AMERICA’S TEAM A Report on the Relationship Between the Media and the Military FRANK AUKOFER WILLIAM P.LAWRENCE Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Vice Admiral, U.S.Navy, Retired AMERICA’S TEAM AMERICA’S TEAM A Report on the Relationship Between the Media and the Military FRANK AUKOFER WILLIAM P.LAWRENCE Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Vice Admiral, U.S.Navy, Retired Foreword i Dedicated to the memory of Les Aspin 1938-1995 Secretary of Defense Chairman, House Armed Services Commmittee ii America’s Team: The Odd Couple America’s Team; The Odd Couple— A Report on the Relationship Between the Media and the Military By Frank Aukofer and William P. Lawrence © 1995. The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center 1207 18th Avenue South Nashville, TN 37212 website: http://www.fac.org Publication number: 95-FO4 First Printing: September 1995 Second Printing: October 1995 Foreword iii Contents Foreword . v Introduction . vii PART I: OVERVIEW 1. Executive Summary . 3 2. Coverage of the Persian Gulf War . 9 3. Information Security and Military Culture . 23 4. The Military and the News Media: A Survey . 29 5. The First Two Centuries . 35 6. Grenada to Desert Storm: The Relationship Sours . 43 7. Legal Aspects of the Military-Media Relationship . 47 PART II: FOR THE FUTURE 8. Recommendations . 53 9. The Independent Coverage Tier Concept . 57 10. Can the News Media Be Trusted? . 63 11. News Media Education: Smart and Smarter, or Dumb and Dumber? 71 12. Military Education: Changes in Attitude . 79 13. Conclusion: Tweedledum or Tweedledee? . 85 PART III: OTHER VIEWS 14. Interview Excerpts . 89 Appendix I: Survey Results and Methodology . 177 Appendix II: Key to Military Rank . 191 Appendix III: Directive from Gen. Colin Powell . 193 Appendix IV: Statement of Principles . 197 Appendix V: List of Persons Interviewed . 201 Bibliography . 205 About the Authors. 209 Credits . 211 Index . 213 iv America’s Team: The Odd Couple Foreword v Foreword hen Bill Lawrence and Frank with mutual respect and regard for the other’s Aukofer came together at The judgment. They brought together a cross-sec- WFreedom Forum First Amendment tion of colleagues from each side of the cul- Center, I feared that I had asked the lion to tural conflict. Their leadership turned those sleep with another lion. sessions into productive and positive ex- I wondered which of these lions would be changes. Honest concerns and suspicions on the first to roar. both sides were brought into the open. I had asked the two of them—one a profes- With insight and intelligence they worked sional militarist and the other a professional with Dr. Robert Wyatt to create a survey of journalist—to work together on envisioning a professionals from both the military and the plan that might end the long-standing hostil- media to reinforce and supplement their find- ity and ease the never-ending tensions be- ings and conclusions. tween the news media and the military in the It is fair to say that each was required to United States. compromise on points of controversy. It is At least since Vietnam, and as late as Desert inaccurate to suggest that either of them ever Storm, the relationship has been sometimes compromised on a salient principle. stormy, again strained and often surly. There Some of what they propose is common have been charges of bad faith on both sides. sense. Some is visionary. Some will be contro- At its worst, the rhetoric included charges on versial. All of it should provoke discussion, one side that the military lies, manipulates and dialogue, thought and consideration. misleads and on the other that the press is bi- Probably the most difficult of their recom- ased, unfair and unpatriotic. mendations to address is the one proposing a Certainly soldiers, sailors and Marines have method for selecting and preparing journalists a First Amendment right to condemn the work to cover future combat. of journalists. Certainly journalists have a First Their conclusion that our nation never has Amendment right to criticize the military’s gone through a war like the next one—with censorship. both the military and the media equipped with Verbal shots fired on both sides in what phenomenal advances in technology—is amounted to psychological warfare were not something most involved can agree on. in the best interest of either the military or the Their recommendation that in such a war media. They were not in the public interest, there should be no effort at censorship by the nor in the interest of those of us concerned military will upset many in the military. about First Amendment values. Their suggestion that there may be some The question was whether the admiral and rare occasion when national security requires the journalist could put down peer pressures, an exception to their “no censorship” rule will put aside preconceived ideas and put together upset many in the media. their best efforts in order to serve all the inter- The value of their work is that their findings ests caught up in that cultural conflict. can create discussion and dialogue among rep- As it turned out, during a long and trying resentatives of both the military and the media. year of academic research