Ugly War, Pretty Package: How CNN and Fox News Made the Invasion of Iraq High Concept [Paperback]

Deborah L. Jaramillo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0253221226 | ISBN-13: 978-0253221223

Deborah L. Jaramillo investigates cable news' presentation of the Iraq War in relation to "high concept" filmmaking. High concept films can be reduced to single-sentence summaries and feature pre-sold elements; they were considered financially safe projects that would sustain consumer interest beyond their initial theatrical run. Using high concept as a framework for the analysis of the 2003 coverage of the Iraq War—paying close attention to how Fox News and CNN packaged and promoted the U.S. invasion of Iraq—Ugly War, Pretty Package offers a new paradigm for understanding how television news reporting shapes our perceptions of events.

(2010)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Television news treated the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 like a blockbuster action movie, according to media scholar Jaramillo. As news organizations have become more corporate and attentive to the bottom line, they have begun to treat viewers less like citizens who need to understand why we’re at war and how the war is proceeding and more like consumers to be entertained and enthralled. Jaramillo focuses on CNN and Fox News as the best (or is it worst?) examples of packaging war news as if it were a war film. She offers a painstaking analysis of the first five days of war coverage, demonstrating how the two networks adhered to the principles of high-concept Hollywood films: stars, character types, genres, simplified narratives, music, and a certain cinematographic “look.” The toppling of Saddam Hussein’s statue and the “rescue” of army private Jessica Lynch are among the dramatic narratives that helped sell the war to viewers, whatever their merits as actual news coverage. Jaramillo examines how embedded reporters, and analysts with connections to the Pentagon and defense contractors, stuck to the script provided by the Department of Defense to characterize the invasion as a story of revenge-seeking following the 9/11 terrorist attack on the U.S. Often overly academic, Jaramillo nevertheless offers a compelling and thought-provoking look at how the media covers war. --Vanessa Bush --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"The author's thorough documentation and careful analysis will be most appreciated by students of journalism or communications, as an understanding of communications theory is helpful, but readers seriously following current events may be interested as well." —Library Journal

(Library Journal )

"... a thoughtful commentary and critique of the state of the cable news component of early-21st-century journalism.... Highly recommended." —Choice, May 2010

(Choice )

"Jaramillo provides a highly illuminating analysis of the aesthetics and politics of recent TV war coverage. Well-researched... comprehensive and penetrating... offer[ing] highly original research and analysis." —Douglas Kellner, author of Media Spectacle and the Crisis of Democracy

(Douglas Kellner, author of Media Spectacle and the Crisis of Democracy )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (September 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253221226
• ISBN-13: 978-0253221223
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,085,988 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This will change forever change the way you see television news!, February 13, 2011

By 

Debbie Danielpour Chapel (Sudbury, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ugly War, Pretty Package: How CNN and Fox News Made the Invasion of Iraq High Concept (Paperback)

Erudite, readable and ground-breaking, this book skillfully uncovers the truth behind what most viewers call television news. This is not a political book, it does not take sides, it only uncovers facts to relay its message. After the first chapters, even the most educated reader will feel enlightened. Professor Jaramillo shows how and why television news is a careful production (as is most of television), using the invasion of Iraq as a case in point for the dubious nature of what many of us call "news." I'm surprised this book hasn't become a bestseller.