Mass Media: The Ether Pervading the Clausewitzian Trinity

摘要

The media influence ongoing and future military operations by functioning as a sort of filter within the Clausewitzian Trinity that coalesces the military, the people (public), and the government (policy makers). The relationship between the military and the media can be characterized as symbiotic: the media thrive on the fodder of information the military provides during times of war, and the military must use the media as a conduit to reach the public and policy makers. This monograph explores the media's interaction with these three entities, beginning with developing an appreciation of the media from an academic perspective. Critical literature provides two contrasting schools of thought concerning the media-government relationship, subsequent derivation of foreign (and military) policies, and who influences whom. This monograph explores Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky's 'Propaganda Model' from their Manufacturing Consent and maps it against the theory of 'CNN Effect'. These two academic models attempt to answer the following question: Does the government influence media output or does media output influence the government. Both arguments center on the core of the media's notion of objectivity and its consequences for the resultant news coverage. To leverage the military-media relationship going forward such that the media not only act as an information conduit between the military and the public and policy makers but also support the commanders' objectives in an area of operations, the implementation of several programs could improve the quality of the media message in support of military objectives: (1) establish centralized media campaign bodies; (2) define, delineate, and increase the interactions between the Public Affairs community and Information Operations; (3) engender a mutually productive relationship between the military and the media; and (4) improve official press briefings and broadcasts. (55 refs.).