‘__

Ml ICHIGAN STATE

ll! NIH/l

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ill/Hill}llllll/llllllllll

01712 8798

This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

TRAINING FOR MILITARY REPORTING

presented by

Timothy H. Hoyle

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

 

 

Am»?

" r /

Major professor

Date May IV]; I???

0-7639 MS U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution

 

 

LIBRARY

Michigan State .
UnIversIty

 

 

 

PLACE IN RETURN BOX
to remove this checkout from your record.
TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due.

 

I DATE DUE DATE DUE DUE DUE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1193 MM“

TRAINING FOR MILITARY REPORTING
By
Timothy H. Hoyle

A THESIS

Submitted to Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Journalism

1998

ABSTRACT
TRAINING FOR MILITARY REPORTING
By
Timothy H. Hoyle

Critics of defense reporting claim too few journalists are knowledgeable about
the military forces they cover. Surveys were mailed to journalists at 189 organizations
with 39 reporters responding about their backgrounds, what types of military stories they
cover most and what topics are the most important to teach to new defense journalists.
Most were not veterans. Twenty-nine non-veterans were offered little or no preparatory
training before they were expected to cover assignments. Surprisingly, military veterans
showed a higher reliance on official sources than non-veterans, possibly because they
assimilated military’s values during their service. Most respondents agreed that some
type of preparation would helpful to reduce confusion while learning the beat.
Recommendations are offered to encourage editors to improve existing training and
various types of regional opportunities similar to methods used by the Council for the

Advancement of Science Writing to improve coverage by their members.

Copyright by
Timothy H. Hoyle
l 998

Dedication

To the men and women of the military and the press who each serve the needs of freedom
loving people in their own way.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This paper was made possible through the support of a great many faculty and
colleagues at the School of Journalism. Certainly, my committee chairman, Dr. Stephen
Lacy, and the committee members Dr. William Cote’ and Prof. Jim Detjen, gave a great
deal of advice and guidance in the pursuit of this research. I was also guided by the
research of MSU alumnus William E. Small (MA, 1964) whose thesis on the training of
science writers gave me many ideas on how to pursue my own work. There was also a
great deal of support from other faculty members who provided my training in research
methods, those who inspired me with their own research and the many others who simply
lent encouragement when it was needed.

I also received considerable help from the public affairs offices of the US. Marine
Corps, the US. Army, the US. Navy, the US. Air Force, US. Atlantic Command, US.
Pacific Command and from Marine Lieut. Col. Patrick Sivigny of the Office of the
Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. Their assistance in identifying
journalists who regularly cover military activities helped provide for a more experienced
sample population.

Finally, my family and friends also gave their love and encouragement to help
sustain me through the effort. None of this would be possible without the support of all

of those named above who will have my eternal gratitude.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIST OF TABLES v
LIST OF FIGURES vi
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. FRAMEWORK 7
3. BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESES 10
Concise History of Military Coverage -..10
Previous Research on Specialized Beats 18
Hypotheses and Research Questions 11
4. METHOD 14
5. RESULTS 19
6. DISCUSSION 49
7. RECOMMENDATIONS <5
8. CONCLUSION 60
APPENDICES
A. Strength Figures for US. Armed Forces from 1950 to 1996 .................... 63

B. Sample Letter Sent to Public Affairs Offices Seeking Contact Names....64

 

 

C. Sample Questionnaire Sent to Military Writers 65
D. Comments Submitted By Military Writers About The Beat 70
E. Sample Article Solicited By Hometown Media ................................. 75

BIBLIOGRAPHY 77

iii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Ratings of Possible Subject Areas for Training Program ......................

Table 2. Comparison of Story Idea Sources between Non-Veterans

 

with Training and N on-Veterans Without Training

Table 3. Comparison of Story Idea Sources between Veterans

and N on-Veterans ....................................................................

Table 4. Comparison of time Taken to Gain Confidence at Initiating Stories
between Local Media Covering Military Installations and Pentagon
Correspondents -.

