The Relationship between Censorship and the Emotional and Critical Tone of Television News Coverage of the Persian Gulf War

Abstract

The Persian Gulf War provided a unique opportunity to examine the relationship between censorship and the emotional and critical tone of television news. Coverage of the war was unique, not because censorship was taking place, but because news stories were clearly labeled by disclaimers when they were aired. A total of 424 television news stories broadcast during the Persian Gulf War were content analyzed for the presence or absence of censorship disclaimers, the censoring source, and the producing network. The stories also were rated for emotional valence and intensity, and critical tone of the story toward the source. The results are discussed in terms of both production- and viewer-based differences. The question of whether censorship “works” is considered in terms of unanticipated results related to story negativity, intensity, and critical treatment of the sources.