Comparisons of Gulf War I and II

[dopcombo]

I'm writing a paper on the comparisons between gulf war I and II (recent iraq war)

I've managed to find many comparisons in terms of objectives, troops, etc, but i'm lacking one important point.

News and media coverage.

How did the news coverage change between the gulf war and the iraq war?
And has the internet played a part in this?
How has the internet shaped people's opinions?

If anyone has any figures or links that might help me, I'd be eternally grateful.

Thanks.

 

[dopcombo]

oh come on. not a single reply at all?!

Sigh.

 

[AndrewR]

Fine. I have five minutes.

How did the news coverage change between the gulf war and the iraq war?
And has the internet played a part in this?
How has the internet shaped people's opinions?

The most obvious difference was the embedded reporter idea which was used to tremendous effect by the Coalition. While the military deliberately deceived the media to tactical advantage against the Iraqis, in effect distorting the facts, this time the military embedded the reporters within its units who then reported the action as it was happening. No whitewashing, no deception, no spin. The intent was twofold. 1) The military cannot be accused of withholding information (other than that which was agreed to beforehand such as unit locations or movements) or lying, and 2) the military had definitive proof from multiple independent sources that its forces were not committing atrocities and were actually doing what the CENTCOM spokesman, BG Brooks, was saying they were doing. Added to that, Iraqi atrocities and actions were documented by those same independent sources.

The internet played a part in encouraging and enabling the anti-war movement, which was able to use the ease of email and websites to organize and coalesce (sp?). It is much easier to organize a "grass-roots" protest when you can simply broadcast an email as opposed to handing out flyers, going door-to-door, or making phone calls. The internet also fostered more discussion among people, such as on this forum, than was easily accomplished in 1990-91. That last part addresses the final question.

There. Happy?