War and Television
This work studies television reporting of the US at war since World War II, including detailed coverage of television's role in the Gulf. Cumings offers insights into the everyday operations of the media and assesses the possibilities of mobilizing them for political purposes.
This work studies television reporting of the US at war since World War II, including detailed coverage of television‘s role in the Gulf. Cumings offers insights into the everyday operations of the media and assesses the possibilities of mobilizing them for political purposes. At the centre of this volume is the tale of Cumings‘ own experience as expert consultant to a Thames Television production—Korea: The Unknown War. The book also features film reviews, anecdotes and several invectives against an array of media executives, retired soldiers and bureaucrats.
Reviews
An eloquent critique, from a politically progressive perspective, not only of TV’s coverage of war but also its treatment of topical and historical events ... Cummings shows strikingly how a type of consensus evolves about America’s role in wars. ... [He] argues convincingly that the purported ‘objectivity’ of the camera is an illusion, and that TV is a medium that makes points and takes sides despite its supposed impartial coverage of news events. A provocative and intelligent analysis.
Bruce Cummings has produced penetrating studies of US strategy and planning, along with the standard works of the Korean War. His unique combination of understanding scholarship and personal experience lends unusual significance to his reflections on the media portrayal of war.
Cummings’ writing is lively, clearly and engaging ... this book should be of value to scholars, students, and anyone who needs to understand how to an unpopular message into the media.