Do "good" intentions justify "bad" tactics? a textual analysis of the representation of the Iraqi Media Network in the Western press /

by 1980- Weiss, Allison Ardis

The Iraqi Media Network is the United States’ multi-million dollar effort to create an example of a free press in Iraq. The network has been plagued with difficulties, the most crippling of which is its lack of credibility. This study examines the Western media’s representation of the Iraqi Media Network, focusing specifically on how this representation relates to the Western media’s notions about the proper role of the press in society. A textual analysis of 57 news items in five major Western newspapers forms the foundation of scholarship on the Western media’s representation of the Iraqi Media Network. Findings show several troubling patterns within the text, including the notion that propaganda disguised as news is acceptable in Iraq (so long as it supports Western aims), the representation of the Iraqi Media Network as supreme over all non-Western media and an attitude of condescension toward Iraqis.