush administration...not American media's finest hour).
Regardless, this is impressive. He inverts the typical argument structure. Here every example is followed by results and his implicit opinion; most other research starts with an opinion, then an example. Here every single detail is concretely contextualized. It keeps things interesting.
That said, this still reads like an extremely long research paper rather than a bland textbook. The structure is as follows: background leading into war, war itself, results of war and how the press was involved. It isn't boring, but it's dense with tons of specific examples regarding how certain media outlets responded to war-related events.
Overall I would have liked to see more of the effects on the American public, and how that played out into the greater scheme of events. But this was engaging and a definite MUST READ for anyone interested in media criticism, media literacy, history, public relations, government, etc...and basically every American citizen. It's just another reminder that we shouldn't take what any "higher" structure spoon feeds us as "truth," and that we must be aware of existing biases of certain media outlets.
Displaying 1 of 1 review