Straw said that such brutal images from the carnage at the battles of the Somme or the superiority of the Germans after the retreat from Dunkirk could have hit public morale hard.
He questioned whether the celebrated "spirit of Dunkirk", so crucial to Britain when it stood alone against Germany, would have survived under the spotlight of 24-hour live news.
His comments came as Alastair Campbell, the Downing Street communications chief, ordered an overhaul of the Whitehall PR operation over fears that the blanket reporting is overshadowing the success of coalition forces in Iraq.
Since the start of the war, viewers have seen stark and vivid images including those of captured, dead and wounded allied troops.
Straw joined other leaders in saying that people should not make snap judgements on the images that they see. Earlier, US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld complained about the "the mood swings in the media" that are defining the conflict.
However, despite his reservations, Straw said that the benefits of rolling news reportage "far outweigh" any negative impact of disturbing images that are shown on television screens.
"Had the public been able to see live reports from the trenches, I wonder for how long the governments of Asquith and Lloyd George could have maintained the war effort. Imagine the carnage of the Somme on Sky and BBC News 24," he said speaking at the Newspaper Society's annual lunch.
He added: "It is also worth speculating how much harder it might have been to maintain the country's morale after Dunkirk, had live reports confronted the public with the brutal reality of German tactical and military superiority.
"Could the 'spirit of Dunkirk', so important to national survival, have withstood the scrutiny of 24-hour live news?"
Straw also commended the work of regional press correspondents in the Middle East. He said the regional press was performing with distinction.
"It has combined solid, factual coverage of the conflict with a focus on local human stories of British servicemen, women and their families. The regional press... is a pillar of British democracy. The regional press... have a crucial role to play in peacetime. But at times of conflict -- as we all know from recent experience -- their importance is magnified."
The foreign secretary paid tribute to the bravery of the correspondents on the front line, saying: "The nature and scope of the newspaper coverage as opposed to television or radio coverage is interesting. Those who question the relevance of newspapers in the age of satellite television have their answer in the first-class front-line dispatches, and the in-depth analysis by commentators, with which they -- newspapers -- are informing their readers."
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
.jpg)
.jpg)