Understanding media coverage of the Iraq War
Deborah L. Jaramillo investigates cable news' presentation of the Iraq War in relation to "high concept" filmmaking. High concept films can be reduced to single-sentence summaries and feature pre-sold elements; they were considered financially safe projects that would sustain consumer interest beyond their initial theatrical run. Using high concept as a framework for the analysis of the 2003 coverage of the Iraq War—paying close attention to how Fox News and CNN packaged and promoted the U.S. invasion of Iraq—Ugly War, Pretty Package offers a new paradigm for understanding how television news reporting shapes our perceptions of events.
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The author's thorough documentation and careful analysis will be most appreciated by students of journalism or communications, as an understanding of communications theory is helpful, but readers seriously following current events may be interested as well.
" - Library Journal
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. . . a thoughtful commentary and critique of the state of the cable news component of early-21st-century journalism. . . . Highly recommended.May 2010
" - Choice
