Global War - Local Views

In this book, media scholars from a number of countries and cultures provide a more global view of the 2003 Iraq War and the War on Terror than is usually present in the news media. This book will assist journalists and media workers to reflect upon their own tradecraft and to make improvements when motivated.

Never before has it been more urgent for media researchers and journalists to engage in explorations and reflections on the conditions for improved war journalism. News reports cross national borders and continents in no time; live images of war scenes constitute a competitive advantage in the struggle for television audience; war propaganda and concept management saturate the professional fields where war correspondents try to make a living under death threats; and blatant lies are promoted by democratic leaders in order to win the public opinion for military adventures. The recent wars, in particular the 2003 Iraq War, are remarkable because of the number of ‘big lies’ that have accompanied them and because these lies have been well exposed and criticised in public.

For media research it is urgent to analyse some crucial aspects of media reflexivity based on the cumulative experiences from the recent conflicts. This book contributes to increased reflexivity by rich insights into how the Iraq War was related to national policies and local conditions. The authors have also studied whether or not the media elaborate on their own role. Self-criticism on the part of the media and journalists is a virtue of utmost importance in war reporting, not least from a democratic and professional point of view.

The PDF available here is an extended version of this volume with additional contributions from: Ahmed El-Gody, Tine Ustad Figenschou, Johan Gunnarsson, Martin Hirst and Robert Schütze, Berit von der Lippe and Brigitte Mral.

Content

Acknowledgements

Introduction
Stig A. Nohrstedt, Rune Ottosen

The War Against Iraq in Transnational Broadcasting
Lars Lundsten, Matteo Stocchetti

“Europe Can Say ‘No’ to America”. Reporting on the Iraq War
Arzu Onay-Ok, Thomas Oberhofer, Gülsel Taskara, Hüseyin Cicek, Richard Brunhart, Jörg Becker, Seref Ates

Images of the Iraq War in Ugandan Newspapers
Julius Mucunguzi

The South African Media and the War in Iraq
Nathalie Hyde-Clarke, Tawana Kupe

Framing Coverage of Iraq War in Pan-Arab Press. A Case Study of Al-Hayat Newspaper
Mohamed El-Bendary

Even the Toilet Brush Is Gilded. News Coverage of the Iraq Conflict in Selected Austrian Newspapers
Armin Lanzinger, Martin Hartlieb, Christian Flatz, Angelika Carfora

Vox Populi, Vox Dei. Reporting the Iraq War in Greece
Christos Frangonikolopoulos, Sophia Kaitatzi-Whitlock

Irish Media, Iraq and the Charge of Anti-Americanism
Sean Phelan

Good-doers or Bad-doers? Images of the War in Iraq in the Mainstream Norwegian Press
Rune Ottosen

The Iraq War in the Slovenian Media
Karmen Erjavec

Media Reflexivity in the War on Terror. Three Swedish Dailies and the Iraq War
Stig A. Nohrstedt

Through a Distanced Lens. New Zealand’s Coverage of the Iraq Conflict
Susan Fountaine, Margie Comrie

Financialization, Emotionalization, and Other Ugly Concepts
Toby Miller

The Authors