Post Scripts: Correspondents: important media and military strategies

It appears the age of war correspondents as heroes is clearly over. Whether some wish to continue as basic propagandists and myth-makers, subservient to those who fight the wars, is a decision most will have to make themselves. From my experience in two wars, dealing with some of the finest war reporters in history, the long war between the press and the military has been lost by the press.

It has become painfully clear, since the beginning of the so-called war in Afghanistan , our wars from now on will be reported on terms laid down by the military and government spin doctors. It is a depressing end to a 150-year tradition of independent war reporting. From now on the truth will be buried at scripted news briefings. In the old days, I’m referring to WW 2 and the Korean conflict, correspondents competed for choice spots on assault landings, combat situations, and interviews with key personnel. Sometimes they fought each other too hard and all suffered.

Today, the media has no memory. Correspondents have short tours of duty and there is little tradition or means to pass on experiences. The military, however, is an institution that goes on forever. After Vietnam, where the military blamed news media for its defeat, the generals studied wars, learned lessons and devised, tested and polished systems for "managing" the press. They decided media strategy was as important as military strategy.

Today the military has manuals, updated after every battle and war, to guide commanders on how to deal with the media in wartime. The manuals direct officers to appear open, eager to help newsmen, nullify rather than conceal bad news, and "lie only when certain that the lie will not be found out during the course of the war."

Here’s what happened in the Kosovo expedition. The revolution in communications technology, including instant tv, satellite telephones, plus the internet, should have provided the public with an unprecedented overview of the war. Instead, the public was drowned in waves of images and words that added up to nothing. Kosovo turned out to be "the most secret campaign in memory" wrote Alistair Horne, British Historian. "We were given lots of material but no information."

General Michael Rose, commander of the UN force in Bosnia, said at NATO: "Rhetoric has taken over from reality." The media in that instance said they should shoulder much of the blame for the way that conflict was covered, but we must remember NATO did not permit reporters to fly with bombers and Serbia would not allow correspondents free access to Kosovo.

In Afghanistan, reporters have not received much cooperation and around a dozen have been killed, about the same number as infantry soldiers. The reason is they have had to take unnecessary chances to obtain stories because there has been so little cooperation from military commanders.

Sadly, in the Gulf War most Americans were quite content with news coverage, considering it accurate and fair. Among complaints received, some said TV devoted too much time to the war and they missed their favorite programs.