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News Media as an Aspect of Warfare

One of the most significant developments in modern military conflict is the evolution of the news media (and public opinion) as a powerful aspect of warfare. During the 1991 U.S. Gulf War, for the first time in history the public watched a military battle as it unfolded via live transmission. In times of war, the media and military are institutions that must work out a framework for operation. This is particularly true since the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, and because the media and the military serve different public functions and possess different values and interests. Perhaps the biggest conflict these two sociopolitical institutions exhibit is the mediaÆs belief that it acts as a system of checks and balances on the military in performing its duty to inform the public, while the military believes it has a right to restrict information from the public based on operational and national security. The Gulf War relations between these two institutions demonstrated this conflict and influenced the functional performance of both the military and the media.

During the Gulf War public opinion was also a factor that caused confrontation between the media and the military, a factor that had an impact on functional performance. According to Gottschalk (1992), the U.S. media succumbed to prepublication review and censorship by the military during the conflict (449). In times of international conflict, most societies support their governments and leaders despite personal convictions of right or wrong. The public reacted no differently during the Gulf War. Because of this public support, the media often lent support to the policies and actions of the government during the Gulf War in order to help build consensus among the American public. Gottschalk (1992) argues that the media, influenced by public opinion, basically reported the Gulf War essentially as the administration wished it w...

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News Media as an Aspect of Warfare. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 13:12, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1711684.html