Media Images of War 3(1) 7–41 © the Author(S) 2010 Reprints and Permission: Sagepub
MWC Article Media, War & Conflict Media images of war 3(1) 7–41 © The Author(s) 2010 Reprints and permission: sagepub. co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1750635210356813 Michael Griffin http://mwc.sagepub.com Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN, USA Abstract Photographic images of war have been used to accentuate and lend authority to war reporting since the early 20th century, with depictions in 1930s picture magazines of the Spanish Civil War prompting unprecedented expectations for frontline visual coverage. By the 1960s, Vietnam War coverage came to be associated with personal, independent and uncensored reporting and image making, seen as a journalistic ideal by some, and an obstacle to successful government conduct of the war by others. This article considers the idealized ‘myth’ of Vietnam War coverage and how it has influenced print and television photojournalism of American conflicts, skewing expectations of wartime media performance and fostering a consistent pattern of US Government/media collaboration. Upon analysis, pictorial coverage of US wars by the American media not only fails to live up to the myth of Vietnam but tends to be compliant and nationalist. It fails to reflect popular ideals of independent and critical photojournalism, or even the willingness to depict the realities of war. Keywords documentary, Gulf War, Iraq War, journalism, news, photography, photojournalism, television, television news, Vietnam War, visual communication, visual culture, war, war photography Media representations of war are of interest to media scholars for many reasons. First, as reports or images associated with extreme conflict and matters of life and death, they tend to draw intense public attention, and potentially influence public opinion.
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