 

 

Table 5. Assessments of Stories Most Commonly CovererI

...41

...42

..43

....45
...46

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Map of Unified Commands and Major Installations
Solicited for Contact Lists ............................................................ 3

Figure 2. Chart Showing End Strengths for U. S. Forces,
1950-1996 ...................................................... 63

 

Figure 3. Causal Model of Suspected Relationship Between Experience and
Training and Improved Accuracy and Clarity' in Military
Writing ........................................................... 8

 

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Since the earliest days of American history, journalism has been regarded as
one of the bulwarks of our government. One of the key principles embodied in the US.
Constitution is that all power comes from the consent of the people.l American political
theorists have furthered reasoned that citizens need to know about their government’s
actions to exercise their will.2 Such reasoning is why Thomas Jefferson believed that a
country with newspapers was preferable to one without them. Without such a watchful
eye, Jefferson was certain elected officials would abuse their authority, becoming like
“wolves.”3

More recently, researchers assessing the state of journalism education in 1984
said "that journalism and mass communications are central to the functioning of
contemporary society and that providing an understanding of journalism and mass
communication must be central to the mission of the university."4

Because the media has such an important position as the government’s watch
dog,5 and the importance of military's role as an executor of that government's policy,6
journalists must be able to comprehend and accurately report upon the operations of the

armed forces to their audiences if readers and viewers are to accurately assess the

 

lU.S. Term Limits, Inc., et al., v Ray Thornton et al. Winston Bryant, Attorney General of Arkansas v.
Bobbie E. Hill et al. 514 US. 842 (1995).

2Kent R. Middleton and Bill F. Chamberlin, The Law of Public Communication, 2 ed. (White Plains,
N.Y.: Longrnan Publishing, 1991), 485.

3Thomas Jefferson, "A Noble Experiment," in Interpretations of Journalism, ed. Frank Luther Mott and
Ralph D. Casey (New York: R.S. Crofts & Co., 1937), 52-53.

4Planning for Curricular Change: A Report of the proiect on the FuttLre of Joumaliim and Mas_s_
Communication Education 2d ed.( Eugene, Ore.: School of Journalism, University of Oregon; 1987), l.
sSaul Padover, Thomas Jefferson on Democracy (New York: New American Library, 1939), 92 -93.
6Raymond Aron, Clausewitz: Philosopher of War (London: Rowledge & Kegan Paul, 1983), 104-105
and Associated Press, "Clinton rallies against Iraq," Grand Rapids Press (Mich), 16 Nov. 1997, sec. A,
p. l.

 

 

actions of their government.

There has been on-going discussion between military officials and journalists
since 1984 when a study of Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada recommended training for
journalists covering the military. However, little progress seems to have been made
toward a mutually agreeable method.7 Since that study, a Center for Defense Journalism
was established at Boston University in 1988, but criticism of Gulf War reporting errors
by the center’s own director indicates that the facility may not have had enough time or
usage to make a substantial impact on the quality of military coverage.8

Therefore, this study asks those who have spent time reporting on military
operations to recommend the areas of specialized training that might best prepare new
colleagues to join them on the beat. It was hoped that the findings would yield a
scientifically based training regimen that would help these new initiates more accurately
describe military activities with less reliance on official sources for information and story
ideas. Data was gathered for this study by mailing survey questionnaires to 189
journalists who regularly cover the Pentagon, major unified command headquarters
(those that command operations conducted by more than one of the armed services within
a geographic area of responsibility) and those areas of the continental United States that
have the highest concentration of military forces.

The map shown in Figure 1 helps demonstrate where some of these major military

centers are located.

 

7Winnant Sidle, "Report by CJCS Media-Military Panel (Sidle Panel)" (1985) and Frank A. Aukofer and
William P. Lawrence, America's Team : The Odd Couple : A Report on the Relationship Between the
Media and the Milim (Nashville, Tenn: The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, 1995), 43-45.

