War and the Media

Book excerpt: Mass communication is used by governments to support their war efforts while media images are created or manipulated to inform, persuade or guide the consumers of those images. But this book looks beyond the obvious. The contributors examine historical and contemporary examples that reflect the role of the media or mass communication or both during wartime. The essays highlight the centrality of communication to the perpetuation and to the resolution of war, suggesting that the symbiotic relationship between communication and war is as important to understand as war itself.