Army Cultural Change and Effective Media Relations
Abstract
This paper focuses on the Army's need to be more successful in communicating its side of the story to American and international publics. It posits that Army culture and climate must continue to change in a way that encourages a more open relationship with the media. To support this position, the author articulates the strategic leadership role of public affairs professionals and their responsibility to the commander and staff. He examines "media embedding" from a historical context, beginning with the Mexican War and culminating with the recent "ad hoc" media embedding that has occurred during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He then examines the effectiveness of the current embedding policy, including the media's issues and changes that should be made in the future to affect Army climate and culture. The paper concludes by discussing current Army cultural norms with respect to the media, and proposes five recommendations that the Army should consider if it wants to fully encourage a culture of true media engagement. These recommendations address the following issues: promoting public affairs doctrine, educating the media, developing media-military relationships, developing public affairs leaders, and rewarding public affairs competence.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 07, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA448998
Entities
People
- Daniel L. Baggio
Organizations
- United States Army War College