The Crimean War, in which Britain and France opposed Russia, was the first modern war that was covered journalistically, notably by the Times of London. It’s the war whose famous “Charge of the Light Brigade” inspired the classic poem by Lord Tennyson. The Crimean War is also famous for the role of Florence Nightingale whose team of volunteer nurses cared for British soldier during the fighting.
See this BBC dossier on the Crimean War, notably the section of media coverage of the war. See this short film reenactment of the Charge of the Light Brigade. See this link for a collection of photographs of the war, Photographing Conflict. Also see this article, “The Crimean War: the war that made Britain great“. Finally, see below for a documentary on the Crimean War.
Media and War 