Spanish American War

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The Spanish American War and the current ongoing War on Terror (Afghanistan and Iraq) have drawn many parallels from each other. The biggest comparison of the two time periods involves the publicity originated from the slogans “9/11 We Will Never Forget” and “Remember the Maine!”. Although these examples are both tragic events from the explosion of the USS Maine and the destruction of the Twin Towers, both are considered prominent examples of the American media’s role in the wars. By using large misleading headlines and over dramatic story lines, the truth could be altered into propaganda to spark war tension. The more dramatic a story was, the more attention and money it would gain. This idea of “yellow journalism” is still alive in today’s…show more content…
Whenever there is controversy between nations, the media takes advantage of a possible oncoming war and dramatizes reality, which attracts an audience to help establish a brand. In the Spanish- American War of 1898, the battleship Maine exploded in Havana’s harbor, where it had been docked in a show of American force, and 260 of its crewmen were killed. A notable trend that emerged during the Spanish-American War and has persisted to the modern day and has in fact become a model of American journalism is the idea of “yellow journalism.” In the 1890’s “yellow journalism” emerged from the newspaper techniques of Hearst and Pulitzer, as a method to sell newspaper. The idea was that newspapers sell better when there is sensational news to read about. This came into play in 1898 during the Spanish-American War, when Hearst was quoted telling a photographer who was complaining that there was no war in Cuba, “You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.” By saying this, Hearst was hinting that he would sensationalize the explosion into war if pictures were leaked. By proof of evidence to support his accusations that the Spanish did explode the USS Maine, he controlled the people’s opinion by convincing them how awful the Spanish were, further provoking a war, further gaining fame and fortune for having a voice that could control the fate of a nation. The explosion parallels to the destruction of the Twin Towers that happened in New York and also the destruction of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Both of the attacks shocked the nation, but also sparked tensions for waging a war. All over the news such as CNN the towers falling down was aired a prodigious amount repeatedly, and the media shed a light on the perpetrators of the attacks who were believed to be Osama Bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda. The 24-hour news channels displayed the towers to the point where it affected the patriotism of the
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