Controlling the media

Yesterday in class, we watched War Spin - a documentary that looked at war and spin, and how the allies used the media to spread propaganda during the Iraqi war.

What struck me is how the allies were able to control the media, even though journalists cottoned onto the fact that they were being used as pawns, it took them a while to realise this. Its been my experience that journalists balk at being fed spin, but it appears as though these journalists were kept in the dark for a while.

What also struck me is that many techniques used in Public relations were used to spread the propaganda. From turning a negative story into a positive one, to flooding the media with positive stories whenever there is a crisis, the allies had the kind of media strategy used by normal PR practitioners. A major difference was the misinformation and blatant lies fed to the journos, and therefore to the general public. As a PR practitioner, I never lie to a journalists. I cringe at even saying no comment, so this really boggles the mind for me.