In the past, the broadcast and print media has had a crucial role in the formation of public opinion concerning war. As the only major sources of information, print and broadcast media had a much greater ability to influence public opinion with the facts that were disclosed and the manner in which the facts were presented. The fact that, before the eighties and nineties, there were only a few television stations that were watched for news further increased the broadcast media's ability to influence public opinion by airing not-so-objective coverage.

Today, with thousands of newspapers and hundreds of television stations that cater to target audiences with growing specificity, there is a much higher likelihood that people get different news, with different stories, facts, and presentation. During the Vietnam War, most Americans viewed the same coverage on television and read most of the same articles in their newspapers (like the New York Times and Washington Post). As a result, the media's ability to generate and increase negative feeling towards the War in Vietnam was much stronger than it is today.

In the case of the current War in Iraq, it is becoming increasingly likely that one American will get his or her news from a different source (with different biases) than another American. The rise of the Internet has allowed for war coverage to come from countless sources, including amateurs who do not work professionally in the media.

On Youtube, a videosharing website that is currently very popular, it is even possible to view raw, uncut footage of battlefield action. Since this footage comes from amateurs or is untouched by the broadcast media, viewers are less likely to be aware of the bias that exists within any media message. For example, when I, personally, viewed a clip of raw, uncut footage of action in Iraq, I got a very negative picture of the how desensitized soldiers have become in Iraq and how very real the damage is to the country and citizens of Iraq. Though it might seem to be bias free, because there are no edits and there is no commentary included, someone somewhere made the decision to take that particular clip and posted it for a reason other than to provide objective information; that someone somewhere is trying to send a message.

The role of media in time of war is to provide information on specific occurences and on the big picture or realities of the war. However, as a result of more immediate coverage and more varied sources, that power of the media to provide information is much more decentralized in current times than it has been in the past. As a result of this decentralized power, the American public will be more divided than ever before on the issues of a war.