Military and the Media: Resolving the Conflict
Abstract
The U.S. military-media relationship has been characterized as strained since the revolutionary period of American history. The strained relationship continues today with operational military objectives set on security and the need to prevail and defeat in detail any threatening force. The media's objectives focus on the constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press and the implied requirement for unhindered access to military operations. These differing objectives are counter to one another in many ways and have often caused the military-media relationship to erupt in contentious accusations of denied rights and hindered responsibilities. This paper enlightens operational commanders of the historic causes of the adversarial relationship between the military and the media, focuses on previous attempts to accommodate each others' requirements, and provides insight into methods that could help resolve the conflict. Previous notions of suspicion and incompetent, unethical, or illegal behavior must be set aside. Ensuring that constitutional rights and responsibilities are accommodated so that the media can report and the military can prevail is critical. Senior officials from both the military and the media must strive to educate and implement programs and procedures that will ensure that the American public is served by both institutions. The author briefly reviews military-media relations during World War II and the Korean War; he goes into further detail regarding military-media relations during the Vietnam War, the Falkland Islands conflict, the Grenada invasion, Operation Just Cause in Panama, and the Persian Gulf War.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 19, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA253110
Entities
People
- Michael W. Schoenfeld
Organizations
- Naval War College