ABSTRACT
The military campaign following the TORCH landings in French North Africa in November 1942 provided the material conditions behind the creation of a particular type of war reporting, what can be called ‘the Pyle style’ after its foremost practitioner, Ernie Pyle. Such reporting looked not to explain the larger strategic landscape or the progress of specific battles, but rather focused on the small picture and the ordinary soldier, depicted as stoically heroic under trying conditions. This style was forged by the special conditions in North Africa, which included the specific Allied censorship regime, transmission delays, the small scale of the early fighting, and the fact that the Allies sought to downplay the dominant role played by British forces through most of the campaign. This style of war reporting has heavily influenced American journalism to this day, and has shaped the image of the American soldier at war ever since.
