The Media War - Literature review Example

Introduction Iran has been at the forefront of the list of rogue s. Former US president, George W. Bush repeatedly called Iran the Axis of Evil, alongside North Korea and other states that were cited for mass human rights abuses and threat to international peace. The Iranian conflict with USA goes back to 30 years ago where Iran overthrew a pro-American regime and installed an Islamist government. This led to a proxy war fought by Iraq against Iran until 1988. Iran has been cited for being a threat to stability in the Middle East. Iran is seen to support terrorists who play key roles in causing destruction in Israel which Iran and other Arab/Muslim states see as an American proxy. They continuously label the state of Israel as a Zionist nation which Iran and other Islamic states call a terrorist state. In more recent times, Iran has been fingered for developing nuclear capabilities. Although similar accusations which led to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 by the Bush administration were proven to be unfounded, the Iranian government continue to suffer a similar accusation. However, in the case of Iran, hard evidence from diverse sources have been put forward to show that Iran is developing nuclear capabilities which would obviously be a threat to Middle Eastern peace because Iran has a history of targeting Americas allies in the region and also have a deep rooted history of tensions with Sunni states like Saudi Arabia which dates back to over 1000 years ago. This paper examines the role of the media in dealing with the US-Iran conflict and the effect on Israel, a US regional ally. The paper will examine the medias involvement in the Iranian situation since 1979. It will go on to examine the way Iran is disclosed in the media since 2000 and other possibilities for war that are relevant to the situation at hand. Background of Media Involvement since 1979 US-Iran relations were good since the 1960s and 1970s. Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was an ally to the US government. Due to this, the Shah and Iran got very positive media revelations in the United States and the West (Watson, 1989). There were over 20,000 Americans who moved into Iran and there was so much media exposition on Iran and the lavish spendings of the Shah and his regime (Watson, 1989). Although the Shah was projected to be a good thing, there was a hard hand that was wielded against the enemies of the Iranian Shah and his government and most of them had to flee into exile. This was hardly reported in the Western media or in the Iranian media, the were covered up and the Shahs regime was presented as a good government that was positive in the West (Howard, 1993). After so much mismanagement and difficulties that was kept away from the press, the situation erupted and the Shah and his regime were overthrown through a popular uprising. One of the most significant issues of the revolution was the case were staff of the US embassy in Tehran were kept hostage by Iranians between November 1979 and January 1981 (Watson, 1989). The hostage crises attracted a lot of media attention and coverage. Scott (2000) states that the incident was a turning point in media affairs between the United States and Iran. The US media became very apprehensive with the hostage crises. In analysing the hostage crises from a media point of view, Scott states that “five theories are culled from secondary literature on the captivity stories and are used as categories in context analysis of mass circulation media” (2000 p177). They are illustrated as follows: 1. Descriptions of Iranians as devilish savages: Most Western media houses portrayed Iranians as savages because what they did was clearly against international law and customs in diplomacy and this was more of a stone age practice in most American and European newspapers and to a large extent, most media houses. 2. Calls to rally around the flag: The media was used to call upon Americans and civilized nations around the world to join America to take up punitive measures against Iran. 3. “Anxious description of the hostages plight”: Any little matter that came up with the situation was presented with a high sense of urgency. 4. Fears that the hostages will be made to endure harsh punishment and torture: The press and other media houses always postulated the worst case scenarios. In most media houses, the predicted savage and gruesome killings and injury of these diplomats. 5. Calls for heroic leadership: The media houses promoted the idea of the US government getting heroic. They required the Carter administration to rise up to the task and deal with Irans inappropriate actions in the context of international relations. Attempts to negotiate with the new Iranian regime failed. And there was the need to take action. The United States however shied away from using direct force. Instead, the Iran-Iraq war was initiated by the Carter administration in September 1980. The media stated that Iran will succeed and the Western media portrayed Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi troops as the representatives of the civilized world (Howard, 1993). The media in Iran was also ignited to counter the Western medias support for Irans enemies and criticisms of Iran. Gruber identifies that the Iranians often used posters to tell the story of their case against the West. “Posters of the Iran-Iran war reduce Saddam Hussein to a growling dog, held firmly in place by the Wests leashes. The leashes on the right and left bear the flags of the Soviet Union and the United States whilst the dogs name tag is truly embossed with the Israeli flags Star of David” (2009 p685 – 686). The BBC Arabic and Persian service is said to have had the trust of the listeners and attempted to remain neutral (Black, 2010). However, this balance put both parties in a favourable light with view of getting them to put hatred aside and have a dialogue. Other related matters like the Iran-Contras scandal was used by the media to show how hypocritical the US government had been in relation to the Iranian matter (Parry and Kornbluh, 1988) Iran as a Threat to Middle Eastern Peace since 2000 According to Homepage Daily (2012), a survey conducted indicated that most Americans who follow the American media see Iran as an aggressor and the biggest threat to Middle East peace. On the other hand, Homepage Daily indicates that most Iranian scholars see the American media to be controlled by