Prof. Kevin Howley's Drones "A Rich and Challenging Contribution to the Field"

June 26, 2018

"Howley’s book offers a rich and challenging contribution to the field," notes the European Journal of Communication in an examination of Drones: Media Discourse & the Public Imagination. The book's author is Kevin Howley, professor of communication at DePauw University.

The journal notes, "Drones’ presence in our lives has become so ubiquitous that they are now a regular feature even on children’s Christmas lists. However, the use of drones has been anything but innocent, especially in warfare, because, as ... Howley reminds us in his book ... drones can also be ‘high-tech killing machines’ (p. xv). In his view, drones are ‘the latest in a series of sublime technologies to seize the public imagination’ (p. 17)."

The piece points out, "Howley is very critical of the U.S. media’s reporting of drone strikes and what he perceives to be U.S. violations of international law. He claims that the media tend to rely on official reports and selective leaks and ignore the perspective of the people whose lives have been negatively affected by drone warfare."

Drones was published in January by Peter Lang.

Dr. Howley, who teaches media studies at DePauw, is the editor of Media Interventions and Understanding Community Media and authored Community Media: People, Places, and Communication Technologies.  Last month he authored a column on net neutrality for USA Today, and last week he talked with CNBC about "reboots" of television shows.

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