Here's an analysis of how the press reported on Gulf War Syndrome (broadcast on PBS's "Media Matters" program in 1997.) In part, it focuses on the contrast between the coverage of The New York Times and The Washington Post.
				Matt Puglisi, spokesman for the American Legion and Dr. Stephen Joseph, who led the DOD's investigation of Gulf War illness, discuss the poor performance of television and the press. They cite examples of how the media failed to provide scientific and medical context and analyse why this happened.
				Elaine Showalter, a medical historian and social critic, looks at the suspicion, resistance and bitterness that has enveloped the controversy. Asserting that Gulf War Syndrome, like chronic fatigue syndrome, is a psychological hysteria, Showalter lays out how the media has exacerbated fears of symptoms and how easily emotional contagion and panic can spread.

 
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