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What if today's media covered World War II?

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  • What if today's media covered World War II?

    Now and Then
    What if today's media covered World War II?

    BY CHRISTOPHER BUCKLEY



    Dec. 12, 1941: The City Council of Berkeley, Calif. approves, by 5-4, a resolution condemning as "warmongering" the recent U.S. declaration of war on Japan. In a statement, the council deplores "violence as a means of settling international disputes" and urges President Roosevelt to "sit down with the Japanese ambassador in Washington" and "enter into a meaningful, non-gender or race-based dialogue."


    Dec. 13, 1941: In an article for the New Yorker, Mavis Montag suggests that the U.S. "has only itself to blame" for the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, she expresses satisfaction that America is now formally at war with Germany and will thus "be forced to aid the heroic struggle of the Soviet Union."


    (Headline 1)
    Jan. 6, 1942: MEDIA REPORTED 'FRUSTRATED' AT LACK OF U.S. VICTORY IN 'WORLD WAR II'
    'How Long is This Thing Going To Drag Out?" demand New Type of Commentators Called 'Talking Heads'


    Jan. 30, 1942: In an interview on "Good Morning Nippon," a Japanese bomber pilot wounded over Pearl Harbor denounces the American Navy's attempt to defend itself from the attack.

    "They should have accepted our bombs as divine will," says Murama Takaji, 22, who appears on the popular morning show with both arms in a sling. He says that once he recovers he hopes to join the elite Divine Wind ("kamikaze") squadron. "It would be a great honor to crash into an American ship," he says. "I hear there are many pretty geishas in the next life."


    (Headline 2)
    Feb. 6, 1942: MEDIA EXECUTIVES CHAFE AT WAR DEPARTMENT RESTRICTIONS ON REPORTING
    'Why Can't We Go on Doolittle Raid Over Tokyo?' Demands Head of ABC News


    Feb. 7, 1942: The head of ABC News retracts revelation of Doolittle mission. "I misspoke," he says. "There actually is no secret plan to launch B-25 bombers off aircraft carriers to bomb Tokyo on April 18. Really."


    (Headline 3)
    Feb. 18, 1942: CRITICS WORRIED WORLD WAR II COULD TURN OUT TO BE A 'QUAGMIRE'


    March 1, 1942: BRITISH URGED TO HALT BOMBING OF OCCUPIED FRANCE DURING LENT
    Insensitivity to period of fasting and repentance could 'offend' Christians, 'strain' Alliance


    March 3, 1942: RAF BOMBERS STRIKE RENAULT PLANT OUTSIDE PARIS, KILLING 623 AND WOUNDING 1,500Churchill Reported Sleeping 'Like a Baby' Following Raid



    April 20, 1942: Officials from the Japanese Imperial Ministry of Propaganda and Dissimulation give American reporters a tour of areas of Tokyo damaged in the Doolittle raid. According to the officials, all bombs missed military targets, landing instead on nursery schools, hospitals, temples, infant formula factories and schools for handicapped children.


    April 21, 1942: The head of the United Notions expresses "grave concern" over civilian casualties in yesterday's Doolittle raid over Tokyo.

    "If there are to be any more of these so-called 'daring' raids over Japanese population centers," he says, "American pilots must be more sensitive to collateral damage."


    (Headline 4)
    April 20, 1942: WAR DEPARTMENT PUZZLED BY U.N. PHRASE 'COLLATERAL DAMAGE'
    Military Scholars, Analysts Say They Cannot Find Term in Dictonary


    June 1, 1942: NEARLY 60,000 GERMANS ARE HOMELESS FOLLOWING RAF BOMBING OF COLOGNE
    Churchill Reports 'Best Night's Sleep' Since 1939


    Mr. Buckley is editor of Forbes FYI.

    ======
    "You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."
    ~Winston Churchill

    "One of the annoying things about believing in free will and individual responsibility is the difficulty of finding somebody to blame your problems on. And when you do find somebody, it's remarkable how often his picture turns up on your driver's license."
    ~P.J. O'Rourke
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