As I thought about my question, "What role does the media play, in war?"; I wondered how the best way to present this topic. One book that I read to help get a feel of the meaning of the Vietnam conflict was "The Green Berets", by Robin Moore. The more and more I read this book, I started to analyze it in a different perspective. This book in fact had everything to do with my proposed question and I will show you why. I also intend to contrast the styles used in both the Vietnam conflict and the Gulf War.

In order for me to best depict what "The Green Berets" means, we must first learn how this book came to be. But even before that I must begin by letting those who do not know, what/who the Green Berets are. The are an elite fighting group under the Department of the Army. There purpose is to conduct covert operations all over the world. Some operations are teaching other friendly nations how to effectively use tactics of war and how to implement them. They are a unit, "one that is highly trained in guerrilla-warfare tactics in the jungles of Southeast Asia" (Moore. p.5). And because of their superlative training t

1. Denton Jr., Robert E. The Media And The Persian Gulf War. Westport, Connecticut: Preager,1993.

Due to the mixed emotions about the way CNN covered the war, ABC was also highly praised, in chief part due to it's credibility of it's anchors. "Peter Jennings was designated the most credible anchor by television viewers" (Morrin 1991). This along with the fact that both networks presented the war in an extremely well view. It was not the actual coverage of the war that set both networks off on the right foot. It was the days leading up to the invasion. They got out the facts, to the extent that all who viewed knew what was really happening step by step. I myself, remember I was a little pissed that my favorite shows were interrupted due to the coverage of the conflict. Now that I look back at that time period, I gained some knowledge of how the government works when it comes to acts of war. Forced to watch coverage of the conflict also let me understand the structure in which actions are to be made. The biggest impact that I remember was the fact that the press wanted to tell everything they saw. Due to the fact that some material was deemed "sensitive" it could not be released. An example of this would be when the press pools would attend briefings given by Major General Norman H. Schwartzkopf, if a question was deemed classified or unable to be answered due to the fact that a units mission was not done yet, you could see the frustration build between the two groups. That is what I hope to show. Where due the limits lie? How much should the public be informed about.

Another important view into the political structure was the involvement of C-SPAN (Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network). First we must understand the function of C-SPAN and then you will see why this network was important in the public views of this war. It was started in 1979 as a non-profit organization with the duty of providing "Gavel-to-Gavel" coverage of the proceeding of the House of Representatives. It has since then expanded, adding a second channel, C-SPAN II. This change came about when the need arose to cover more than the house. It has since then focused it's attention into covering rallies, speeches, and other hearings that make this nation work, politically. Unlike other networks C-SPAN has no intention of voicing one particular opinion over another. It's sole purpose is to get information out and let the viewer decide what he/she feels. The reason why I have included the involvement of C-SPAN, I feel that it's importance should not go unnoticed. The network covered both foreign affairs and state side debates and arguments as well. This importance is entirely due to it's 24 hour coverage. This allows for more in depth coverage without the possibility of braking for a paid commercial advertisement.

This is how the medium of television and in some cases the print media worked. One topic that I enjoy discussing is the form of film and it's effect on a person's view of war. We begin by

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Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)