Nintendo Wars:The Media and the Persian Gulf Conflicts

Small Group Discussion:Military and Media Technology

1) What new military technologies have changed warfare since the 1960s? (4 examples)

2) What new communication technologies have changed media coverage since the 1960s? (4 examples)

Vietnam (1965-1975)

Media in Vietnam

• Mainstream media stayed away from disturbing images.

• American public led protests

• Seymour Hirsch

• Walter Cronkite

The Persian Gulf War (1991)• Brief Historical Overview

• “Muzzling” the Press?

• “Pooling” Reporters

• Peter Arnett, Baghdad Live

Baghdad Sky (1991)

                                                                           

Gulf War Primary SourcesTake a minute to read the primary source quotes from the Gulf War era military and media personnel. Write down your reactions to the pieces. Which is most persuasive? Why?

Walter Cronkite (2003)

See vocabulary.

Primary Source VocabularyDisaffection—isolation and hostility.Dispatches—reports from the field of battle. Disposition—physical placement and movement. Divergence—separating. Inadvertent—not intended. Morale—attitude of soldiers. Reminiscent—reminds you of something.

Iraq War (2003)• Historical Background

• “Embedding” Reporters

Pentagon Briefing (2004) Embedded Journalism?

Maps: China War (2018-2021)

Chinese Invasion of Taiwan (January 22, 2019)

China & Taiwan in the Asian Context

Media Coverage:War With China (2018-2021)

How should the media cover it?

1) US Naval combat with Chinese ships in the Straights of Taiwan. (US Casualties)

2) Chinese Marines invade Taiwan.3) Chinese Air Force begins bombing of American bases

on Guam.4) US Air Force begins bombing campaign over Beijing.5) US marines landing in Taiwan.6) FBI investigations and arrests of Chinese nationals in

San Francisco and LA.

Media—Military—American Public

Media Vs. Wikileaks

• What are the differences between the “media” and Wikileaks?

• Should organizations like Wikileaks be provided the same protections as the media in terms of speech and confidential sources?

• Watch: Julian Assange and Wikileaks

Free-write

• [Respond to the following question in 6-7 sentences with specific references to what we have been discussing]

• In what ways are the president’s powers inhibited by the media? Are Americans sacrificing safety and security for the sake of a “free press”?

Invasion of Taiwan as Crisis

• What values determined response and use of press?

• What factors determine choice:– US Navy mobilizes in Straits of Taiwan– US aerial bombing campaign over Beijing– US defense of Taiwan– FBI investigations of Chinese nationals

Bibliography

W. Lance Bennet and David L. Paletz, eds., Taken by Storm: The Media, Public Opinion, and US Foreign Policy in the Gulf War (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994).

Hamid Mowlana, George Gerbner, and Herbert I. Schiller, Triumph of the Image: The Media’s War in the Persian Gulf, a Global Perspective (Boulder: Westview Press, 1992).

Hedrik Smith, ed., The Media and the Gulf War: The Press and Democracy in Wartime (Washington: Seven Locks Press, 1992).