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Do you need to buy a birthday, anniversary or holiday gift? Visit the Galleria!  Add your
comments on this week's "What
is the Deal?" column at Uncle Hiram's Bulletin Board.March 23, 2003 What is the deal with Televised War Coverage? By Jan A. Larson After the American public became enamored with live television coverage of the Gulf War in 1991, it seems that we’re getting more, much more, of the same in 2003. In 1991, it was CNN that broke new ground in war coverage, but now, in addition to stalwart CNN, there are also other 24-hour cable news networks, FOX News Channel and MSNBC offering round the clock coverage. Among the three of them there is war coverage 72 hours per day. The technology of bringing the war into our living rooms has improved in the last decade. Satellite communications and the ubiquitous videophones allow for on the spot reporting of any event in the war zone as it happens. Given that there are literally hundreds of reporters “embedded” with the troops, the entire war effort can be played out in real time. A commentator in a studio in New York or Atlanta can talk to a reporter with the Marines in Iraq just as easily as talking to someone across the room. It is all beamed into our living rooms while we sit back and take it in. When the 24-hour news channels devote the entire 24 hours to war coverage, there really isn’t enough “real” news to fill the time so they all resort to parading a series of “experts,” mostly retired military types, to speculate on what will happen or what should happen, often in a manner resembling a sophisticated show and tell. After hearing from the military experts, then the political pundits take over and offer their unique speculation. The public is fascinated by this spectacle. I wonder, however, if we really grasp the difference between the reality of war and the reality of “American Idol?” The war, especially with the use of the high tech weaponry, looks in some respects, like just another summer blockbuster. The war, however, is reality. Deadly reality. Some of the “actors” will not come home. Some families will not see their loved one again. This is reality. The 24-hour coverage of the war gives us all insight into history from a perspective that wasn’t possible in the past. We are witnessing key moments that will shape the world for decades to come. The speculation and verbosity of war commentators aside, it is worthwhile to watch the coverage and to understand the ramifications of the events. At no other time has “reality television” been more real. -- Send feedback to the author. The "What is the Deal?" column will appears weekly on the Pie of Knowledge website. Guest submissions are welcome and encouraged. To submit an article to "What is the Deal?" click here. To subscribe to the "What is the Deal?" mailing list and receive early notification when a new column is available, click here. The Pie of Knowledge will never, ever divulge email addresses to any third party for any reason unless so ordered by a court of law. Contributions to the Pie of Knowledge are greatly appreciated. 
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