"War Spin"

At our first class in this module we  focused on a discussion around PR and propaganda and we had the opportunity to watch "War Spin: The Media and the Iraq War." The documentary examines the story of US Private Jessica Lynch and tries to reveal some troubling facts about how American news media spins the truth in an effort to increase war-time morale.

Also we could see how some tactics are used in a time of war regarding PR. At the beginning everything is normal. They had conferences, video shows from the field, pictures. Basically everything was transparent but behind all these you could easily see how the spokespersons were trained to talk and how they have used emotional messages in order to control everything. Is this PR?Well in a period of war i cannot say that PR can be used in the best way.

Also British journalist John Kampfner presents his view on what happened to Lynch, and points out discrepancies in the news and stories that were sent out to the public. By bringing forward several aspects of the news industry, the program raises questions about war-time propaganda and the ethics, of lack thereof, of journalists.