Military-Media Relations: Lessons for the Joint Force Commander
Abstract
With the increasing role of the media in society, the military-media relationship is one Joint Force Commanders must understand. To accomplish this, commanders must focus in three areas. First, they must develop an appreciation for the key principles of the two institutions. For the military these principles include operational security, operational capability, and beneficial media coverage. For the media, they are access, market share, and quality of reporting. Second, they should comprehend the history of the military-media relationship and the inadequacies of the media plans used in Vietnam, Grenada/Panama, and Desert Storm. Third, they need to recognize the successes gained though the embedded media program used in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Using this knowledge of the military-media relationship as a foundation, Joint Force Commanders can extract a number of lessons applicable to future operations. These include: learning from the past and focusing on the future, seeking and providing guidance, taking an active role in media operations, being aware of media reports, and knowing the risks associated with embedded media operations. By emphasizing these lessons, commanders can break the paradigm of distrust and skepticism between the military and media, and operate in a mutually beneficial manner.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 13, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA463622
Entities
People
- Brett D. Pennington
Organizations
- Naval War College