War and Military Journalism

Michael S. Sweeney

With few exceptions, the American public supports the country's armed forces at the onset of war—and so have American news media. War's early stages encourage patriotic sentiment, a phenomenon known as rallying around the flag. New York editor Horace Greeley (1811–72) famously called for the invasion of the Confederacy by placing “Forward to Richmond!” in the masthead of the New York Tribune at the start of the Civil War in 1861. In 1898, New York press barons William Randolph Hearst (1863–1951) and Joseph Pulitzer (1847–1911) clamored for hostilities with Spain during the two months between the mysterious destruction of the battleship U.S.S. Maine in Havana harbor and the congressional declaration of war. Rarer is the case of the press achieving peace despite public support for war. One example occurred in 1895, when Pulitzer's New York World editorialized against efforts by Congress and President Grover Cleveland to intervene in a Passions ...

Users without subscription are not able to see the full content on this title. Please, subscribe or login to access all content on this website.