The Media War on Terrorism 1

Abstract

As the history of war correspondence shows, journalists generally play a highly supportive role in wartime, often acting as little more than a conduit for official propaganda. During the 1999 Kosovo conflict, for example, the media offered enthusiastic support, with few questions asked – until months after the war – about the reasons for and results of NATO’s ‘humanitarian’ bombing campaign (Hammond, 2000). As Phillip Knightley noted at the time, in the only UK newspaper to oppose the bombing, ‘the media tend to believe everything the military tells them’ (Independent on Sunday, 27 June 1999). In the war on terrorism, however, there have been some surprises, including robust condemnations of American imperialism in the mainstream UK media. Channel Four put ‘America On Trial’ in a special programme (22 February 2003), for instance, while the Daily Mirror, one of Britain’s best-selling tabloids, published prominent articles by radical journalist John Pilger and featured anti-war posters and petitions. This article investigates this shift, discussing what it involves, and indicating the limits of media criticism.

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