Activity 16, Communication Technology and Media
During the 1980's and 1990's there were significant changes within the American press and media that would influence reporting during the Persian Gulf War. News organizations are businesses whose goal is in part to maximize profit. In the late 1980's all three major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) changed ownership. The new owners insisted on financial accountability that included the lowering of the expenses of news divisions. The major networks faced a badly eroded audience (at times, half the prime-time audience that the three networks had 10 or 15 years ago). This loss severely depressed advertising sales. News organizations cut back foreign reporters. When Iraq invaded Kuwait, there were few journalists in the Persian Gulf.
As the three major news networks decreased their funding for news, news alternatives developed. For instance, on broadcast television the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) increased the quality of political programming. The McNeil-Lehrer News program, for instance, brought much more to news coverage than just flashy personalities and superficial film footage.
On cable television, two important alternatives to the major networks challenged their news monopoly. C-Span, a twenty-four hour a day public affairs channel, was created in 1980. A second alternative to the network news was Cable News Network (CNN), a twenty-four hour a day news station. CNN had been formed by Ted Turner and was based in Atlanta. His mandate was to make it "the world's television news service." By the mid-1980's CNN had become one of the world's most widely available television services in the world. CNN programs could be watched in virtually every nation. Turner had built this success so rapidly by making agreements with more than 150 news services around the world which exchanged programming.
The increased availability of cable television throughout the 1980's meant that these news services were available to wider audiences. Thus, the amount of substantive political information available on television increased. By the end of the 1980's it was possible for an interested citizen to be more knowledgeable about the news than at any time in the history of the United States.
Television is the prime source of political information for the majority of Americans. News on television is more believable, exciting and dramatic than in other media. Nightly news is the single most important element impacting political opinions in America. This was particularly true for the Gulf War. Eighty-nine percent of Americans used television as main source for information about war news. Only 51 percent read a daily newspaper. During the Gulf War this increased, but 67 percent of those who read newspapers during the war reported that they offered the same news as did television. Due to the impact of television in the Gulf War, it has been widely characterized as "the global village's" first simultaneous "prime-time war."
As relatively few Americans learned about the Gulf War from direct experience, viewers accepted the authenticity of the events as portrayed on television without checking against alternative perspectives. Many observers have been highly critical of the role television plays in America. The dean of the television correspondents, Walter Cronkite, believed that, "If we could teach people how to read a newspaper, how to listen to radio and watch television . . . we could create an understanding of media, of the individual strengths and weaknesses of each medium. We could lead them away from a dependence on television, back to good newspapers, magazines and books."
The importance of television has not been lost on foreign policy makers. Television is an important influence upon public opinion, which in turn can influence public policy. Television has also been used as a diplomatic back channel among leaders involved in a crisis. Complex signals have been sent to other leaders via television. Television cameras cover peace conferences, trade negotiations, political speeches, press briefings and other international events, and policy makers have become adept at news management and public relations.
Student Questions
Why has television become so important a source for news in America?
What are the problems with television as a medium for news as compared with newspapers, radio, news magazines, etc.?
What are the strengths and weakness of television as a medium for news?
Return to Activity 16.
Go to the Contents page for International Conflict and the Media.
Go to the Bibliography.