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Hamish Johnson Mr. Patterson-Gram History 12 2-3 24 November 2018

Effect of Conflict Photojournalism on Government Actions and Censorship Throughout the twentieth century, there has been a rapid increase of information available to the general public. From print and radio to television and even internet, the “average joe” now has access to live information from around the world (whether it is accurate or not is another question entirely). This huge societal shift is in part due to the rise of multimedia equipment and journalism having played a large role in shaping not only our modern governments but our expectations from the world around us. Being able to condense the raw elements of emotion, storytelling, perspective, and history into a single photograph gives photojournalism its unique appeal to the public. If a picture is worth a thousand words, why not use it? The essential trait of photojournalism, whether it be for social change, humanitarian crisis, wars both local and afar, or daily news, boils down to “bearing witness.”1 The power of photojournalism to allow one to see the outside world is unparalleled in terms of efficiency. However, this convenience is not always a virtue for governments and organizations that wish to limit knowledge or access to the general public. As the ease of use of media technologies has increased, governments, especially in war, have needed to adapt to new forms of censorship and secrecy to protect reputation and control the public.

For most of human history, conflicts have been directly recounted to the public by the victors and typically through the government. This allowed for powerful propaganda and control over the truth. With this control, it was fairly simple for governments to keep their citizens in order without force or oppression. A people who believe in their government, and are content with their view of the world, will be happy enough and well behaved. Throughout the first and second World Wars, there was fairly little direct reportage from the conflict. Almost all photos and

1 “What Is Photojournalism?” The Spruce Crafts, https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/an-introduction-to-photojournalism-2688644. ​ ​

Johnson 2 documents were screened and censored by the government or used for propaganda, and of the few contraband photographs that snuck their way out of the war, most didn't see the light of day for many years, if ever. In recent research, it has been noted that numerous photos from the Great War and the Second World War were captioned under false pretenses to suit the publisher’s government. By the time the Vietnam war broke out in 1954, there had been a myriad of advancements in the field of photography that allowed waves of photographers to enter into battle with more film, faster cameras, and swift communication with their agencies at home, meaning countless photos could be pumped out to the point where the western market was saturated. Photojournalism's strongest roots lie within the Vietnam War, not only because of the cruel and brutal actions by the hands of both sides, but due in large part to the civil unrest and activism in the United States.

The Vietnam War is characterized by the blunt and brutal images of war that originated in the war-torn nation. From executions to homes being razed to the ground, the North American public had front row seats to the atrocities that took place over the eight years that followed. The wide photographic coverage was a novel development for the American government and thusly there was very little done to restrict the reaches of photojournalists overseas. This is partially due to the fact that coverage initially consisted of pro-American stories, but quickly shifted perspective as shocking events of violence and monstrosities shook the foundations of many Americans. The style of most reporting on the war involved bold images that played deeply into one's feeling of fear, sadness, or anger. Scores of these images, such as the “Napalm Girl”2 by Nick Ut at Trảng Bàng in 1972, or “Saigon Execution”3 by Edward Adams in 1968, displayed horrible artifacts of war that ultimately lead people to develop their own conclusions. It was no longer a case of supporting one's government because of the protection they provide, but of questioning their ethics and pushing for one's personal policies on what's right.

By the start of the Vietnam war in 1954, there had been many breakthroughs in photography such as compact cameras, flashbulbs, and more efficient colour film that allowed

