What was the role played by the press during the crimean War?
Well, it was one of the first wars to be covered by the world’s press – so that gave the press the role of highlighting the exploits of the armies on the battlefield – more often than not they would give an honest account of what they saw – and that was a first. Before the Crimea, the only reports to people back home came from army reports. These would have been heavily biased in most cases. So, for Victorian society in England, for instance, to hear of the tragedy of the Light Brigade in such graphic detail would have been genuinely shocking and distressful – as they would never have heard the like of it before. This is why the story made such a great impact at the time. Of course, there had been similar tragedies in conflicts throughout history before the Crimea, but they would never have been reported in quite the same way. And this what gave the press a new and exciting role – by reporting on events in war they could actually play a part in shaping the war – and determining the cou
