Isolated by geography from the wars that ravaged the world over the past century, civilians in the United States have always viewed combat through the prism of the media. Newspapers during WWI, radio during WWII and television during Vietnam all shaped the public’s perception and opinion of conflict.

The war in Iraq is the first major war of the digital age, and this new media is again changing the way that we think about our nation’s military actions abroad. From digital photos snapped by a guard at Abu Ghraib to reports from embedded reporters filed via satellite phone, the easy, instantaneous nature of communications today has changed the nature of journalism.

Has this change affected our perspective as consumers of news? Has the always on, 24 hour nature of news served to deaden our sense of the importance of what we are watching, and remove the human factor behind the scenes on our TV screens. Have we reached a point of information overload?

How has the current age of documentary film affected our understanding of the issues, challenges of combat and realities soldiers face when returning home?

Join us at this week’s Café Society to discuss media and war.

This Week’s Articles

• TV: A Missed Opportunity
  
• The Soundtrack For War
  
• Online Advances
  
• Catastrophic Times: Television and the Collapse of Memory
  

For more informaiton, please contact Kristin Millikan at 312.422.5580.