The telegraph services were still operational the day off the attack on Pearl Harbor, but in the immediate aftermath of the attack, martial law was in force on Oahu, thus restricting the use of the telegraph (Prange 112). Once reaching the news bureau, it would be distributed to the media which, as that time, meant printed newspapers and radio, which most Americans getting first word of the attack, either via radio or word of mouth as it was late afternoon on the East Coast when the attack occurred and few newspapers published a Sunday evening edition (Fenby 87). The bulldog edition of the New York Times was generally on the city streets by 9:00 p.m., but an event of this magnitude would require a replete of much of the contents, meaning that even under the best of circumstances, the early city edition of the paper would not be on the streets before midnight (Salisbury 18). News bureau reports were substantially complete, least as far as what was known (Fenby 88). For example, it was known that the Arizona was a total loss, but there were no exact casualty counts until later. While the military had the authority to censor news dispatches that did not happen, though communications were monitored. This information is essential to understanding what
The telegraph services were still operational the day off the attack on Pearl Harbor, but in the immediate aftermath of the attack, martial law was in force on Oahu, thus restricting the use of the telegraph (Prange 112). Once reaching the news bureau, it would be distributed to the media which, as that time, meant printed newspapers and radio, which most Americans getting first word of the attack, either via radio or word of mouth as it was late afternoon on the East Coast when the attack occurred and few newspapers published a Sunday evening edition (Fenby 87). The bulldog edition of the New York Times was generally on the city streets by 9:00 p.m., but an event of this magnitude would require a replete of much of the contents, meaning that even under the best of circumstances, the early city edition of the paper would not be on the streets before midnight (Salisbury 18). News bureau reports were substantially complete, least as far as what was known (Fenby 88). For example, it was known that the Arizona was a total loss, but there were no exact casualty counts until later. While the military had the authority to censor news dispatches that did not happen, though communications were monitored. This information is essential to understanding what