War and the Media: Essays on News Reporting, Propaganda and Popular Culture. Paul M. Haridakis, Barbara  S. Hugenberg, and Stanley T. Wearden, eds. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2009. 265 pp.

A collection assembled under such a broad title might invite doubts as to coherence. Yet the editors, all of Kent State University, have meaningfully coordinated a thoughtful, critical volume of twelve U.S.-focused case studies. Part I focuses on images of war from music, photography, film, and animation, World War I to Vietnam. The theme of Part II is institutionalized propaganda of both world wars, covering advertising, comics, government discourses, and public relations. And Part III considers the effects of news coverage of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  [Read more...]