Iraqi War: Media Critique

‘Whoever controls the language, the images, controls the race’.
This quote from an unknown source describes the power of the media within today’s society. Through times of tragedy and joy, we turn to the media for an explanation and an understanding. The Iraqi war is currently an extremely critical issue for the Australian public as well as the rest of the world. Because of this, it is expected that there will be balanced media coverage in order to fully inform the population. However, despite our country’s support and involvement in President George Bush’s decision to go to war, Australian media coverage has been far from ethical. While there are constant updates of the coalition’s progress in Iraq, there is rarely any news of Iraqi casualties or anything that may jeopardise their jingoistic approach. This is because of our government’s emphasis on creating a bias, pro-war view and the use of propaganda to ‘sell’ the war. If our country’s people are to formulate ...