and writing, neither From such exchanges, mutual respect and of them roared. They worked as a team, each common trust will develop—if nobody roars. John Seigenthaler vi America’s Team: The Odd Couple n Introduction vii Introduction _____________________________ n _____________________________ his study starts with two fundamental of the late Rube Goldberg’s cartoon contrap- The press ○○○○ premises: One is that the First Amend- tions. They function independently, without ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Tment guarantee of a free and unfettered rules or regulations, except for some that are wants freedom, press is absolutely essential to American de- self-imposed. The media’s disparate ele- ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ mocracy, and applies to the nation’s military ments—from small newsletters and special- operations as it does to the actions of every interest magazines to national newspapers and and the military ○○○○ other government institution. The other is TV networks—have a variety of interests and ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ that America’s military, with its unparalleled goals. They have their share of rogues, incom- wants control. ○○○○ dedication to civilian authority, is absolutely petence and avarice. Yet, at their best, the me- ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ essential to the preservation of freedom, secu- dia provide the nation with a service it can get Those are ○○○○ rity and the Constitution, including the First nowhere else. The Founding Fathers intended ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Amendment. America’s free press to function as the Fourth fundamental ○○○○ Throughout history, the two institutions Estate of government. It does that. ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ often have been at odds, but the tension esca- The military is perennially popular and, at differences ○○○○ lated markedly in a brief eight-year period— its best in battle, functions like a conditioned ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ from the invasions of Grenada in 1983 and athlete. It, too, has its share of incompetence, that will Panama in 1989 to the Desert Storm victory in selfishness and vindictiveness. When it makes ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ 1991. Each of those led to bitter complaints by mistakes, they can be monumental. Lives can the news media that the military had com- be lost. Appropriately, the armed forces are never change. pletely shut out news coverage (Grenada), surrounded by rules and regulations. They are needlessly delayed a press pool it had helped disciplined, hierarchical and live within a ho- set up (Panama), or stifled journalists through mogenous, closed culture that can be hostile to censorship, delays and denial of access (Desert outsiders. Storm). When the two institutions meet during a Leaders of both institutions recognized that conflict, clashes are inevitable. The press wants the relationship was broken and needed to be to tell the story, and the military wants to win fixed. Military and news representatives, as the war and keep casualties to a minimum. well as independent individuals and organiza- The press wants freedom, and the military tions, convened panels and round-table dis- wants control. Those are fundamental differ- cussions, organized meetings and study ences that will never change. Yet the military groups, produced reports and books, and de- and the media also have worked together in veloped the Pentagon pool system—all with harmony, particularly in situations where in- an eye toward bringing the relationship to an dividuals in both institutions had the time to even keel. All those efforts have made substan- get to know and respect one another. tial contributions, and should be recognized Despite the disputes of the past, leaders in and applauded. Progress continues. But much each institution understand the importance of remains to be done. the other. Top military officials acknowledge The news media, collectively, are often un- their responsibility to the First Amendment popular and, if illustrated, would look like one guarantee of the people’s right to know, and viii America’s Team: The Odd Couple the vast majority of military officers (83%) doms—is the same. They also have learned believe the news media are just as necessary to that cooperation serves the interests of each, as maintaining American freedom as the mili- well as serving the American people. tary, according to a poll taken for this study. This study focuses on the military-media This attitude exists even though members of relationship in conflict situations, based on the the armed forces, who swear to protect the conviction that if the two institutions can work Constitution and the Bill of Rights, give up together during the tension and fog of war, many personal liberties that news people and they likely can get along in peacetime. We do, other citizens take for granted. however, recognize that there are disputes and Similarly, leaders of the nation’s news me- issues related to news media coverage of the dia appreciate that, without the protection of defense establishment in peacetime.