Boer War - Reporting

Question 1

What are the pro-war strands of journalism?

Answer 1

The Daily Mail
The Times (Phase 1, Phase 2)
The Daily Chronicle
The morning post

Question 2

Who are the prominent pro-war journalists?

Answer 2

TDM
Lady Sarah Wilson = patriotic
Edgar Wilson - A list primary correspondent

Question 3

What are the anti-war strands of journalism?

Answer 3

The Manchester Guardian (boosted in Phase 3)
Time Times (Phase 3)

Question 4

What is the Pro-Boer strand of journalism?

Answer 4

The Daily News

Question 5

Who is a prominent pro-Boer journalist?

Answer 5

David Lloyd George made great political capital out of pro-Boer stance

Question 6

What is the general attitude of journalism?

Answer 6

No censorship, all jingoistic - patriotic fever
Most avoided criticism

Question 7

How many readers does the Daily Mail have and why?

Answer 7

1 million a day
One half penny

Question 8

What is the attitude/reach of the Times?

Answer 8

Heavier = literature upper class
Balanced but pro-war in sentiment
Critical in Phase 3
Reliable, not sensationalised

Question 9

Why are journalists now photographers?

Answer 9

Kodak portable cameras

Question 10

What are the consequences of reporting?

Answer 10

Newspapers initially presented the Boers as primitive, backwards with animalistic language
Changed after black week as the British suffered intense losses

Heavy British casualties at Pion Kop awoke people to the savagery of the combat

Heavy international condemnation of the press
New phase in self-image - stain on image
‘Embarrassing half life of its own’

Question 11

What happened when Mafeking was relieved in May 1900?

Answer 11

Huge demonstration - Mafficking - working class mass hysteria celebrations

Question 12

What is the Khaki election?

Answer 12

1900 after the success of the Battle of Paardenburg

Early election - cashing on jingoistic fever - many reporters ran for PM and came into politics

C.P. Scott - MP and editor for the Manchester Guardian - lost position during the Khaki election (later proven correct)

Question 13

How did the media feel about Robert Badel-Powell?

Answer 13

Mafeking is the only truly positive media

Personality focused media - praise

Prestige + heroic

Made by the media (TDM - Lady Sarah Wilson)

Question 14

How did the media feel about General Buller?

Answer 14

Unexperienced with press

Only friendly with Churchill, who hated him and exploited this to write about him negatively

Hated by the press - condemned

Press exacerbated his own (quite terrible) failures and led to his demise as a general

Question 15

How did the media feel about General Roberts?

Answer 15

Named ‘bobs’ affectionately by the media

Very media friendly

Encouraged officers and correspondents

Held press conferences

Gave journalists the exposure they wanted

Gave good news for the avid readers about the war

Question 16

How did the media feel about Kitchener?

Answer 16

Concerned Boers would gain support/hope from hyper-critical media/press around his strategies due to the reports of disheartened British troops

Difficult job made harder by press interference

Question 17

What did John Atkinson Hobson do?

Answer 17

South African Correspondent for the Manchester Guardian

Argued the Boer War is a press made war

Argued Cecil Rhodes and mine owners are manipulating the British into fighting Boers to maximise their profits from mining

Imperialism = expanding capitalism

Pro-Boer sympathies

Question 18

How was the Manchester Guardian perceived in Phase 1?

Answer 18

Due to opinions from people like John Atkinson Hobson, TMG has low readership in Phase 1

It boosts in significance and leadership in Phase 3 due to Emily Hobhouse and rising aggravation at the war

Question 19

What is the impact of Emily Hobhouse?

Answer 19

The Hobhouse Report

Heard mentions of the camps
Government let her go to SA
Milner gives her a tour

Freelance journalist who feels like she must share the experience - contacts the Guardian and collaborate

Society deeply shocked at the report - foreign media gets ahold

Pamphlets of her revelations shared:
- 1/3 dead

Pro-propagandists argued Boer War mortalities were self-inflicted due to lack of collaboration with British soldiers

Question 20

What does Kitchener call Hobhouse?

Answer 20

That bloody woman
Meddlesome spinster

Question 21

What happens as a result of the Hobhouse report?

Answer 21

All female commission headed by Millicent Fawcett investigated the camps which had been improved by their arrival and made Hobhouse seem exaggerated