Forum to explore war, peace and mass media

Almost immediately following the September 11 tragedies, an international debate about American news media performance commenced.

William Dorman, a California State University, Sacramento government professor and published author, will lead a campus forum that will try to shed light on the issue. The free forum is called "September 11: War, Peace and the Mass Media," and will be held at noon, Tuesday, Nov. 13 in the University Union Hinde Auditorium.

"When President Bush declared the 'first war of the 21st Century' against terrorism, the debate over American news media began. The debate grew louder after the U.S. launched air strikes on Afghanistan in October. A similar debate has accompanied other conflicts ranging from the 1991 Gulf War to the 1999 NATO War in Yugoslavia." Dorman says.

At the forum, Dorman plans to discuss the importance of mainstream media as well as ways the tendency of mainstream press to follow the lead of political elites during times of war.

"My goal is to examine why the news media matter during times of international conflict, sketch out the nature of current debates and survey what research tells us about how journalism actually performs during times of war," Dorman says.

Panel respondents include Barbara O'Connor, CSUS communication studies professor and director of the Institute for Politics and the Media, and Buzz Fouzoni, CSUS government professor with a background on the Middle East. There will also be time for questions from the audience. For media assistance contact CSUS public affairs at (916) 278-6156.

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For further information send E-Mail to infodesk@csus.edu or contact
Public Affairs (916) 278-6156.

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