8H. Joachim Maitre, "Journalistic Incompetence" Neim_an Reports (Summer 1991): 12-13.

Figure 1
Unified Commands and Major Military Operating Centers Contacted for Names

 

u.s. Central / I

I 0 Command
)3 r:
us. Pacific °D
and O

The frequent exposure of these journalists to military stories was believed to make
them excellent sources to identify the obstacles in becoming a capable military reporter.
Melissa Healy of the Los Angeles Times has described the defense beat as the most
complex of any in American journalism, exposing reporters to a distinct culture with its
own language, laws and customs.9 The beat covers more than 1,100 Department of

Defense facilities across the United States and overseas10 relying on a wide range of

 

9Melissa Healy, "Covering the Pentagon for a Major Newspaper: A Reporter's perspective," in Defense
Beat : the Dilemmas of Defense Coverage, ed. Loren B. Thompson (New York : Lexington Books, 1991),
95

 

'9_William R. Evinger, Directory of US. Military Bases Worldwide (Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Press, 1995),
VII. .

media from small town community newspapers and broadcast outlets to reporters from
major metropolitan markets, newspaper chains and networks. Such a variance in the size
of the markets and news organizations covering the military means that not all journalists
assigned to cover the military are likely to have the eight years of experience found in the
average beat reporter.”

Many assigned to cover the beat will likely report a lack of previous experience
with the military because of the overall decline in Americans serving in the armed forces
since the introduction of the all-volunteer force in 1972. (See Appendix A, Fig. 2) The
overall number of living veterans has decreased 27 percent between 1980 and 1993.12
But even before such declines, previous experience has shown that veterans with the
necessary writing skills have never been available in sufficient numbers to ensure the
availability of a cadre of reporters trained in military science.l3 Meanwhile, advances in
computers and communications have continued to yield increasingly sophisticated
weaponry, making the coverage of the forces that use them even more challenging.

Therefore, it would seem only logical that journalists lacking previous military
experience be offered training that will help them to understand what they will be
observing. New journalists on some beats can often rely on classes in government,
science and the arts to help them understand what they will see while covering stories in
these areas. But few journalists are likely to have studied military science unless they
have participated in a Reserve Officer Training Course during their undergraduate

studies.

 

11David H Weaver and G. Cleveland Wilhoit, The American Journalist : A Portrait of US. News Peopl_8_
and their Work (Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1986), 70.

12Statistical abstract: August 1989/September 1995 (Washington DC: Office of Planning, Research and
Statistics, Resolution Trust Corporation, 1995), 364.

13Joseph J. Mathews, Remrting the Wars (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1957), 241-242.

Without some type of military experience or preparatory training, there will be
many subtleties about covering the military that the journalist new to the beat may not
grasp. For example, besides its role as a military force, the Department of Defense has
been the nation's biggest employer, as well as the largest hirer of minorities and women.
It is also a multi-billion dollar business enterprise; the nation's second largest health care
insurer and provider; the world's largest educational enterprise; the nation's largest day
care provider and a major supporter of research.14 The military's need for good order and
discipline often makes its enforcement of military statutes seem harsh and unreasonable
to the casual observer. Many reporters may find it difficult to understand the military
mindset concerning homosexuals in the military or regulations against adultery that
appear out of date with how the rest of America feels on these issues.

Operations in Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and assisting disaster victims of Hurricane
Andrew and Mississippi River flooding have demonstrated the government’s wide
flexibility in using military forces for peacekeeping, disaster relief and humanitarian
operations. But such uses have also brought questions about the readiness costs in using
armed forces for such nontraditional roles. The coverage of a tragic shooting by Marines
involved in counterdrug operations along the U.S.-Mexican border also posed difficult
questions about whether military forces should be used at all in such a law enforcement
role.15

Without previous experience or specialized training it would be easy for
journalists covering such issues to be too dependent on the official sources or those

critical of the operation. In fact, Reese and Buckalew found that the lack of military

 

14Edwin Dom, "10 Ways to Look at the Department of Defense." Defense Issues, Vol. 10, No. 36
(Washington, DC: Department of Defense DoD, 1995), 1-2.

