The U.S. Military in the Print News Media: Service and Sacrifice in Contemporary Discourse

by Dr. Luke Peterson

Overview

This book provides an innovative and critical view into the linkages between discourse and politics and between culture and policies within the United States looking at various critical moments in the history of the development of the American Empire. Ultimately, this book provides insight into the complex interrelationships between policy, the military, discourse, and culture focusing upon the power centres of discourse creation while connecting previously disjointed lines of historical and media research considering the U.S. military and its undisputed global impact throughout the twentieth and twenty-first century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781839988714
Publisher:	Anthem Press
Publication date:	04/02/2024
Pages:	236
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 6.00(h) x 0.68(d)

About the Author

Luke Peterson is a professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments; One Empire, Language, and Discourse: The U.S. Military in the Public Imagination; Two Fin de Siècle: The Beginnings of American Empire; Three World War I: American Service ; Four World War II: The Good War; Five America in Vietnam; Six Iraq Part I: Sanitized War, Ubiquitous Patriotism; Seven Iraq Part II: Invasion, Occupation, and Imperial Overreach; Eight Selling the Drama: Culture, Media, the Military, and the American Self; Appendix A: Print News Media Articles Analyzed in Chapter Two, Fin de Siècle: The Beginnings of American Empire; Appendix B: Print News Media Articles Analyzed in Chapter Three, World War I: American Service; Appendix C: Print News Media Articles Analyzed in Chapter Four, World War II: The Good War ; Appendix D: Print News Media Articles Analyzed in Chapter Five, America in Vietnam; Appendix E: Print News Media Articles Analyzed in Chapter Six, Iraq Part I: Sanitized War, Ubiquitous Patriotism; Appendix F: Print News Media Articles Analyzed in Chapter Seven, Iraq Part II: Invasion, Occupation, and Imperial Overreach; Index

Editorial Reviews

Carefully examining American print media, Peterson presents a scathing, impassioned condemnation of US military operations. - CHOICE

“Few volumes are able to succinctly articulate the entrenchment of the military-industrial complex within the U.S. media landscape. Peterson not only accomplishes that with nuance and sophistication, his ability to focus on the discursive power of militarization in the legacy print establishments across three countries is truly exemplary. This book is essential reading to unpack how and why print media coverage of the U.S. military contributes to the continuation of the status quo and how that informs the country’s military engagements, investments, agreements, and policies both within the country and worldwide. Despite catering to an academic audience, this book should be required reading in newsrooms more so than classrooms.” —Adel Iskandar, Associate Professor of Global Communication, and Director, Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies (CCMS)

“Through a critical analysis of 100 years of U.S. newspapers, Luke Peterson shows how the media perpetuates empire by deceiving the public about the morality of U.S. wars, the military, and the government itself. In the tradition of Edward Said and Noam Chomsky, Peterson uncovers the role of the media in manufacturing consent for empire by analyzing the coverage of U.S. military interventions from 1898 to 2003. It is a politically urgent, empirically grounded, myth-busting analysis.” —Andy Clarno, University of Illinois at Chicago

“Peterson deftly strips away the façade of dominant discourses that support the media’s coverage of American military interventions to demonstrate how such narratives help shape the public consciousness of war and warfare. Robust in scale and scope, Peterson’s contribution is required reading for anyone interested in the military-media nexus.” —James A. Tyner, Professor of Geography, Kent State University

The U.S. Military in the Print News Media is an outstanding volume that deals with one of the most relevant topics of our time: American hyper-militarism. Exceptionally well-written and researched, Peterson chronicles the extent to which the American news media of the 20th century failed to inform the American people, by fair and objective reporting, the causes of wars and the conduct of the U.S. military when waging wars.—Armed Forces & Society

From the Publisher