The Evolving Role of Media Throughout Wartime

Media has played a vital role in all of the wars the United States of America has been a part of since the first war where the colonies fought for their independence and formed the United States. In the Revolutionary War that the British colonies fought, the only source of media was the newspaper. Newspapers were the only form of wide spread communication that the cities, towns and colonies relied on to keep them all connected and aware. Newspapers were often outdated by the time they got to half the readers, but it was the only form of news that the colonists had. The papers often used cartoons and drawings to get the message out to colonists and to gain support for the fight of independence against British rule. A famous political cartoon by Benjamin Franklin was published in the Pennsylvania Gazette. Known as “Join, or Die,” the cartoon has a snake cut into eight pieces and the pieces are labeled regions of the colonies. Franklin used this cartoon in the newspapers to show the colonists the importance of becoming united against the British. News during the time of the Revolutionary War was slow and often inaccurate and outdated. The newspaper was the beginning of media that began to grow and improve throughout the United States history.  

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By 1861 the now United States of America was beginning a civil war between the North and South. The media by this time had improved and the introduction of photography played a major role in the historical records of the war. The Civil War was not the first war to be caught on camera, but in this major war the advancement of photography changed the view of fighting forever. With the fighting immediately and accurately recorded the terror of war could not be hidden or disguised from the Americans. Citizens of the north and south saw horrific, shocking, images of their boys and war suddenly gained a real image in American’s eyes.

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The most recent war of the United States History has been the war with Iraq. The technology over the years has improved greatly and the opportunities media has had to cover this war have been unlimited. There has been use of live video and coverage in the Iraqi war, with reporter’s right in the middle of crossfire.  This has brought war and terror straight into the living rooms of Americans on their televisions. The war has become uncontrollably real with constant, instant coverage. Many of the images and videos are not appropriate for viewers of all ages and there is the question of what if anything should be censored. The advancements of technology have been amazing, and have allowed media to go from newspapers, to photographs to live video of wars in the past two hundred years. Media plays an important role in how the people view the fighting and support the war. In the Revolutionary was, media was used to unite the colonies with cartoons. Over the years, media has brought the horrific images of war into the home with the use of photography and video. The media is making the war more real, this could be losing support of the people as they see the shocking images so authentically.

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