War and Television (Paperback, New edition)

An eloquent critique, from a politically progressive perspective, not only of TV's coverage of war but also of its treatment of topical and historical events and of "politics in contemporary America - an imperious, camouflaged politics known best to those who transgress implicit limits, tread on unvoiced premises [and] traffic in the heterodox...." Cumings (East Asian and International History/Univ. of Chicago) uses TV's coverage of Vietnam and the Gulf War as a way of analyzing the assumptions underlying its treatment of all sorts of political issues. Drawing on his own experience as an expert consultant on a TV documentary about recent American wars, Cumings shows strikingly how a type of consensus evolves about America's role in wars, a consensus that prevents alternative views from being expressed. The TV coverage of the Gulf War perfectly illustrates this situation, in which, Cumings contends, TV not only failed to present a sophisticated analysis of Arab culture or of the true issues in the war, but also allowed itself to be stage-managed into producing a false account of the fighting (the author claims that the precision of America's "smart weapons" was greatly exaggerated, and that the destruction wrought by the war was not adequately covered). Cumings argues convincingly that the purported "objectivity" of the camera is an illusion, and that TV is a medium that makes points and takes sides despite its supposed impartial coverage of news events. A provocative and intelligent analysis. (Kirkus Reviews)

This work studies television reporting of the US at war since World War II, including detailed coverage of television's role in the Gulf. Cumings offers insights into the everyday operations of the media and assesses the possibilities of mobilizing them for political purposes. At the centre of this volume is the tale of Cumings' own experience as expert consultant to a Thames Television production-Korea: The Unknown War. The book also features film reviews, anecdotes and several invectives against an array of media executives, retired soldiers and bureaucrats.

General

Imprint:	Verso Books
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	May 1994
Authors:	Bruce Cumings
Dimensions:	226 x 147 x 25mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	326
Edition:	New edition
ISBN-13:	978-0-86091-682-6
Categories:	Books > Arts & Architecture > Performing arts > Television Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Communication studies > Media studies Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > General Books > Business & Economics > Industry & industrial studies > Media, information & communication industries > Press & journalism
LSN:	0-86091-682-0
Barcode:	9780860916826

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