The Development of the Press-Military 'Crunch' in the Persian Gulf? 'Wuz the Public Robbed?'
Abstract
In the aftermath of the Gulf War, the American Public reflects with satisfaction on the performance of coalition forces, mostly as reported by a favorable media. Similarly, the American military is for the most part not unhappy with the media's presentation of the conflict. The media, however, shares little sympathy with these emotions. One media commentator calls the coverage a 'disaster,' and another claims 'the public wuz robbed.' This dichotomy is only the latest in a 150 year-old story of media-military relations, in which both should be fighting common enemies, but usually end up fighting each other. In spite of repeated inter-war efforts to arrive at solutions, the latest war occurred with yet another media-military conflict. This paper briefly traces the history of media-military relations insofar as that history illustrates ongoing problems, traces recent efforts to establish guidelines for the relationship, and searches out the main causes of friction between the media and the military in the recent Gulf War. In conclusion, it makes recommendations for easing the friction in future conflicts. These recommendations depart from past suggestions in that they recommend methods to enforce cooperation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 15, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA250500
Entities
People
- Stephen Rasmussen
Organizations
- United States Army War College