Audiences of the Military-Media Stage: An Operational Commander's Role

摘要

The military-media relationship historically has been far from endearing and has varied drastically through American history as astonishing advances in technology have occurred. Shunning or avoiding journalists as practiced by certain military commanders in America's past was counterproductive. The effective operational commander must recognize the impact and influence of the media on selected audiences (the political leadership, the American people, the military forces, the enemy and the international community) and must seek to optimize the military-media relationship and the communication of the desired message to these audiences while balancing the risk. The gradual abandonment of the containment and strict censorship of the media and the movement toward increased embedding has yielded large dividends in the military-media relationship. Likewise commanders have been increasingly satisfied with the message generated by the media as they report in the midst of their units. Operational commanders must capitalize on this momentum and lean forward to further advance the relationship and thereby enhance the desired communication.