Zionists. There are many things in the media that supports this assertion and promotes the idea. This is because the media seem to be interested in showing different things and evidence that indicates that Iran is indeed a threat to peace in the region. Bowen (2012) identifies that the Israeli media regards Iran as the biggest threat to world peace on two grounds. This has influenced the way the Western media also perceives Iran and reports about Iran. First of all, the Israeli media shows evidence on a daily basis that Iran is a threat to world peace because they support Shiite terrorists like Hamas and Hezbollah who have vowed to kill Israelis and Jews. It is common to hear on the Western media that Iran is listed by the United States and allied nations as a state sponsor of terrorism. This indicates that the Western media is so much tuned towards presenting Iran as an aggressor. Secondly, the Western media has show time and again that Iran is developing nuclear capabilities and if that is not checked, the Middle East will be prone to war and violence (Al Jazeera Listening Post, 2011). The media, including traditional Western media houses like BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera commit a lot of air time to critique and analyse International Atomic Energy Agency reports on Irans closeness to developing nuclear weapons. Iranian leader, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has also been quoted time repeatedly over the past 7 years on the BBC, CNN and Al-Jazeera for stating that “Israel must be wiped of the map of the world”. This situation is received with different sentiments around the world. In the Arab world, it seems that this statement is taken with some degree of legitimacy since all Arab nations have opposed the state of Israel since its creation in 1948. However, in the Western media, this is presented with a high degree of scepticism which is because the attack of Israel, which is often reported in the Western media to be the only democracy in the Middle East is likely to have repercussions on the growth of democracy around the world. Possibilities of War from Iran. The media in the West have broadcast and rebroadcasted the calls for vigilance that are made by leaders. The most popular of them is Benyamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel in the past few years. Netanyahus speeches on the UN Security Council which famously showed him presenting the Iranian timebomb is broadcast and reprinted in most newspapers around the world (Bowen, 2012). Netenyahus description of Irans support for Hamas and Hezbollah is replayed around the world. Irans actions that are likely to lead to war are pervasively reported. The New York Times announced Irans refusal to negotiate with US over nuclear arms and this was also reproduced by the BBC (BBC World Service, 2012). Also, CNN Wire Staff (2012) have shown Ahmedinejads repeated accusation and hatred for Israel and same sex unions that are commonly accepted in the West. This shows that the media is interested in presenting the problems and issues that are prone to the world through Iran and what could lead to war. The media can be said to be justifying the build-up to a possible war which is likely to be problematic because it is going to involve nuclear bombs. Al Jazeera also reports that “Israel has been threatening to strike on Irans nuclear facilities for months...” (Listening Post, 2011). This Israeli threat is often restated in the Western media to draw the worlds attention to the potential threat and the need to do something about it before it gets too late. Conclusion West used the media to portray Iran as a bad nation with terrible systems and structures during the hostage crises. The attempt to liberate these hostages was presented as positive in the eyes of the Western media. Saddam Hussein was portrayed as good in the Western media during the Iran-Iraq war whilst the Iranians countered with a media that supported the revolution and posters that presented the West as oppressors. Iran is presented as a negative nation in the Western media that is on the verge of creating nuclear bombs and also a state sponsor of terrorism. The Western media report Ahmedinejads speeches and present it as a threat to the rest of the world. The media in the West continuously keeps its ears on the ground for issues relating to Iran and the possibility of war, particularly with Israel. In doing this, the popular issues discussed are often Ahmedinjads hatred for Western civilization and Israel. Also, Israels reports of growing threats from Iran and failures in negotiations over nuclear weapons and reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is given prominence in the Western media. References BBC World Service (2012) Iran Dismisses US Nuclear Talks New York Times Reports [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20021960 Accessed: November 2, 2012. Black, I (2010) BBC World Service Marks 30th Anniversary of the Iraq-Iran War. [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/22/bbc-world-service-iran-iraq-war Accessed: November 2, 2012. Bowen, J. (2012) Iran the Greatest Threat to World Peace [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20021960 Accessed November 2, 2012. CNN Wire Staff (2012) Iran President Rages far in Interview: Slams Israel and Homosexuality [Online] Available at: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/24/world/meast/iran-ahmadinejad-interview/index.html Accessed: November 2, 2012. Gruber, C. (2009) “Media/ting Conflict: Iranian Posters from the Iran-Iraq War (1980 – 88)” in Crossing Cultures: Conflict, Migration, Convergence, Proceedings of the 32nd Congress of the International committee of the History of Art ed Jaynie Anderson Melbourne: Melbourne University Homepage Daily (2012) Media Coverage: Iran Fair & Balanced? [Online] Available at: http://www.homepagedaily.com/Pages/article7422-media-coverage-iran---fair-and-balanced.aspx Accessed: November 2, 2012. Howard, T. (1993) Two Pillars to Desert Storm New York: William Morrow & Co Inc Listening Post (2012) Iran: When Newsrooms go Nuclear [Online] Available at: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/listeningpost/2011/11/201111119439588249.html Accessed: November 2, 2012 Scott, C. V. (2000) “Bound for Glory: The Hostage Crises as Captivity Narratives in Iran” International Studies Quarterly Vol 44 (1) March 2000 pp177 – 188 Watson, J. (1989) World History Since 1945 London: John Murray Publishing Read More