15'Peter Kate], “Navy may settle with slain goat herder’s family,” USA Today 3 Apr. 1998, see. A, p. 8.

expertise among the television reporters assigned to cover local developments in the
Houston market during the Persian Gulf War led to thin and unbalanced reporting.l6
Therefore, it is hoped that the findings of this research will offer educators and
media managers the information needed to design and test training methods that will
make it easier for those reporting on military operations to comprehend what they

observe and to submit stories that are accurate and readily understood by their audience.

 

16Stephen D. Reese and Bob Buckalew, “The Militarism of Local Television: The Routine Framing of the
Persian Gulf War,” Critical Studies in Mass Communication 12 (1994), 45.

Chapter 2
FRAMEWORK

This chapter provides some of the common sense rationales used to design this
study. Such a study of training for specialized reporting seems to fit best under the
theoretical framework that studies the effects of the individual on the creation of mass
media content. This framework supposes that the personal background and experiences
of the communications professional are believed to be intrinsic factors that influence the
content of the news. Therefore, it seems reasonable to assume that a journalist's
education may influence the stories he or she pursues and what sources they use to gather
information. ‘7

Given the overall decline in the numbers of military veterans previously
discussed, the next logical assumption would be that respondents participating in this
study who learned about the military primarily on their beat will concur with the need for
prior training. They should also report generating more initiative stories and less
dependence on official government press releases and defense contractors as the amount
of their military beat training increases. The same should hold true for those who had
served in the armed forces prior to assuming the military beat.

New reporters assigned to cover a military story without any previous military
experience or training will probably be more likely to rely on official government sources
of information unless alternatives have been provided through editors or military
watchdog groups.

The following model should help explain how these factors would relate to an

 

1"Pamela J. Shoemaker and Stephen D. Reese, Mediating the Message (White Plains, N.Y.: Longrnan
Publishers, 1991), 54, 220.

increased level of performance through more accurate stories that are clearer to the

average reader.

Figure 3
Causal Model of the Suspected Relationship Between Previous Experience, Years of

Military Service, Preparatory Training and Beat Performance

 

Previous Military Beat Experience

 

 

 

 

 

Years of Military Service Level of Performance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparatory Training

 

 

 

This model is supported by the findings in Lacy and Matusik’s study on the
dependency of journalists on organizational and beat sources. The two important trait
factors they observed that affected the use of organization and beat sources were
experience and the time a reporter spent working on the beat. The study explains a
negative correlation between experience and the use of organizational sources by
suggesting that experienced reporters may gain the ability to develop their own story

ideas independent of such sources.18

 

18Stephen Lacy and David Matusik, “Dependence on Organization and Beat Sources for Story Ideas: A
Case Study of Four Newspapers,” Newspaper Research Journal 5 (Winter 1984): 15.

Critics of military reporters have often cited a lack of military experience among
journalists and editors as the main cause of inaccuracies. The comments offered by

respondents to this study in Appendix D tend to support such a claim.

10

Chapter 3
BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESES

This chapter outlines some of the history in the development of military coverage
as a specialized beat and the previous research affecting the study. Studies from other
specialized beats have been incorporated since there are relatively few studies that
examine military writers. The historical data also includes information on changes in the
amount of access given to military correspondents since these shifts will tend to affect
their relationship with officials and their willingness to accept training from them.
Concise History of American Military Reporting

Depending upon one's interpretation of what constitutes reporting, American
military coverage could have started with C01. Daniel Boone's accounts of the Indian
wars along the Ohio River from 1769 to 1784.19 Early American newspapers did not
have reporters and relied heavily upon other publications, official reports and letters from
soldiers or eyewitnesses to report the events of the Revolutionary War and the War of
1812.20

For the purposes of this paper, however, we will concentrate on military coverage
by those employed by a news organization to report on the actions of American military
forces. Most studies place the emergence of the American military correspondent during
the Mexican-American War. Reporters covering that campaign were allowed to ride
along with General Zachary Taylor on US. Army horses. The reporters accompanying
Taylor had no official restrictions and were able to take advantage of the telegraph to file

more timely stories, resulting in extensive coverage of the campaign.

