Censorship in Britain in WW1
Censorship in Britain during World War 1 "The first casualty of War is Truth"
Introduction:
The importance of the press in the British culture dates long before the era of broadcasted media it goes back to the time when newspapers were first introduced in the 15 century. Newspaper circulated in every corner of the country and citizens had access to either a national or local daily newspaper, and even in small country villages pages from the local newspaper would be pinned up on public notice boards to be read.
With no opinion polls or other ways of judging public opinion, politicians paid exaggerated respect to newspapers and their owners, learning to give interviews and to exert influence behind the scenes. Thus it was obvious for most of the countries including Britain that the press plays a crucial role, but this role sometimes goes beyond orientating the public opinion to unveiling what is classified as top secret military information.
The lesson was learnt from various political incidents where the press was able to provoke a total turn of events. One of the best examples to illustrate the negative intervention of the press is the French defeat in Sedan in 1870 (between France and Prussia old German kingdom its capital was Berlin) when the French held the British press as the main responsible because of its publication of some information that the German Embassy passed back to Berlin
Pre-war conventional press censorship reasons and measures
With the widespread usage of telegraphic cables and Morse code the transmission of information had become easier and faster. Journalists and press correspondents would send their reports from battle fields directly to the newspapers to be published and served the next morning on the breakfast tables.
Like all major powers, Britain was fully aware that a certain censorship on press had become compulsory. The question was first raised in the War Office in 1899 and re-raised again
Introduction:
The importance of the press in the British culture dates long before the era of broadcasted media it goes back to the time when newspapers were first introduced in the 15 century. Newspaper circulated in every corner of the country and citizens had access to either a national or local daily newspaper, and even in small country villages pages from the local newspaper would be pinned up on public notice boards to be read.
With no opinion polls or other ways of judging public opinion, politicians paid exaggerated respect to newspapers and their owners, learning to give interviews and to exert influence behind the scenes. Thus it was obvious for most of the countries including Britain that the press plays a crucial role, but this role sometimes goes beyond orientating the public opinion to unveiling what is classified as top secret military information.
The lesson was learnt from various political incidents where the press was able to provoke a total turn of events. One of the best examples to illustrate the negative intervention of the press is the French defeat in Sedan in 1870 (between France and Prussia old German kingdom its capital was Berlin) when the French held the British press as the main responsible because of its publication of some information that the German Embassy passed back to Berlin
Pre-war conventional press censorship reasons and measures
With the widespread usage of telegraphic cables and Morse code the transmission of information had become easier and faster. Journalists and press correspondents would send their reports from battle fields directly to the newspapers to be published and served the next morning on the breakfast tables.
Like all major powers, Britain was fully aware that a certain censorship on press had become compulsory. The question was first raised in the War Office in 1899 and re-raised again