Using journalists' own standards as the measure, an exhaustive analysis of nearly 3000 network news reports from the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations reveals that the networks may do more to misinform than inform on a whole range of complex issues related to national defense.
Using journalists' own standards as the measure, an exhaustive analysis of nearly 3000 network news reports from the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations reveals that the networks may do more to misinform than inform on a whole range of complex issues related to national defense. This study paints a disturbing picture of the inadequate coverage ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News provide to millions of viewers each night. Aubin concludes that network coverage of defense issues was too often tainted by preconceived attitudes and lapses in journalistic standards.
While as much as twenty-five cents of every dollar went to the defense budget during some of the periods reviewed, the networks hardly covered the key issues surrounding the Reagan defense buildup or the dramatic cuts that followed the end of the Cold War. In addition to their inadequate coverage, the networks also deprived Americans of balanced coverage of the investments made in high-tech weapons that ultimately prevailed in the Gulf War. Though the networks receive good marks for foreign policy coverage, they need to improve the quality of defense reports. This book provides them with the lessons and prescriptions for doing so, and it serves as a primer for all Americans who want to know just what it was that the networks failed to tell them.
Introduction: Targeting the Content of Network News
National Security and Network News
National Security: The New York-Washington Axis
Dissecting Network Coverage of National Security
Cut That Defense Budget!
Weapons That Do Not Work?
The Defense Industry: A Scandalous Business?
Arms Control: Let's Make a Deal
The Foreign Policy Scorecard
Why Network Coverage Fell Short
The B-2 and Network News: A Case Study in Distortion
The Romanian Revolution...Beyond the Images
A Few Notes on Network Coverage of the Gulf War
Policy-makers Still Read All About It
Conclusion: Expertise and Standards Matter
Appendix 1: Notes on Methodology
Appendix 2: Brief Overview of the Pentagon News-Gathering Operation
References
Index
Reviews
"…The book is an analysis of nearly 3000 network news reports from Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations on ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News. The author provides nearly a dozen recommendations for improvement, chiefly more specialized and trained reporting."—Communication Booknotes Quarterly
"[A]n easy and rewarding read for people with interests that range from domestic broadcasting to coverage of foreign policy."—Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
"Aubin's well-written book, Distorting Defense: Network News and National Security, should be read by those who desire fully to comprehend how much the CNN effect affects US national defense and security....clearly authenticates the problematic coverage of defense and security news."—Military Review
