Press Coverage and the War on Terrorism

A frequently heard analysis is that America has been far more effective in fighting the anti-terrorism war on the battlefield than it has been in winning public support around the world with its information campaign. It is widely accepted that the United States has not been fully effective in countering the image spread by Islamic extremists-that America is responsible for poverty and lack of democracy in many Muslim countries, and that America is an “infidel” nation waging a religious war against Muslims.

This forum, moderated by Brookings Senior Fellow Stephen Hess and Marvin Kalb of the Shorenstein Center at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, is the ninth in a series examining many aspects of news media coverage and information policy in the anti-terrorism war.

Hess and Kalb examined the effectiveness of America’s propaganda campaign with a group of panelists who have had first-hand experience in the information wars through their service at the United States Information Agency, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and the State Department office for public diplomacy and public affairs.