The following essay is an analysis of how the Iraq War leaks published by Wikileaks was reported by the media in Russia and India in-terms of the relationship both these countries share with the United States and the United Kingdom. The essay also analyses if diplomatic relations had any impact on the content of reportage.
It begins by giving a brief explanation of what is Wikileaks, then it goes on to put forward snippets of the 2003 Iraq invasion and how the event was portrayed by the media in India and Russia. Thereafter, light has been thrown on the India-UK-US and Russia-UK-US relations, finally followed by an analysis of the news coverage. While looking at the diplomatic relations, the past terms and the present scenario of the bilateral relations has also been looked upon.
For the purpose of analysis only stories appearing in newspaper and news portals are being scrutinized. Both while looking at the coverage of 2003 Iraq invasion and Iraq war leaks, a total of three news stories appearing in three different newspapers/portals has been analyzed.
Also, columns and articles penned by political analysts has been looked upon to get a wider purview of the bilateral relations of the countries.
At a glance
- Examines three news stories from three newspapers or portals
- Examines Mail Today’s relationship with the British Daily Mail
- 32 sources in the bibliography
Table of Contents
1. Introduction-
2. WikiLeaks: A backgrounder
3. US Invasion of Iraq in 2003:
4. News reporting of the 2003 Iraq Invasion in India and Russia:
5. Iraq War Leaks- in capsule:
6. News reporting of Iraq War Leaks in India in terms of India-UK-US diplomatic relation
6.1 India and US:
6.2 India and UK:
6.3 News Coverage
7. News reporting in Russian newspapers in terms of Russia-UK-US diplomatic relation
7.1 Russia and US
7.2 Russia and UK
7.3 News reporting
8. Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This essay examines how Indian and Russian newspapers and news portals reported WikiLeaks’ Iraq War leaks and asks whether their countries’ diplomatic relationships with the United States and the United Kingdom influenced that coverage. It situates the reporting in the context of the 2003 Iraq invasion and bilateral relations.
- WikiLeaks and its publishing practices
- The 2003 Iraq invasion and its media coverage
- The Iraq War Logs and reported civilian casualties
- Indian and Russian news coverage of the leaks
- Relations with the United States and the United Kingdom
- Media framing and diplomatic context
Excerpt from the Book
News Coverage
Now shifting focus back to the coverage of Iraq War logs, the leaks by WikiLeaks created a hullabaloo around the globe and was covered by the global media. Espying how it was covered in India, English daily Hindustan times carried a detailed report explaining Iraq war leaks and various data associated with it. The report in its very first sentence termed Wikileaks as a ‘whistle-blowing’ organisation stating, ‘whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks on Friday released nearly 400,000 classified US military files chronicling the Iraq war from 2004 through 2009, the largest leak of its kind in US military history……’ (The Hindustan Times, 2010). Further by the use of adjective ‘largest’ it automatically portrayed US military in the losing end. This report by Hindustan Times also under various subheadings like ‘prisoner abuse’ and ‘civilian deaths’ highlighted the data further making the report gripping and intriguing for the readers (2010).
The Times of India (TOI) few weeks after the leaks that created enough noise globally, published a 968-word report entirely based on Jullian Assange’s article titled, ‘Don’t shoot messenger for revealing uncomfortable truths,’ that he wrote on December 8, 2010. The news report by TOI headlined- ‘Don’t shoot the messenger: Assange,’ was entirely based on Assange’s quotes extracted from his article. The news story termed Assange’s leaks and the consequent arrest by Australian authorities as ‘passionate espousal of freedom of speech’ (The Times of India, 2010). The news story seemingly picked up audacious extracts from Assange’s article and reported them with opening sentences like ‘….stressing that democratic societies need a strong media’ and ‘powers of the Australian government appear to be fully at the disposal of the US’ (The Times of India, 2010). The TOI news report also calls the hounding of Jullian Assange as ‘vicious attacks and accusations from the US government and its followers’ (2010).
Kashmir Observer another national daily was seen reporting the event of Iraq war logs with the use of an utter strong language. It published a news story under the headline ‘Hidden World of US Diplomacy Exposed’ (2010). The story portrayed US being at the receiving end by stating ‘United States was catapulted into a worldwide diplomatic crisis’ in the very first line of the news story (Kashmir Observer, 2010). The news piece by Kashmir Observer stated that The Pentagon is ‘infuriated’ by Wikileaks leaked files (2010). Furthermore, the news story while quoting Jullian Assange’s clarification termed the leaks a serving ‘important public interest’ (Kashmir Observer, 2010).
Chapter Summaries
Introduction- The introduction defines the essay’s comparative question and describes its examination of newspaper and news-portal stories alongside commentary on diplomatic relations.
WikiLeaks: A backgrounder This section describes WikiLeaks’ stated objectives, source anonymity and document-verification practices.
US Invasion of Iraq in 2003: The chapter outlines the invasion, arguments advanced for it and the timetable for the withdrawal of US forces.
News reporting of the 2003 Iraq Invasion in India and Russia: The author discusses selected Indian and Russian reports on the invasion and their presentation of the war.
Iraq War Leaks- in capsule: This section introduces the Iraq War Logs, their time span and competing accounts of the casualty information they contain.
News reporting of Iraq War Leaks in India in terms of India-UK-US diplomatic relation The chapter considers India’s relations with the United States and the United Kingdom before examining Indian press coverage of the leaks.
News reporting in Russian newspapers in terms of Russia-UK-US diplomatic relation The author reviews Russia’s relations with the United States and the United Kingdom and discusses coverage in Russian outlets.
Conclusion The essay compares the patterns the author identifies in Indian and Russian reporting and considers them alongside the respective media environments.
Keywords
WikiLeaks, Iraq War Logs, Iraq invasion, India, Russia, United States, United Kingdom, diplomatic relations, news coverage, media framing, press freedom, Julian Assange
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the essay about?
It examines Indian and Russian news coverage of WikiLeaks’ Iraq War leaks in the context of relations with the United States and the United Kingdom.
What are its central themes?
The essay addresses WikiLeaks, the Iraq invasion, the Iraq War Logs, media reporting and diplomatic relations.
What question guides the work?
The author asks whether diplomatic relationships influenced the content of reporting on the leaks.
What method does the author use?
The author examines selected newspaper and news-portal stories and considers them alongside published commentary on bilateral relations. The conclusion describes the approach as discourse analysis.
What does the main body cover?
It provides background on WikiLeaks and the Iraq invasion, outlines the leaks, and examines Indian and Russian coverage in diplomatic context.
Which keywords characterize the essay?
Key terms include WikiLeaks, Iraq War Logs, media framing, diplomatic relations, India and Russia.
Which Indian news outlets are discussed?
The discussion includes Hindustan Times, The Times of India, Kashmir Observer and Mail Today.
How does the essay address Russian news coverage?
It discusses reporting and opinion pieces from The Moscow Times and Russia Today after reviewing Russia’s relations with the United States and the United Kingdom.
- Quote paper
- Shamim Zakaria (Author), 2015, Coverage of Iraq War leaks by Russian & Indian Media with respect to Russia-US-UK and India-US-UK relations, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/437870