2 Ut, Nick. The Terror of War. 8 June 1972. ​ ​ ​ 3 Adams, Eddie. Saigon Execution. 1 Feb. 1968. ​ ​ ​ Johnson 3 photojournalists to venture into a new age of uncharted stories. Most journalists who were sent to Vietnam had little training in the way of protection and risk management, meaning that an abundance of inexperienced war photographers had access to the conflict. This lead to many being killed and even more going missing throughout the war, including famous photojournalist Robert Capa who captured the Spanish Civil War and D-Day, as well as the conflicts in Vietnam and Indochina following the Second World War.4 The enormous wave of photojournalists in Vietnam allowed for copious breathtaking moments to be taken on film, framing stories of tragic suffering as the war progresses. This was integral for the general public to develop their own opinion on the war and its goals. The bold news following the My Lai massacre in 1968 was broadcast to the nation via photos of burning homes and piles of bodies. This alone was enough to dislodge the patriotism that most had felt following the end of the Second World War. In past wars, it would have been little work to cover up this American atrocity, however, by bearing witness to this scene, war photographers held the government responsible for their actions. However, many critics condemn the constant stream of violent photos, citing that many novice journalists took distasteful photos and lacked the ability to remain respectful in their conditions. The non-stop display of saturated violence was ultimately the device that brought the horrors of war to the homes of America in a new and revolutionary way, in a way that would cause droves of people to fight back.

At home in the United States, Americans had seen little in the way of conflict coverage, and what had been shown through World War II had been tinted by the lens of military propaganda. While most pictures presented by large media outlets continued to support a pro-war view throughout the conflict, it was the smaller publishers and large photojournalist associations such as Magnum Photos that ultimately brought controversy to the public. The war in Vietnam was essential in the construction of many movements as it provided direct information to the general public, allowing the main population to center their opinions on personal beliefs. This proved doubly problematic for the government as peaceful protests broke out during the 1960s and 70s, widening the scope of the war. As support for the war fell, many students, and particularly

4 “List of Journalists Killed and Missing in the Vietnam War.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Nov. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_and_missing_in_the_Vietnam_War. Johnson 4 women, as well as loved ones of soldiers, took part in “Antiwar” protests, characterized as “mass mobilization.”5 Most of the keystone photos that are associated with the Vietnam War are not actual combat photos from the conflict, but those taken at these public manifestations, arguably the most popular of which is the “Flower Child” by Marc Riboud6 during the March on the Pentagon in 1967. As the war began to come to a close during Nixon's administration and following Watergate scandal, world governments had seen the indirect effects of loosely controlled photojournalism on their war efforts and control. The necessary control of a population during conflicts is only possible through censorship or propaganda. Having to fight a war is a hard enough strain on any nation, but having to contain and appease an unruly home population essentially requires a war on two fronts.

Throughout the rest of the twentieth century, photojournalism and media efforts to cover conflicts would continue to shape the government's actions as well as the role of censorship in the modern era. Just seven years after the official end of the Vietnam war, the Argentinian junta had claimed control over the Falkland Islands less than 500 kilometres off its coast with a relatively small force. Not long after, Great Britain, a comfortable 12,800 miles from their colony, would send a considerable force to reclaim the island in what would be remembered as one of the “worst reported wars”7 in recent history. While the naval forces were deployed to recapture the island, the only coverage was released directly from officials in London and even then was usually delayed, censored, or spun in ways more favourable to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s popularity as the “iron lady.” One of Great Britain's most revered war photographers, Don McCullin, stated in an interview with CNN that “it was a crushing defeat [...] not to go to the Falklands War,” and that “the beginning of the tightening up against the press”8 had begun. The limited and tightly controlled coverage of the conflict permitted few direct photos back to England and often revealed insufficient information. This wasn’t a problem for citizens at home

5 “Mass Mobilization.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 July 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_mobilization. 6 Curry, Andrew. “Flower Child.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Apr. 2004, ​ ​ ​ www.smithsonianmag.com/history/flower-child-102514360/. 7 Barnes,​ Julian. “How the Falklands War Was Covered by the UK Media.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 25 Feb. ​ ​ 2002, www.theguardian.com/media/2002/feb/25/broadcasting.falklands. 8 Mackay, Mairi. “Great War Photographer 'Contaminated by Darkness'.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2 Oct. 2015, ​ ​ www.cnn.com/2015/10/01/world/cnnphotos-don-mccullin-conflict-war/index.html. Johnson 5 in the United Kingdom as they saw the battle as one for national pride; the portrayal of the conflict by the media using titles such as “GOTCHA. Our lads sink gunboat and hole cruiser” and “Stick this up your junta,” is a clear demonstration of the nation’s disregard for what is actually happening due to the blindness of patriotism. These headlines have also been condemned as insensitive and controversial, leading to questions of the morality of war coverage and particularly the photographing of tragedies, injustices, and grief.

