Research Catalog

The military and the media : why the press cannot be trusted to cover a war

Title
The military and the media : why the press cannot be trusted to cover a war / William V. Kennedy.
Author
Kennedy, William V.
Publication
Westport, Conn. : Praeger, ©1993.

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
TextUse in library P96.A752 U65 1993Off-site

Details

Description
xii, 167 pages; 25 cm
Summary
This book is the first about military-media relations to argue for a fundamental restructuring of national journalism and the first to document the failure of American journalism in the national security field for the past thirty years. Press complaints of excessive control by the military during the Persian Gulf War of 1990-91 were the inevitable result of the failure of American journalism to train competent specialists in military reporting and to provide an organizational structure that would assure continuing, comprehensive coverage of national defense in peace and war. This, in turn, is the result of retaining the "city-room" concept as the basic organizational feature of the press, with continuing reliance on the generalist in an age that demands increasingly well-trained specialists. So long as the press fails to modernize its basic methods of training to assure well-trained defense specialists, the military will be required to closely control reporters, as in the Persian Gulf War, as a basic requirement of security for armed forces members and the national interests. Permitting the military to control how the military itself is reported is a grave danger to the democratic process. Yet, so long as the press refuses to accept responsibility for large-scale reform, the public will continue to support close military control as an essential element of safety for its sons and daughters in the armed forces, and out of concern for the success of U.S. military operations. This book will be of interest to students of the press, of the military, and of the media at large.
Subject
  • Armed Forces and mass media > United States
  • War > Press coverage > United States
  • Armed Forces and mass media
  • War > Press coverage
  • Berichterstattung
  • Kriegsberichterstattung
  • Militär
  • Presse
  • Oorlogscorrespondenten
  • Betrouwbaarheid
  • United States
  • USA
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
  • 0275941914
  • 9780275941918
LCCN
92046555
OCLC
  • ocm27725861
  • 27725861
  • SCSB-8810744
Owning Institutions
Princeton University Library