Activity 16, Communication Technology and Media
During the early 1990's conventional broadcasting was augmented, and in some cases replaced, by satellite and cable video. These late innovations have recently been conjoined with computers, fax machines, integrated circuits, and modems. In the twenty-first century, fiberoptic technology and digital electronics promise a new generation of dazzling gizmos to press human societies toward a virtually instantaneous worldwide communications capability.
The potential speed and distribution of information in the 1990's have become so fast compared to those of only a decade ago that most users of these new technologies are no longer as concerned with how to get information to an audience as they are with how people will handle the bombardment of information they receive. In the 1990's a one-page message can be sent 10 million times faster than the Spanish Armada could have delivered it, even on a windy day. New digitized information allows the light-based technologies of glass and satellites to send the equivalent of the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, including color graphics, a total of six times in one minute. This rapid distribution of information was witnessed in the homes of the world, "live and in color," during the Gulf conflict.
In this instance, the concepts of distance and time were altered by the ability of new communication systems to distribute the same messages instantly around the world. Of course, the rate at which people read and comprehend the stories and information did not change. So the Gulf War has taken far longer to understand than it took to report.
The shrinking of distance and time by communication technologies redefined the war from communication, political and military perspectives. Israel's tracking system, which the allies used to monitor Iraqi Scud missile attacks, allowed Israeli civil defense systems to activate warnings within seconds of enemy launches. Israeli citizens routinely benefitted from televised warnings to take cover in sealed rooms, allowing them to find safe quarters while Scud missiles were still airborne. This is one example of how television coupled with other communication technologies transformed events in the Gulf as they happened. In this way, the media contributed significantly to the outcome of the war rather than merely reporting on it.
Student Questions
What was the importance of communication technology in the Gulf War?
How did television affect the Gulf War?
Return to Activity 16.
Go to the Contents page for International Conflict and the Media.
Go to the Bibliography..