Military and the Media: The Media and the Third Army under Patton and Yeosock

摘要

The relationship between the military and the media has differed with each warand each technological advancement. Nevertheless some problems seem eternal. Since Sir William Russell reported from the Crimea there has been an ongoing debate between the military and the media over the desire and the right to know detail of current or pending military operations. General Patton, during his race across Europe in 1944-5 was very skillful in his use and manipulation of the media. He realized the enormous power of the journalist and used it to his advantage on every possible occasion until ironically it was the very same journalists who presided over his eventual downfall. Years later, with a substantial insight into new technology and the media, General Yeosock led his Third Army into battle in the Middle East. There were ongoing problems between the military and the media and although the military and the media had learned numerous lessons over the years there was still considerable mistrust between both parties. This paper explores the operation of the media in Patton's Third Army in World War II. Using this as a norm the paper compares the operation of the media in Yeosock's Third Army during the Gulf War of 1990-91. The paper describes the operation of the military and the media under both generals, the changes and advances made during the intervening period and identifies critical lessons.