Books in the International Communications series

This book examines the evolution of British propaganda practice during the course of the twentieth century.

Written against a backdrop of recent bloody conflicts, this book brings together case studies and legal analysis of the steps that the United Nations, NATO and other organisations have taken to build pluralist and independent media in the wake of massive human rights violations.

The most extensive and detailed analysis of the reporting of the Spanish Civil War ever undertaken.

Allied propaganda and Eire censorship were a vital part of the conflict over Irish neutrality in the Second World War. Based upon original research in archives in Ireland, Great Britain, the United States and Canada, this study opens a new page in the history of wartime propaganda and censorship. It examines the channels of propaganda , including the press and other print media, broadcasting and film, employed in Eire and the agencies which operated them, and the structure and operations of the Eire censorship bureau which sought to repress them . It also looks at the role played by Irish-Americans in the conflict, some of whom supported, while others opposed, Irish neutrality. Which side could win this "e;war of words"e;? Could British and American propaganda overcome Eire neutrality, or would re censorship guarantee that it could not? In this detailed and wide-ranging examination of the "e;war of words"e; over Eire neutrality, the author addresses such subjects as public opinion, government policies, propaganda planning, objectives, content and channels of dissemination, and the purpose and tactics of censorship.

This is a study of the British state's generation, suppression and manipulation of news to further foreign policy goals during the early Cold War. Bribing editors, blackballing "e;unreliable"e; journalists, creating instant media experts through provision of carefully edited "e;inside information"e;, and exploiting the global media system to plant propaganda--disguised as news--around the world: these were all methods used by the British to try to convince the international public of Soviet deceit and criminality and thus gain support for anti-Soviet policies at home and abroad. Britain's shaky international position heightened the importance of propaganda. The Soviets and Americans were investing heavily in propaganda to win the "e;hearts and minds"e; of the world and substitute for increasingly unthinkable nuclear war. The British exploited and enhanced their media power and propaganda expertise to keep up with the superpowers and preserve their own global influence at a time when British economic, political and military power was sharply declining. This activity directly influenced domestic media relations, as officials used British media to launder foreign-bound propaganda and to create the desired images of British "e;public opinion"e; for foreign audiences. By the early 1950s censorship waned but covert propaganda had become addictive. The endless tension of the Cold War normalized what had previously been abnormal state involvement in the media, and led it to use similar tools against Egyptian nationalists, Irish republicans and British leftists. Much more recently, official manipulation of news about Iraq indicates that a behind-the-scenes examination of state propaganda's earlier days is highly relevant. John Jenks draws heavily on recently declassified archival material for this book, especially files of the Foreign Office's anti-Communist Information Research Department (IRD) propaganda agency, and the papers of key media organisations, journalists, politicians and officials. Readers will therefore gain a greater understanding of the depth of the state's power with the media at a time when concerns about propaganda and media manipulation are once again at the fore.