two questions

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I don't quite understand the underlined sentences of the following two paragraphs. Could anyone do me a favor? Thanks a lot.

1. Having 'learned the lessons of Vietnam' where the news media purportedly encouraged opposition to the war to ferment, British officials wasted no time in mobilizing a propaganda campaign designed to ensure that the 'true nature' of the otherwise faceless Argentine enemy would be sympathetically relayed via the news coverage.
2. Journalists relied almost entirely on officials for their information, their access to the fighting being strictly controlled both formally and informally. They were also forces to 'poor' their copy and photographs in order to facilitate military censorship. Any effort to include the word 'censored' on filmed reports was itself censored.

[bmo]

Hi,

I don't quite understand the underlined sentences of the following two paragraphs. Could anyone do me a favor? Thanks a lot.

1. Having 'learned the lessons of Vietnam' where the news media purportedly encouraged opposition to the war to ferment, British officials wasted no time in mobilizing a propaganda campaign designed to ensure that the 'true nature' of the otherwise faceless Argentine enemy would be sympathetically relayed via the news coverage.
2. Journalists relied almost entirely on officials for their information, their access to the fighting being strictly controlled both formally and informally. They were also forces to 'poor' their copy and photographs in order to facilitate military censorship. Any effort to include the word 'censored' on filmed reports was itself censored.

The second paragraph underlined:
"Any effort to include the word "censored" on filmed reports was itself censored."

The report cannot carry the word "censored" so the readers couldn't tell the reports had been cut by the military. They got the impression the report was whole - story, pictures, and all.

BMO

[RonBee]

Apparently, "sypathetically" in the first underlined part means that the British wanted coverage to be sympathetic to their point of view, and that would be accomplished by portraying the "true nature" of the enemy.