War and Press Freedom: The Problem of Prerogative Power |  | Author: Jeffery Alan Smith
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
List Price: $40.00
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Seller: bookdrivesinc
Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 461386
Media: Paperback
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 5.8 x 0.9
ISBN: 019509946X
Dewey Decimal Number: 342.730853
EAN: 9780195099461
ASIN: 019509946X
Publication Date: February 25, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In the two centuries from the ratification of the First Amendment in 1791 through the Gulf War in 1991, the American press lacked an adequate right to analyze and report on the nation's armed conflicts. When restrictions were challenged as violations of the Constitution, military regulations and federal laws were justified as necessary under the "higher law" of survival. Is there law more important than the Constitution which allows prerogative powers to be used in a time of war or national crisis? This groundbreaking and provocative study, examining law and history over these two hundred years, argues that press freedom cannot and should not be suspended during armed conflict. The military and the media must work together because neither has authority over the other.
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| Customer Reviews:
History That Helps You Understand the Headlines February 16, 2002
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Although published before the current war on terrorism, this book's historical overview of the relationship between media and the American government during times of war is strikingly relevant to today's headlines. Military tribunals for civilians? Abe Lincoln tried that in the Civil War. Another intriguing element is the discussion of how suppression of the atomic bomb's development -- by both the government and the media -- led to not only an ill-informed public, but an ill-informed president and may have impacted the final actions of World War II.
Filled with solid scholarly research, this book is still accessible to the lay reader and offers fascinating insight into our country's history. From the Revolutionary War to the Gulf War, it covers who, among journalists and politicians, took what actions in time of war; why they thought they were justified; and what impact these actions had on political, legal and military developments.
Superb June 27, 2003
Dane S. Claussen (Pittsburgh, PA USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I first read this book when it was entered into a media history book competition for which I was a judge, before Sept. 11 and Afghanistan and Iraq. I was extremely impressed then. More recently, I have assigned my media history students (undergraduate and graduate students) to read it, and this fall, I am requiring graduate students in media law to read it. I'm not using this book so much because I'm too lazy to find or read another one; it's really that good. Nearly every sentence forces one to think about democracy, law, journalism, the nature of government, the role of the military, and the information needs of average citizens. It's not only for professors and journalism, history or law students. One of the best books I've ever read--no kidding.
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