 

”Mathews, 32.
20Aukofer and Lawrence, 35.

11

In fact, Nelson observed that the newspapers of the time were also very partisan
and likely to report rumors and speculation along with details from the battlefield.21
Their coverage of General Santa Ana’s return from his exile in Cuba showed how
President Polk had been duped when the general rallied Mexican troops instead of
encouraging them to surrender.22 This news was information that Polk would have liked
to keep secret because of the embarrassment to his administration and shows how
concerns about war coverage may have more to do with political issues in some cases
than they do with national security requirements.

Civil War journalists were occasionally banished by some conunanders from their
camps, but most were provided liberal access and often received passes to visit combat
zones. Only 150 of the 500 Northern journalists covering the war appeared to take
advantage of such access to visit units in the field. Southern newspapers had even fewer
reporters in the field because of their lack of resources.23 Still, Roth contends that the
Civil War was the best covered conflict of that era. He described the average Northern
reporter as being in his twenties while six were still teenagers. Many had degrees and
several had experience covering foreign wars. He credits the New York Herald as having
the best coverage. Publisher James Gordon Bennett even dispatched correspondents to
the South before the war began to cover both sides. Southern coverage came from paid
“specials,” volunteers, officers and enlisted men who regularly contributed their reports.
Though fewer in number, the Southern correspondents were said to have much more

freedom to operate.24

 

2|Anna Kasten Nelson, “Secret Agents and Security Leaks: President Polk and the Mexican War,”

Journalism Mrly 52 (Autumn 1975): 15.
22Nelson, 17.

23Aukofer and Lawrence, 36-37.
24Michael P. Roth, Historical Dictionpry of War Journalism (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1997),

12

Coverage of the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection was
augmented by numerous soldiers who wrote accounts for their hometown newspapers. A
survey by the US. Arrny’s Military History Institute shows that most soldiers considered
their comrades who wrote such accounts “in the same light as the civilian correspondent.”
Some news organizations continue to publish such accounts to give audiences a view
from the soldier’s perspective, especially where smaller media organizations are
concerned since they are less likely to have the funds to send journalists to distant
battlefields. Future conflicts may even contain more of this type of coverage as deployed
troops increase their use of electronic mail and Defense Department programs provide
avenues for citizens to send their own messages to troops abroad.25 Appendix E contains
a sample article solicited from the researcher by the Milford (Mich.)Times during the
Persian Gulf Conflict.

Before America entered World War I, reporters were registered as British, French
or neutral. British forces allowed journalists to visit the front lines as long as they were
escorted. American newspapers sent the most reporters of any country covering the war.
About 50 to 75 covered the early days of war from 1914. They were joined by several
hundred colleagues after US. forces entered the conflict. A camp supporting journalists
covering the American Expeditionary Force was established in France in 1917. One
journalist was accredited to cover each division and provided with a car and access to the
communications systems for filing stories. Non-accredited journalists were not given
such support and could not travel outside of the area assigned to the division they were

covering.26

 

4-6.
25“Welcome to Task Force Eagle, Send Mail to Soldiers Page,” see www.tfeagle.army.mil/mail.htm.
261mm, 350-351.

