Military Public Relations and the Domestic Base Newspaper 1941-1981
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The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Dissertations Spring 5-2017 Forward Myth: Military Public Relations and the Domestic Base Newspaper 1941-1981 Willie R. Tubbs University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations Part of the Cultural History Commons, Journalism Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Military History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Tubbs, Willie R., "Forward Myth: Military Public Relations and the Domestic Base Newspaper 1941-1981" (2017). Dissertations. 1349. https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1349 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FORWARD MYTH: MILITARY PUBLIC RELATIONS AND THE DOMESTIC BASE NEWSPAPER 1941-1981 by Willie R. Tubbs A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School and the School of Mass Communication and Journalism at The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Approved: ________________________________________________ Dr. David R. Davies, Committee Chair Professor, Mass Communication and Journalism ________________________________________________ Dr. Vanessa Murphree, Committee Member Associate Professor, Mass Communication and Journalism ________________________________________________ Dr. Christopher P. Campbell, Committee Member Professor, Mass Communication and Journalism ________________________________________________ Dr. Cheryl D. Jenkins, Committee Member Associate Professor, Mass Communication and Journalism ________________________________________________ Dr. Fei Xue, Committee Member Professor, Mass Communication and Journalism _______________________________________________ Dr. David R. Davies Department Chair, Mass Communication and Journalism ________________________________________________ Dr. Karen S. Coats Dean of the Graduate School May 2017 COPYRIGHT BY Willie R. Tubbs 2017 Published by the Graduate School ABSTRACT FORWARD MYTH: MILITARY PUBLIC RELATIONS AND THE DOMESTIC BASE NEWSPAPER 1941-1981 by Willie R. Tubbs May 2017 This dissertation explores the evolution of domestic military base newspapers from 1941-1981, a timeframe that encapsulates the Second World War, Korean War, and Vietnam War, as well as interwar and postwar years. While called “newspapers,” the United States military designed these publications to be a hybrid of traditional news and public relations. This dissertation focuses on three primary aspects of these newspapers: the evolution of the format, style, and function of these papers; the messages editors and writers crafted for and about the “common” soldier and American; and the messages for and about members of the non-majority group. Sometimes printed on private presses with ad revenue generated by civilian newspaper ad sellers, these papers sometimes marked a unique marriage between the military and traditional media outlets. However, the local presses had no control over content. That privilege went to each base’s commanding officer. Despite the wide swath of people with control over content, these papers looked the same, and in some cases carried shared stories from various government-run “news” agencies. On their pages could be found both news of the day and identity building stories and editorials, all of which conspired to inform and to a greater or lesser degree nudge readers to conclusions of what the creators of the papers thought it meant to be an American, a soldier, or the member of a racial or gender minority. Though tasked with functioning as both a ii journalistic and public relations vessel, these publications were inconsistent as purveyors of both news and propaganda. However, each provides a wealth of knowledge about the development of the American identity, and dominant concepts of majority and minority, as well as the integration of public relations and journalism into the military in the 20th Century. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the guidance and support of the scholars at The University of Southern Mississippi School of Mass Communication and the American Journalism Historians Association. Any successful dissertation is a credit to the researcher’s committee and mine was superb. Thank you to my committee chair, Dr. David R. Davies, for his tireless dedication to my research. Thanks also to Dr. Vanessa Murphree, Dr. Chistopher P. Campbell, Dr. Cheryl D. Jenkins, and Dr. Fei Xue for invaluable input, constant support, and consistent encouragement. I have also been fortunate to benefit from the help of several AJHA scholars over the course of this research. A special thanks, Dr. Thomas Mascaro of Bowling Green State University for not only serving as a sounding board for ideas but also recommending, and in some cases sharing, valuable resources. Thanks also to Dr. Bernell Tripp of the University of Florida, Dr. Dianne Bragg of the University of Alabama, and Dr. Patrick Cox of the University of Texas, all of whom offered feedback at various stages of this study. A dissertation is not only a capstone of a doctoral program, it is the manifestation of the ideas, concepts, and methodological approaches a student receives from the faculty under whom he studies. In addition to the five members of my dissertation committee, each of these professors directly affected this study while members of the faculty at The University of Southern Mississippi: Dr. Mary Lou Sheffer, Dr. Cindy Blackwell, Dr. Jai Hwa Shin, Dr. Gina Chen, Dr. Andrew Weist, Dr. Louis Kyriakoudes, Dr. Stephen Vennett, Dr. Chester Morgan, Dr. Ashley Mack, and Ms. Maggie Williams. iv DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated primarily to my wife, Mary Beth Patten, without whom my life would be incomplete, my days filled with far less laughter, and my future marked with less promise. The entire Tubbs, Patten, Varnam, and Andrus families, all of whom overflowed with support, prayers, and patience throughout this process, also deserve much credit. Thanks to Darrell and Laura Andrus, Mike and Linda Patten, Ben and Judy Varnam, and Sarah Patten, as well as our siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles, for putting up with an oft-absent family member. A special thanks also to my dear friends Dr. Joel and Leigh Bias, Matias and Essi Sarvela, and John Mortimer, all worthy scholars in their own right. Their friendship made this process all the more enjoyable, memorable, and bearable. Finally, though not least among these, a special thanks to my church family, specifically at Emmanuel Baptist in Alexandria, Louisiana, Main Street Baptist in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and First United Methodist in Poplarville, Mississippi. The men and women of these churches, much as have the aforementioned family and friends, have consistently embodied God’s love and have helped me to remain centered in my Christian faith at every step. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .............................................................................................. x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................ xi CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 What Was the Character of Domestic Base Newspapers From 1941-1981? .................. 6 What Orders and Policies Governed the Domestic Base Newspaper? ........................... 8 How Did Domestic Base Newspapers Define the Ideal Soldier? ................................... 8 How Did Domestic Base Newspapers Define Otherness? ............................................. 9 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 10 Structure of the Study ................................................................................................... 12 Overall Arguments ........................................................................................................ 15 CHAPTER II – LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................... 17 World War II and the American Mass Media ............................................................... 17 Soldier Newspapers and Soldier Journalists ............................................................. 18 The Media during World War II ............................................................................... 20 Propaganda and World War II .................................................................................. 21 World War II and Censorship ................................................................................... 23 vi Studies of the “Other” and World War II ................................................................. 25 World War II as Culture Builder .............................................................................. 27 The Korean War and the American