One of the largest criticisms of war photojournalism is its inherent brutality and shocking dioramas where the lines between moral integrity and needless coverage meet. Take, for example, the countless photos showcasing mass graves and the leftovers of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. While it is important to document countries that must be accountable for their atrocities, at what point is it no longer ethical to snap the shutter on loss and suffering? In many cases, photojournalists make good on their attempts to remain wholesome, but there are still those who make money from their photos through galleries, magazines, websites, and news articles. Some would argue that it is unethical to profit from one's images of another's suffering, as others assert that it’s just the process of modern living in a capitalistic world. Peder Janson, a Swedish critic found it “[...] hard to understand how anyone can think about composition or style when they are in the middle of a war situation, among physically and mentally dying [people].” However, one must remember that the goal of photojournalism is to document and turn emotion into action in the general population, and while many photos are devastating, the photographer is not responsible for the suffering. Photojournalists do their best to remain honest, accurate, responsible, and truthful in order to maintain a broad base of integrity, nevertheless, there are always exceptions. After all, from where does propaganda arise? Through the Falklands war, the British government proved that controlling media is power over the public's point of view, and after the war in Vietnam, the United States understood that this is just as important as the conflict itself.

A modern war in the early 1990s with a relatively large base of photojournalists on the front lines would understandably result in an excess of photos of death flowing into first world Johnson 6 countries, especially in the dawn of modern communication. However, the coverage of the Gulf War from 1990 to 1991 was almost all but gruesome. Looking through Gulf War photography, less than one in 50 popular photographs contain depictions of dead bodies. In a paper concerning the press in the twentieth century, John Taylor remarks the “absence of dead bodies” among the photos as a result of “a convergence of interests among the allies” to suppress the casualties revealed to the media who “already restrained [...] from depicting corpses.”9 A controversial photo by Kenneth Jarecke of an Iraqi soldier who was burnt to a crisp while trying to escape his vehicle, was one exception to the “no-body” policy, although not published in America, being rejected by every influential publication in North America. The strong solidarity between the popular press and the government of the time was key to creating this atmosphere. In order to maintain this balance with journalists on the ground as well, the military needed a strategy to maintain control and regulation on the front.

The solution was a “pool system” that grouped a limited number of journalists within the military and allowed the government to tightly censor what reaches the public. Various photojournalists who risked their lives outside of American protection to document an unbiased story were detained by the United States or killed by enemy forces. Some of the tactics employed by the pool system split journalists up and sent them to locations of the military’s choosing, they weren't allowed to ask any “meaningful” questions, and anything that degraded an aspect of the United States military was strictly forbidden. Still, some chose to overcome all of these obstacles, risking their lives for the art, “even if the main obstacle is the United States military” (Mort Rosenblum of the A.P.)10 in order to pursue meaningful images that can bring the emotion of a “real war” back home. Furthermore, this was now the end of the twentieth century, and information has been weaponized. It wasn't enough to be defensive in controlling what the public sees, the ability to be offensive with information highlighted another aspect of war.

9 John Taylor (1994) The body vanishes photojournalism in the Gulf War, Contemporary Record, 8:2, 289-304, DOI: - 10.1080/13619469408581295 10 Apple, R. W. “WAR IN THE GULF: THE PRESS; Correspondents Protest Pool System.” The New York Times, The New ​ ​ ​ York Times, 12 Feb. 1991, www.nytimes.com/1991/02/12/us/war-in-the-gulf-the-press-correspondents-protest-pool-system.html. Johnson 7

