Iraq 20 years later – what was the media’s role?

Today, most agree that the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the war that followed was a major misstep. But in the leadup to the invasion and early months of the conflict, a majority of Americans, as well as our media and political leaders, stood in favor. What happened?

Guest Babak Bahador is a scholar who studies the relationship between peace, conflict, and the media – kind of like the academic version of this podcast. He teaches at George Washington University, where he directs the Media and Peacebuilding Project, and he founded the Peace News Network in 2015.

Babak has analyzed American news coverage of armed conflicts from World War II through the 2003 Iraq War, and he’s noticed a pattern in the way politics, public opinion, and the media inform each other over the course of each war.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Babak and host Jamil Simon begin by discussing coverage of the Vietnam War and the 2003 Iraq War. They also highlight the positive role of the media in Northern Ireland’s Good Friday peace agreement; touch on Ukraine, and reflect on how journalists can attract more attention to reconciliation and rebuilding efforts.

LEARN MORE

Read Babak Bahador’s research and analysis

Mapping the Enemy Image through Different Conflict Stages, University of Canterbury, 2011

Did pictures in the news media just change U.S. policy in Syria? Washington Post, 2017

Peacenews.com

Listen

Peace Journalism: at least don't make matters worse, our 2022 episode on Peace Journalism and the importance of language with Steve Youngblood

Slow Burn: The Road to the Iraq War, a podcast from Slate that explores the people and ideas that propelled the country into the Iraq war, and the institutions that failed to stop it

Making Peace Visible is a project of War Stories Peace Stories. Our mission is to bring journalists and peacebuilders together to re-imagine the way the news media covers peace and conflict, and to facilitate expanded coverage of global peace and reconciliation efforts. Join the conversation on Twitter: @warstoriespeace

Making Peace Visible is hosted by Jamil Simon, and produced by Andrea Muraskin, with hello from Faith McClure. Music in this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions, Xylo-Ziko, and SF Music.

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Making Peace Visible is a project of War Stories Peace Stories. Our mission is to bring journalists and peacebuilders together to re-imagine the way the news media covers peace and conflict, and to facilitate expanded coverage of global peace and reconciliation efforts. Join the conversation on Twitter: @warstoriespeace.

Making Peace Visible is hosted by Jamil Simon, and produced by Andrea Muraskin, with help from Faith McClure. Music in this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions, Xylo-Ziko, and SF Music.

ABOUT THE SHOW

The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. Our associate producer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org

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