13

World War H also afforded many opportunities for journalists to travel with US.
and allied forces. The 2,000 journalists covering the various fronts were able to
accompany troops on bombing missions, amphibious assaults-some even parachuted
with airborne forces on D-Day at Normandy. Thirty-seven journalists were killed and
112 were wounded covering battles. The pool system was created to allow a limited
number of journalists to have access where transportation and other constraints posed
limits. Media in the pool were expected to share their stories and pictures with those
unable to accompany them. Censorship was more pervasive and freedom of media to
roam about varied from one operational area to another. Journalists covering North
Africa in 1942 were said to have the most freedom of movement since the vast distances
involved in desert warfare encouraged a great deal of movement.27

Radio news coverage grew during the days preceding World War II. The first
“World News Roundup” broadcast by CBS linked reporters in several capitals to cover
the Nazi takeover of Austria. Such broadcasts would continue to bring first hand
accounts and battlefield sounds into people's homes. Edward R. Murrow’s reports from
London rooftops gave Americans a taste of the terror felt by people in a city under attack
by German bombers.

The broadest access was provided in Vietnam, with television news adding a new
dimension that brought stirring pictures into American living rooms. The official US.
policy toward the press during Vietnam was to promote "maximum candor and disclosure
consistent with the requirements of security." Dealings with journalists by government

sources were expected to be "effective and responsible."28

 

27Ibid, 352-353.

28William M. Hammond, Public Affairs: The Milim and the Media 1962-1968 (Washington, DC,
Center of Military History, 1988) 82.

l4

Roth believes that Vietnam was “probably the most thoroughly covered war in
history” because of the hundreds of journalists who covered the conflict from 1961 to
1975. Correspondents covering the war ranged in age from 25 to 35 years. Print
journalists usually stayed from 12 to 18 months while broadcast journalists normally left
after six months. Major news organizations usually sent experienced foreign
correspondents, but even they lacked knowledge of unconventional operations. Almost
70 women covered the war. Two of them were among the 45 journalists killed covering
the war. Combat coverage was the main effort of the American press. This was the first
war where accredited journalists did not have to submit their stories to censors. It is also
remembered as the first television war.29

Sims observes that news coverage of military issues declined in the early to mid-
19708, “principally as a result of the malaise over Vietnam.” The Islamic Revolution in
Iran and the resulting hostage crisis at the US. Embassy in Tehran, coupled with
Afghanistan and other world events, were credited with creating a resurgence of interest
in military affairs. However, the increasing immediacy of news coverage in the early
19805 caused Sims to speculate that future battlefields may be closed to the press.30

Such a blackout occurred during Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada which began
on Oct. 25, 1983. The policy marked a historic shift in government policy toward
defense coverage. A total ban on press access was maintained for the first two days of the
invasion.31 Secretary of State George Shultz told the media they had been excluded

because they could no longer be trusted. Shultz argued that the media were "no longer on

 

29Roth, 325-326.

30Robert B. Sims, The Penggon Repprters (Washington DC: National Defense University Press, 1983),
148, 150.

3]John B. Engber, “The Press and the Invasion of Grenada: Does the First Amendment Guarantee a Right
of Access to Wartime News?” Temple Law Review 58 (1985), 875-877.

15

our side."32 A pool of 15 journalists was flown by the military to the island on the third
day, but unrestricted access did not begin until the airport was reopened on Nov. 7.
Magazine publisher Larry Flynt filed suit over the exclusion of his reporter and other
journalists from the initial assault, but the quick end to the operation caused the case to be
dismissed as moot.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John W. Vessey, Jr. formed the
Sidle Panel to examine the issues raised by the media after the Grenada invasion. The
panel was chaired by Major General Winnant Sidle, US. Army (Ret.), who served as the
chief of the Military Assistance Command Vietnam's Office of Information in 1967. The
panel of former journalists and military officials provided recommendations to improve
future media access during military operations.

These recommendations called for the development of officers to help guide
inexperienced reporters and coordinate joumalists' requests through the proper military
channels.33 This appears to be the first instance where it was suggested that military
correspondents lacked the training and experience to understand some aspects of their
beat, especially the need to maintain operational security.

