Activity 21, The Media's Performance
Based upon their experiences in previous wars, reporters and editors expected that they could roam about the battlefield freely, develop their own sources, and provide a wide set of perspectives. The military expected that reporters should be contained and the news channeled based on their experiences in Vietnam.
From the perspective of many in the press the coverage of the war was badly done. Michael Getler, foreign editor of The Washington Post, stated that "Along with the Iraqis, the civilian and military leaders of the U.S. did a pretty good job of mopping up the press in Operation Desert Storm. No one seems to care very much about this except several hundred reporters and editors who know they've been had." The Washington Post, The New York Times and several other news organizations complained that the military obstructed their role of providing timely, independent war reports to the American people.
The success of American troops in the Gulf War, the speed with which the war was fought and the low casualties combined to conceal from the public that much of what it was told about the war was the military's highly selective information.
To many other observers, the coverage was proper under the circumstances. Government leaders respond that the information supplied by the military kept Americans informed while preserving the secrecy necessary for military operations. Allowing reporters to roam freely in the war zone, as many did during the Vietnam War, was neither practical nor desirable, they argueed. U.S. Defense Secretary Richard Cheney, the person most responsible for imposing the press and media restrictions, stated that "there was better coverage, more extensive coverage, more elaborate coverage, greater knowledge on the part of the American people, about this war, as it unfolded, than any other war in history." Cheney believed that in times of armed conflict, the military needs had to take precedence over journalistic rights, and past practice needed to be disregarded. He also believed that the government needed to guard its credibility. It should not make claims that it could not back up.
The American public agreed with the press restrictions, and in general the public supported military's handling of the media. Several polls indicated that they accepted the restrictions on the press as a legitimate price for conducting a major military campaign. In an American opinion survey completed a few months after the war, 91 percent responded favorably to the news media's war performance. However, 39 percent said Saddam Hussein had too great of an opportunity to make his case. Forty-four percent said the news media was often inaccurate. In addition, 64 percent believed that the news media made it difficult for government to conduct war.
Part of the reason for this negative view toward reporters was the broadcasting of the military briefings which permitted the public to "eavesdrop" on a meeting originally set up as part of the news gathering process. Before the public was able to attend, the only important component at a briefing was the information provided by, or elicited from, the briefer. The viewer at home reacts not only to the information developed, but even more to the behavior of the participants. The reporters involved, emerged as the heavies. Never before had the media faced the dilemma of the impact of a genuine "live on television" war or the admission of the public into the briefing room.
Student Questions
Why did Americans have a negative view of the press as indicated by the opinion surveys?
Why were correspondents and editors upset with their coverage of the war?
How did the military control the press and the electronic media?
Why did the military control the news gathering process in the war zone?
Return to Activity 21.
Go to the Contents page for International Conflict and the Media.
Go to the Bibliography.