Home |  Search |  shopping basket Shopping basket
Tel: +44 (0)1730 233870    Email: bookshop@politicos.co.uk  
Categories

Shooting the Messenger by Paul L. Moorcraft,  Philip M. Taylor
Usually ships within 8 to 10 working days

    • Product code: 267388
    • ISBN: 1574889478, ISBN13: 9781574889475, 293 pages, Hard Cover
      Published by Potomac Books Inc on 2008
    Rate this book...

    Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

    Description of Shooting the Messenger

    As the literature on military-media relations grows, it is informed by antagonism either from journalists who report on wars or from ex-soldiers in their memoirs. Academics who attempt more judicious accounts rarely have any professional military or media experience.

    A working knowledge of the operational constraints of both professions underscores Shooting the Messenger. A veteran war correspondent and think tank director, Paul L. Moorcraft has served in the British Ministry of Defence, while historian-by-training Philip M. Taylor is a professor of international communications who has lectured widely to the U.S. military and at NATO institutions. Some of the topics they examine in this wide-ranging history of military-media relations are:

    – the interface between soldiers and civilian reporters covering conflicts
    – the sometimes grey area between reporters’ right or need to know and the operational security constraints imposed by the military
    – the military’s manipulation of journalists who accept it as a trade-off for safer battlefield access
    – the resultant gap between images of war and their reality
    – the evolving nature of media technology and the difficulties—and opportunities—this poses to the military
    – journalistic performance in reporting conflict as an observer or a participant

    Moorcraft and Taylor provide a bridge over which each side can pass and a path to mutual understanding.

    Contents of Shooting the Messenger

    Preface ix
    Acknowledgments xv

    1: The Origins of War Reporting 1
    Shooting the Messenger 1
    The Rise of the Specials 6
    Russell and the Crimean War 7
    The American Civil War 12
    The Imperial Wars 15
    Entente between Pen and Sword 28

    2: The World Wars 31
    The Wars between the Wars 46
    The Russian Revolution and Its Repercussions 49
    Abyssinia 50
    The Spanish Civil War 52
    The Gathering Storm 55
    The Second World War 57

    3: The Cold War (of Words) 69
    The Korean War 70
    French Indochina 73
    Suez: No End of a Lesson 74
    Algeria: A Savage War 75
    Britain’s Colonial Wars 77
    America's War on the Doorstep 80
    Vietnam 82
    The Empire Strikes Back 88
    Grenada, Panama, and Haiti 94
    End of History? 98

    4: African "Sideshows"? 103
    Rhodesia: Arguing with Arithmetic and History 106
    South Africa 112
    Somalia 122
    5: Europe’s Intra-State Conflicts 127
    Balkan Wars 128
    Kosovo 135
    Northern Ireland 140
    Hidden War: Chechnya 144

    6: The Middle East and Afghanistan 149
    Israel vs. the Palestinians 150
    Iran 151
    Afghanistan 153
    The Gulf War 156
    The Intifadas 168
    Media Influence 171

    7: The Long War 175
    Afghanistan 176
    "With Us or Against Us" 178
    The Iraq War 181
    Embed or In Bed? 183
    Atrocity Stories 190
    Shaping the Information Space 192
    The Occupation Fiasco 196
    The Other Occupation 202
    Troubles Elsewhere 205
    Hearts and Minds in the Long Haul 208

    8: The Mechanics of Reporting War and Peace 213
    Reporting Peace 213
    The Decline of Foreign News Reporting 216
    The Media in Post-Conflict Interventions 221
    The Media Operators: Hidden Persuaders? 223

    9: No More Heroes? 231
    Witnesses to History 231
    The CNN Effect? 233
    Hacks versus the Bean Counters 238
    Notes 243
    Selected Bibliography 283
    Index 293
    About the Authors

    About Paul L. Moorcraft and Philip M. Taylor

    Paul L. Moorcraft directs London’s Centre for Foreign Policy Analysis and is a visiting professor at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media, and Cultural Studies. He has been a war correspondent; a military affairs expert for the BBC, Sky, and Al-Jazeera; and an editor of security and foreign policy magazines. He lives in the United Kingdom

    Philip M. Taylor is a professor of international communications at the University of Leeds. His books include Munitions of the Mind: A History of Propaganda from the Ancient World to the Present Day. He is a fellow of the Center on Public Diplomacy of the University of Southern California. He lives in the United Kingdom.

    Bulk buying
    If you need bulk copies of Shooting the Messenger, or are interested in opening a corporate account, please contact us.