Using journalists' own standards as the measure, an exhaustive analysis of nearly 3000 network news reports from the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations reveals that the networks may do more to misinform than inform on a whole range of complex issues related to national defense. This study paints a disturbing picture of the inadequate coverage ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News provide to millions of viewers each night. Aubin concludes that network coverage of defense issues was too often tainted by preconceived attitudes and lapses in journalistic standards.
While as much as twenty-five cents of every dollar went to the defense budget during some of the periods reviewed, the networks hardly covered the key issues surrounding the Reagan defense buildup or the dramatic cuts that followed the end of the Cold War. In addition to their inadequate coverage, the networks also deprived Americans of balanced coverage of the investments made in high-tech weapons that ultimately prevailed in the Gulf War. Though the networks receive good marks for foreign policy coverage, they need to improve the quality of defense reports. This book provides them with the lessons and prescriptions for doing so, and it serves as a primer for all Americans who want to know just what it was that the networks failed to tell them.
- 278 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF
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Table of contents
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Targeting the Content of Network News
- 1. National Security and Network News
- 2. National Security: The New York-Washington Axis
- 3. Dissecting Network Coverage of National Security
- 4. Cut That Defense Budget!
- 5. Weapons That Do Not Work?
- 6. The Defense Industry: A Scandalous Business?
- 7. Arms Control: Let's Make a Deal
- 8. The Foreign Policy Scorecard
- 9. Why Network Coverage Fell Short
- 10. The B-2 and Network News: A Case Study in Distortion
- 11. The Romanian Revolution . . . Beyond the Images
- 12. A Few Notes on Network Coverage of the Gulf War
- 13. Policy-makers Still Read All About It
- Conclusion: Expertise and Standards Matter
- Appendix 1: Notes on Methodology
- Appendix 2: The Pentagon's News-Gathering Operation
- Notes
- References
- Index
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Yes, you can access Distorting Defense by Stephen P. Aubin in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Languages & Linguistics & Business General. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.