While many people living in first world countries believe in their governments, or at least the idea of what they stand for, it is naive not to assume everything one's government releases is propaganda. Even when one's nation is the “good guy” in a conflict, they still are using information to control and influence those at home and abroad to gain an upper hand. While the American government didn't fully grasp the profound importance of information during the Vietnam war, they had realized, seventeen years later, it’s veritable power. It was a common practice for military units to graffiti misleading information while passing through a village or generally releasing false information. The term spin doctor refers not to the creation of fake stories, but the role of interpreting news in a favourable tone to the media. While this can be as simple as focusing on a biased view to support a cause, most of the time it involved changing facts or exaggerating truths. Soon after the American military had targeted the Amiriyah shelter as a “military command center,” two imperial ton bombs were dropped in the middle of the night. The following Iraqi press claimed that the base was a civilian bomb shelter, protecting over 400 civilians who all lost their lives in the attack. American press at the time claimed that this was the work of propaganda and speculated on the result of spin doctors on both sides on the war. An article in the LA Times published two days after the incident recounted the factors that outlets used to determine whether or not the cite was a shelter and ultimately closed the story with a quote from a spokesperson for the Pentagon. Thomas W. Kelly expressed that “The easiest thing [he] can think of is to dupe reporters,” a chilling remark coming from the government claiming to be the side of truth.11

In recent years media coverage has become commonplace in any event. It plays a large role in protecting our right to information as the public and is considered one of the most powerful forms of documentation. Activists and journalists alike use small format modern cameras to confine emotion and storytelling into a two-dimensional form that anyone can see on their phones or computers. With the prevalence of “fake news” and uninformed individuals reporting on conflicts, political or not, it has become the role of organizations such as the NPPA (National Press Photographers Association) and established publishers like National Geographic to ensure

11 Rosenberg, Howard. “TV AND THE GULF WAR : There's Little TV News Without a Spin.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles ​ ​ Times, 15 Feb. 1991, articles.latimes.com/1991-02-15/news/mn-1219_1_gulf-war. Johnson 8 journalistic integrity remains in a world where photo manipulation is a simple touch away. While coverage in conflict zones is vastly limited by the participating nations through the above-mentioned strategies and more, photojournalism remains just as prevalent and powerful as during the Spanish Civil War.12 The overwhelming number of photographs being taken have forced photographers to improve while opening a new type of photojournalism, one that is much harder to censor than conventional journalism. By allowing millions of ordinary people to photograph anything, it has become much harder to silence events over most of the world. The showcasing of hundreds of perspectives, as seen by the coverage of the Arab spring in 2011,13 14 has allowed a kind of “crowdsourced”¹² coverage of what would have been, in an earlier time, documented by a few privileged photojournalists.

Since the Vietnam war, the process of photojournalism and government response has greatly changed in response to society's needs and technological developments. From the mass production of horrific images to inspire anti-war activist during the 1970’s, the government clampdown on press through the Falklands, and Gulf Wars leading up to a modern age of media consumption, governments and journalists alike have played their own arms race against censorship. The evolution of military strategies for controlling the press has led to systems to separate and control journalists as well as restricting access and shaping stories in order to remain in control of public opinion. Nevertheless, photojournalists have persevered to fight for ethical integrity by introducing new technology and tactics to the front, possibly ushering in a new age of unstoppable journalism: social media.

12 Capa, Robert. The Falling Soldier". Cerro Muriano, Spain, 5 Sept. 1936. "Loyalist Militiaman at the Moment of Death" ​ ​ ​ 13 O'Donnell, Catherine. “New Study Quantifies Use of Social Media in Arab Spring.” Office of Minority Affairs Diversity, University of Washington, 12 Sept. 2011, www.washington.edu/news/2011/09/12/new-study-quantifies-use-of-social-media-in-arab-spring/. 14 Mastrini, Nick. “The Importance of Photojournalism Today – Within and Without – Medium.” Medium, Medium, 29 Nov. ​ ​ 2015, medium.com/within-and-without/the-importance-of-photojournalism-today-3264156d8c8a. Johnson 9

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