Military and the Media- What's Next After Embedding? (2009) By T. C. Beane Jr.
 
America’s coverage of war news has taken place since our nation’s infancy, but the way newspapers gathered news has evolved over time.2 Military leaders are concerned about the security of their mission and the safety of their personnel and see journalists as a threat to both. The Department of Defense has tried different media engagement strategies with the most recent being embedding media with military units during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). There have been numerous articles published, independent studies conducted and workshops held addressing the Embedded Media Program. Both the military and media’s initial feedback deemed the program a success and believe all future military operations will use embedded media. This paper explores past battlefield relationships between military commanders and journalists, assesses the embedded media strategy during OIF I major combat operations, and identifies a framework to assess embedding as a military-media strategy during future military operations. Embedding is a strategy exercised occasionally throughout history by journalists who ‘embedded’ themselves in a military unit during conflict. In some cases, the journalist did so without official military authorization; in others, the military was a willing partner.
 
Soft Cover
28 pages
In good condition