Military and the News Media: The Coorientation Measurement Model Applied toMilitary-News Media Relations

摘要

When U.S. forces engage foreign enemies in combat, a relationship between theU.S. military and the press evolves. The news media strive to represent the unmitigated facts of combat to the U.S. public. The military, however, although agreeing to the principle and necessity of open and independent coverage of events, at times places restrictive measures on the freedom of information for the safety and security of American forces. The conflicting goals, roles, and objectives of each institution affect the nature of the military-news media relationship. As such, there is the possibility that differing perceptions held by each institution concerning relevant attributes of the relationship may affect the overall association. This study applied the coorientation measurement model to the military-news media relationship to isolate differing perceptions held by each institution. The study examined three relevant attributes of the relationship: (1) a prepublication security review of news material (censorship); (2) access to combat zones; and (3) the future of the relationship. The study used a one-page questionnaire mailed to 232 news-media professionals with experience covering military operations and 212 military professionals with experience dealing with the news media.