The Relationship Between the Media and the Military

Abstract

This thesis research seeks to analyze the significance of the relationship between the media and the United States military during periods of international warfare. This thesis aims to explore the relationship between press access and consumption; and then further explore the relationship between the public perceptions as seen in the Vietnam War and the First Gulf War. Did the United States government’s policies toward media access in the Vietnam War and the First Gulf War influence media coverage, and therefore public perception of those conflicts? Did the public perception from the Vietnam War and the First Gulf War influence foreign policy change in the United States? By comparing the media practices by journalists as determined by the United States government during the Vietnam War and the First Gulf War, I illustrated the relationship between the media and U.S. government and their multi-faceted influence on public opinion in recent history. The analysis concludes that while the media coverage during the Vietnam War significantly contributed to American public opinion, media coverage was not the sole factor of significant foreign policy change in subsequent cases of U.S. involvement in international conflicts. However, it was the effect of public opinion during and after the Vietnam War that influenced the Bush administration to change their media access policies during the First Gulf War. In suppressing and managing the media coverage, the government was able to successfully portray a military achievement in the Middle East.