The President, the Press, and the War‐Making Power: An Analysis of Media Coverage Prior to the Persian Gulf War

Abstract

This study examines media coverage of war powers for a five‐month period before the Persian Gulf War. Previous research has shown that the range of foreign policy debate reported in the media is a function of the range of debate in Washington, DC. Based on an analysis of ABC News, the New York Times, and presidential news conferences, the authors find that reporting on war powers–and in particular, the perspective that congressional authorization is required prior to the use of military force–is linked to the dynamics of institutional debate in Washington. In the midst of a massive military buildup wherein the prospect of conflict with Iraq was a distinct possibility, the issue of war powers was virtually ignored by media sources until it became a source of conflict between Congress and the Bush administration. The authors argue that the lack of independent reporting on war powers works to the advantage of the executive by diminishing the extent to which a constitutional constraint on its behavior will be subject to public debate.