When Military Public Relations Professionals Enter the News Business: Assessing the Effectiveness of a News Website Operated by the U.S. Department of Defense Trans-Regional Web Initiative

摘要

The United States Department of Defense is concerned that, in important regions, journalists are not properly communicating its message. Therefore, the department has created eight news websites designed to look like regular news websites such as CNN.com and Aljazeera.com. This study examined one such website, Setimes.com, to ascertain whether it excels as a news website and as a public relations website. Findings show that the website excels as a public relations website but is flawed as a news website. This shows that the Department of Defense needs to rethink how it presents news via the news websites.