Reporting The Wars Flashcards
How was this period different to other with reporting news?
This period was significant changes to the amount of news civilians received about foreign wars
Was this change immediate ?
No, at the beginning of this period communications remained slow and dependent on human messengers
Even in 1815 it took three days for Waterloo to reach England
What was the invention that changed this ?
The invention of the electric telegraph
It enabled much faster communication. But it still took several days to publish and long articles would be sent via boat
The article of the charge of the light brigade did not appear until 20 days after it had occurred
How did this change public attitude?
Russell’s criticisms of mismanagement of resources in the Crimea did encourage public outrage and pressure for reform
Never the less the impact of newspapers was limited as 30 per cent of men and 40 per cent of women were illiterate in the 1850’s
In addition the public’s opinions had little impact of politics given a fraction where eligible to vote however this was broadened in 1884 but 40% of adult males and all women still couldn’t vote
Photography ?
The Crimean war was the first photographed war however technological limitations of early cameras meant only static scenes could be captured
Most photos where posed portages of soldiers and not dead bodies
The photos couldn’t not be printed onto newspapers until the 1880’s instead copied and engraved
However by 1900 technological improvements meant greater action could be captured including silent film however this mainly was used to shoot propaganda
