The CNN Effect: Strategic Enabler or Operational Risk?
Abstract
The process by which warfighters assemble information analyze it make decisions and direct their units has challenged commanders since the beginning of warfare. Starting with the Vietnam War they faced a new challenge commanding their units before a television camera. Today commanders at all levels can count on operating "24/7"' on a global stage before a live camera that never blinks. This changed environment has a profound effect on how strategic leaders make their decisions and how warfighters direct their commands. The impact of its kind of media coverage has been dubbed "the CNN effect," referring to the widely available round-the-clock broadcasts of the Cable News Network. The term was born in controversy. In 1992 President Bush's decision to place troops in Somalia after viewing media coverage of starving refugees was sharply questioned. Were American interests really at stake? Was CNN deciding where the military goes next? Less than a year later, President Clinton's decision to withdraw US troops after scenes were televised of a dead American serviceman being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu seemed to confirm the power of CNN. Today, with the proliferation of 24/7 news networks, the impact of CNN alone may have diminished, but the collective presence of round-the-clock news coverage has continued to grow. In this article, the term "the CNN effect" represents the collective impact of all real-time news coverage indeed, that is what the term has come to mean generally.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA408635
Entities
People
- Margaret H. Belknap
Organizations
- United States Army War College