U.S. Media Report On The Two Gulf Wars--From The First Gulf War To The Second Iraq War

The role of media has been disputable, particularly during the war. Some argue that the media should co-operate with the government and military to maximize the national interest, while others insist that media should act as a watchdog of the government.When war erupts, truth is always the first casualty. This has been proved by the U.S. media report on the first Gulf war and the latest Iraq war. As the two Gulf wars broke out with an interval of over one decade, media reporting of them, while sharing many common characteristics, is very different.This research is done to explore the new features of media report by comparing the media report on two Gulf wars. During both wars, the U.S. government attempted to assume tight control over media. In the first Gulf war, a "pool" system was adopted to bring the journalists under strict control; in the second Iraq war, over 800 journalists were embedded into troops to report the war. They were accused as "slave writers". However, in the Iraq war, the U.S. government's control over media was meeting more and more challenges. Internet Media VS. Traditional Media; Independent Media VS. Mainstream Media; Arab media VS. Western media; Propaganda VS. Anti-propaganda. The media report is experiencing more confrontations.In the latest Iraq war, the U.S. government assumed tight and effective control over media. Meanwhile, the counter-control force of media is gaining momentum. Press freedom is an irresistible tendency. It is an arduous task facing the U.S. government to deal with new challenges under the new situation.