The Media and Operation Desert Storm
Abstract
What kind of a job did the news media do in covering Operation Desert Storm? Pete Williams, Assistant secretary of Defense (Public Affairs), thinks they did just fine, citing public opinion polls that indicate the media's popularity rose after the war was over. But is that enough? This paper assesses the media's performance in comparison with standards set forth in the Federalist Papers and the First Amendment to the Constitution. To do this, I will first consider what the standards are and briefly look at the historical record of journalist and the military, focusing on recent wars. I will then describe the structure provided for and accepted by the press during Operation Desert Storm, such as media pools, escorts, security ground rules and copy review, and then relate what happened during the war. The final section of the paper will assess how the media did in satisfying the requirements for an independent view of what the government was doing.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA262078
Entities
People
- Richard B. Marvin
Organizations
- Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy