The Office of War Information (abbreviated as OWI) was created on June 13th, 1942 after executive order 9182 by President Roosevelt. The office was the combination of the Office of Facts and Figures, The Office of Government Reports, and the division of information of the Office for Emergency Management. It became the sole source for wartime information.
This was not met with controversy. The press feared centralized agency as a sole distributor of wartime information, and others feared the office of War Information could resemble Joseph Goebbels operation in Nazi Germany.
Roosevelt put former journalist and CBS newsman Elmer Davis in charge of the newly formed Office of War Information. He informed Davis that the purpose of the Office of War Information was to “formulate and carry out, through the use of press, radio, motion pictures, and other facilities, information programs designed to facilitate the development of an informed and intelligent understanding, at home and abroad, of the status and progress of the war effort and of the war policies, activities, and aims of the government.”
The office created propaganda and controlled all war-related information given to the public. Posters, booklets, photographs, radio shows, and films were designed and distributed to boost patriotism. Images and news were also censored. In addition, the government had to approve certain films radio and advertising.
Photographers were sent across the country to document Americans doing patriotic work. They went to photograph factory workers and farmers as well as men and women in uniform.
Propaganda posters were everywhere as well, encouraging Americans to join the army, stay quiet, work in factories and on farms, watch out for the enemy, and support the war effort.
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ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post about the focus the American government had on controlling all aspects of information and opinion about the war. They became very strict with being patriotic, which is expected if they want to win the war, but on first glance could look like too much control. Looking into it a bit more, I looked specifically at Elmer Davis. He was a journalist and reporter like you said above, which gave him a national following, but he had a liberal stance against military censorship, which created a bit of controversy around him. After the war, he continued to be a news reporter at ABC and later became a big part speaking against communistic ideals.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.britannica.com/biography/Elmer-Davis
Your post was really well-written and interesting! I found it helpful how you explained what the organization was and how it influenced the American public. It seems like the government produced almost all of the information and propaganda which Americans saw during WW2. The Office of War Information is a great example of how people tend to lose some of their individual rights and freedoms during war. I was wondering if this type of censorship also happened in other countries during WW2. I found out that in Britain, a government department called the Ministry of Information was completely responsible for the nation's WW2 publicity and propaganda. This organization formed the day after Britain declared war, although the planning started around 1935 when war started to seem like a possibility.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/theartofwar/inf3.htm