'Marching to Iraq with Howard' : the 2003 Iraq invasion on ABC-TV

Abstract

In the 10 years since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, there has been little research into the Australian media's coverage of this monumental event. With the consequences of this decision continuing to unfold, and now a campaign for an inquiry into Australia's involvement in the invasion and occupation of Iraq, I present some findings from research on the ABC-TV 7pm news coverage of the invasion of Iraq. The paper analyses 1) the location of the ABC's foreign correspondents, the significance of the placement of correspondents for the coverage of events, and how these countries' relations to the conflict were represented; 2) the limited range of sources drawn on by the ABC's correspondents in Washington and Qatar, as well as their correspondents embedded with US troops; and 3) significant motifs in how the events were constructed by ABC-TV news, including its (lack of) reporting of civilian casualties. I conclude from this evidence that despite its purported independence, the ABC's TV coverage both explicitly and implicitly projected and legitimated the dominant narrative of the belligerent countries.16 page(s