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The Host Officer Experience with Embedded Media During the Iraq War

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OPERATION EMBED: THE HOST OFFICER EXPERIENCE WITH EMBEDDED MEDIA DURING THE IRAQ WAR By ANA-KLARA HERING A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN MASS COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2006 Copyright 2006 by Ana-Klara Hering To my parents, Dad on the left shoulder, Mom on the right and to the memories of Staff Sergeant Gene Ramirez Sergeant Jason Pool and Lance Corporal Chad Charlet―casualties of the war and wartime 2,597 and still counting ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Six years ago a friend and fellow Marine gave me a book he thought I would be interested in. I devoured Peter Arnett’s memoir, Live From the Battlefield, and the seed for this thesis was planted. To Captain Thompson, I am grateful. The Marine Corps History Foundation generously funded this research. Its financial support and encouragement of projects like this one ensure a legacy for the Marine Corps. I am grateful for the confidence bestowed in me by its members. My sincere thanks to Professor Bill F. Chamberlin, Ph.D., my graduate advisor and committee chair for his insightful guidance and thorough review of this study. His excitement for and belief in this endeavor encouraged me to think beyond the boundaries of graduation requirements to become a researcher with something to offer the world. His endurance and personal investment in all his students is humbling. Many a late hour was inspired by the thought that he, too, was probably awake and working. He is a godfather to any student fortunate enough to study with him. Also, I have much appreciation for the efforts of Lisa Duke Cornell, Ph.D., and Professor Laurence B. Alexander, J.D. who generously shared with me their valuable expertise, resources and time as members of my thesis committee. Professor Duke Cornell inspired me to pursue phenomenological research as the method for this study. Her enthusiasm and passion for the field of qualitative research are contagious. Professor Alexander guided me in the construction of the historical and legal portion of this thesis and provided me with sound advice in the development of my thesis question. iv I would also like to thank Professor Sandra Chance, J.D. for her initial assistance with my thesis proposal. Her door ― and heart ― were always open. She and Alana Kolifrath provided me a sanctuary at the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information during my graduate years at the University of Florida. My thanks to the members of the U.S. Marine Corps who helped in various ways. The 14 Marine officers who volunteered their memories of the war for this study recounted challenging periods of their lives with the same spirit and humanity with which they served their country. Their sacrifices and courage extend beyond the interviews granted to me, and for their time I am extremely grateful. Thanks to Captain Jay Delarosa and Captain Patrick Kerr, of the Headquarters Marine Corps Public Affairs office, who provided historical context for the study and numerous documents, which will surely nurture future research in this area. I am grateful, too, to the several other Marines who assisted me in identifying research participants for this study. I consider myself blessed to have wonderful parents, whose support during this research was tremendous. My father introduced me to the Hegelian dialectic at an age when most kids are interested in comics and bugs. He served as my unofficial proofreader, even if I had to teach him a thing or two about comma usage. He was an endless source of optimism. My mother spent many hours listening to my ideas, challenges, and plans and never ran out of encouragement. She saved every newspaper clipping about and by embedded media during my deployment to Iraq and was the first to encourage my initial thoughts about the embedded system. I thank my sisters, Alejandra and Kimberly, for their humor and friendship, my Aunt Edythe, Uncle Buddy, v grandparents, and several other family members for their constant encouragement and support throughout the years despite the physical distance between us. I give many thanks, also, to the friends who encouraged me. To Christina, Ece, and Hilit, especially, the challenge of “thesis-izing” would have been terribly lonely without you. Jody Hedge in the Graduate Department of the College of Journalism and Communication and Debbie Muga in the Marion Brechner Citizen Access Project made many things happen behind the scenes. My sincere appreciation to Marion Brechner for her support of my assistantships at the Joseph L. Brechner Center for Freedom of Information and the Marion Brechner Citizen Access Project. My experiences there have been defining elements of my graduate experience and helped to support my studies and this research. Many thanks to the journalism mentors with whom I have worked since I began writing professionally in high school: Rick Robb, Kathy Pellegrino, Berta Delgado, Oline Cogdill, and the numerous other editors and journalists with whom I have been privileged to work. Finally, I give a special thanks to my first journalism teacher, Brian Rowland. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 The Phenomenon: The Host Officer Experience..........................................................9 Purpose for the Study..................................................................................................12 Need for the Study......................................................................................................15 Background.................................................................................................................16 Audience and Publication Potential............................................................................21 Theoretical Framework...............................................................................................23 Criteria for Evaluation ................................................................................................28 Outline of Thesis.........................................................................................................29 2 LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................................31 Historical Texts...........................................................................................................31 By War Correspondents, about War Correspondents.................................................40 Embedded Media Program Studies ............................................................................49 3 THE HISTORY OF MEDIA-MILITARY RELATIONS..........................................58 Military vs. the Media: Where Does the Tension Come from?..................................58 Pattern of Media-Military Relations...........................................................................64 Thesis...................................................................................................................66 Antithesis.............................................................................................................69 Synthesis Becomes the New Thesis ....................................................................73 Second Antithesis ................................................................................................77 An Argument for Embedding: Combating Misinformation .......................................91 Principle Themes of Embedded Media Policy ...........................................................94 Access..................................................................................................................94 vii “Security at the Source” ......................................................................................95 Symbiosis ............................................................................................................96 4 METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................................98 Conceptual Framework of Model...............................................................................98 Methods of Collecting Data........................................................................................98 Selection Criteria.................................................................................................98 Branch of service..........................................................................................99 Rank of personnel.......................................................................................100 Nature of unit mission................................................................................102 Time frame of deployment.........................................................................103 Level of prior media experience and/or media training .............................104 Specific embed assignment ........................................................................105
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