Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima

It is clear that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima was carried out by the then United State administration just before the end of World War II. The bombing on a Japanese city was catastrophic in nature since the destruction it caused was detrimental. The purpose of this essay is to analyze three different newspapers on three consecutive days covering the bombing of the city. The main aim of the analysis is to contrast the tone and quality in which the bombing news and event was verbally communicated and written. The news papers that will be analyzed include; The Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, as well as the Chicago Daily Tribute. The news papers are for three different dates beginning from 6 August 1945 to 9 August the same year.

The reports of the three newspapers captures and cover the story of the bombing in full with no detail being left out though the coverage varies in terms of tone and quality. In general, all the three newspapers talks of the nature as well as the magnitude of the catastrophic attack, and by extension bring out to the knowledge of the public the bequest it had script in the history books of America. In the analysis, it is established that the story covers the reason behind the attack, they way it was executed, and the aftermath effects, as well. The description of the event in the newspapers points out that the scientific achievement evident through the success of the bombing was the first and greatest in the history of America (Wainstock). Chicago Daily Tribune captures the way the attack occurred since it provide a description of the US president Harry S. Truman assertion of using the air force to carry out the attack. Furthermore, the analysis presents the ways highlighted in the newspapers concerning a numbers of efforts undertaken by worldwide scientists in order to develop weapons of mass destruction. “The discovery is the greatest scientific achievement of this war and it may be the greatest in history (Pg. 8).” The discovery is also attributed to civilization that enable scientist to conduct their experiments easily.

In addition, Chicago Daily Tribune, highlights that the discovery is the work of American scientists as well as engineers, and that other discoveries done in different nations was an imitation of the original work pioneered by Americans. This is stipulated in the paper, “Eventually perhaps scientists of other nations will be able to duplicate the work that has been done in America”.

The report in Chicago Daily Tribune has a different approach compared to The Los Angeles Times. The former is optimistic on the use of atomic energy in developing bombs while the later is pessimistic on the attack in Hiroshima. The Chicago Daily Tribune reminds American people of the interest that other nations have concerning the use of atomic energy in making atomic bombs. The several experiments that have been conducted in different nations reveal the magnitude of interest that is bestowed in the use of atomic energy. On a different note, The Chicago Daily reports a different tone concerning the use of atomic bomb to attack the state of Japan. The report indicates that the efforts and time required in making atomic bomb is enormous, and as a result countries that are economically stable as if United States would afford to make the bomb. This assertion is supported by the Chicago Daily Tribune, which reports President Truman assertion, that more than two billion and sixty thousand labor force was required in the process of making the bomb (Arthur).

Actually, the damage caused by the attack is not clearly stipulated in the three newspapers, and the then President of United States Harry Truman maintained that the attack should be kept secret, away from the ears of the American population. The reason behind it is to alleviate bride and bragging about the strength of the military by the people. As such, during the execution of bomb attacks high level of secrecy should be maintained in order to secure the people executing it and the country at large.

The Chicago Daily Tribune as powerful describes the use of lethal atomic energy. “If atomic energy is to end wars, it will do so by removing their causes, and not by making them more horrible.” Furthermore, the amount of energy contained in the bomb shows the magnitude of its power and the nature of the destruction the Japanese city suffered. The method used in the warfare, however, can be beneficial to the country if the energy is transformed in better uses. The idea of atomic revolution seems to be the will of those individuals who have an ill motive towards others through global terrorism. This is because an era of atomic revolution was foreseen; hence, the attack was meant to curtail such an idea in future (Selden).

It is reported in the Los Angeles Times that some of the US citizens was planning to initiate demonstration downplaying the use of atomic bomb in Hiroshima. However, the report is not clear on the kind of weapons used in the attack. The analysis provided by the newspaper appears to be a generalization of the catastrophic event. The paper does not reveal any earlier preparation by the United State to attack Hiroshima, and to add injury into the wound the paper describe the bomb as just a “devastating bomb.” Instead, the report captures other developments such as meetings to discuss banning of the use of atomic elements (McCaleb). Nonetheless, from the analysis of the paper a conflict of interest is identified between communist nations and United States. This was an indication of another war if precautionary approaches did not reign. The same opinion is maintained by the Los Angeles Times since communist group began to defend each other’s possession of harmful weapons terming it defensive weapons against United States attack.

The Los Angeles Times articulate that there was no seriousness in banning the use atomic energy as a weapon in Japanese city. This is because the poll conduct indicates that a significant percentage of Japanese, even the survivors of the attack did not have any interest concerning the bombing. The three papers have a detailed coverage of the impact caused by the attack in the city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It also appear that people were living with fear after the attack, and as such print media played a crucial role in ensuring that the suspicion of another attack was alleviated.

The third article is presented in the Washington Post by the title, “Hiroshima goes up in 40,000-ft. Tower of smoke, Dust; Fire seen.” The article in the newspaper provides a detailed description of what occurred during the catastrophic attack in Hiroshima. In addition, the report highlights the undesirable effects of the bomb attack. Unlike the other two papers, Washington Post provides a comprehensive interview with different experts, trustees and military personnel concerning the attack. The other unique feature is the presence of first-hand messages that were given by observers present at the time of the attack. The quality of this article is superior compared to the other two papers. Readers of the article get to know the exact magnitude of the attack, and as a result, I can conclude that the article is most researched and covers the truth of the Hiroshima attack.

The three newspapers are not limited of any similarity. The three did not articulate the extent of the damage caused by the devastating attack. It can be justified that the US administration feared disclosing the effects of the attack since they did not want a retaliatory attack on their country. If the effects of the atomic bomb was disclosed other nations could have also decide to fight back using destructive weapons at their disposal. The reason for concealing information concerning the effects of the attack was to ensure security for the people of United States and the world at large. As such, the report in the three papers did not disclose the effect caused by the attack on Hiroshima’s residents, infrastructure and states. The then President ensured that all the information discussed concerning attack was kept unknown, though the news contain quoted remarks and speeches of the President.

From the analysis, it can be concluded that the three newspapers report on the attack on Hiroshima, a Japanese city. The report of each newspaper is different and unique, though the content of the news is somehow similar. The variation in the tone and quality of the articles is attributed to the extent of research conducted by the writers in order to script the devastating event. Furthermore, print media acts as an avenue of channeling correct information to the public by pointing out beneficial uses of atomic energy, as well as encouraging nations to use the resource for national development other than using it as a weapon of mass destruction.