All major news organizations readily accepted the panel’s recommendations, with
the exception of Time magazine, which later acquiesced for fear of being excluded from
the next major military operation. Pools were not used, however, during the next major
military operation when the US. conducted air strikes on Libya in 1985. Media protests
were answered by the Defense Department with the comment that Sidle doesn’t commit

us to anything.” Pools were used to cover the Dec. 19, 1989 invasion of Panama, but with

 

32Tim Ahem, “Washington Dateline,” Associated Press (Washington, DC), 15 Dec. 1983, no pag.
33Sidle Report, 14.

l6

highly unsatisfactory results from the media’s perspective. The pool arrived in Panama
five hours late and was sequestered at Howard Air Force Base. Secretary of Defense Dick
Cheney delayed activating the pool to prevent possible security breaches. Cheney also
canceled Army plans to form a local pool out of media already in Panama to cover the
first hours of the assault}:4

Rather than expose the press to combat operations, the pool received two briefings
from embassy personnel who gave the reporters background information on the
operation's official justifications, but lacked any information on the battle. The first pool
pictures and video were described in the New York Times as “nothing short of an Army
recruiting film.35 The Pentagon allowed twelve chartered flights of media to fly into
Panama on Dec. 21 and 22, but the 300 journalists only further overwhelmed military
public affairs personnel. It was not until Dec. 23 that the additional reporters were
afforded any opportunity for coverage. Once again, a review panel was formed that
found flaws with the planning. Williams held meetings with media representatives in
Washington, DC. that apparently convinced the major news organizations that access
would be better the next time. Therefore, no one in the news media monitored what
efforts the military was actually making to improve conditions for reporting the next
campaign.36

Despite the problems journalists faced covering Grenada and Panama, Lynch still
describes the 19808 as the “glory days” of defense journalism because of the interest

created in the beat through President Reagan’s “rearmament.” He characterizes “waste,

 

34Fred Hoffman, “Review of the Panama Pool Deployment” (Defense Information School: Ft. Ben
Harrison, Ind., March 1990), 2.

35Eric Bochlert, “Panama Coverage: One Big PR Job,” New York Times 17 Jan. 1990, sec. A, p. 25.

3”Pascale M. Comballes, “Operation Just Cause: A Military-Media Fiasco,” Military Media Review May-
June 1995, 84-85.

l7

fraud and abuse” as the “Holy Trinity” of defense journalists investigating alleged abuses
in military procurement.37

Journalists from the DoD National Media Pool were able to accompany airborne
forces making the initial entry into Saudi Arabia for Desert Shield. Once the Saudi
government eased entry restrictions for Western journalists, their numbers soon grew and
averaged 800 journalists at any one time.38 Though media were allowed in with the
initial stages of the operation, the Persian Gulf War was still seen as a departure from
previous wars.39

The military believed that it was providing excellent coverage by allowing the
media to visit ships, ride in planes, and travel aboard a variety of armored vehicles during
the coverage before the war began.40 Critics cite interference, however, by escorts who
stepped in front of the camera to block shots, finished sentences or completely answered
some questions for troops being interviewed. "They made it clear that GIs risked hell if
they spoke their mind."4l1

Pool coverage allowed 161 reporters to accompany US. forces during the ground
war in the Persian Gulf. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Pete Williams
contrasted the coverage with the 27 journalists who were able to land with Allied forces

on D-Day in Normandy.42 Such a comparison, however, only denotes one beachhead in

 

37David J. Lynch, “The Beat That Came in From the Cold,” Washington Journalism Review (1992 ): 33-
34.

38Capt. Michael T. Sherman, (US Navy, Ret.) “Forgive Us Our Press Passes,” St. Joh_ns Law Review 66
(1992): 640.

39Kevin P. Kenealey, “The Persian Gulf War and the Press: Is There a Constitutional Right of Access to
Military Operations?” Northwestern Law Review 87 (1992): 287.

40Sherman, 644-645.

41Roone Arledge, “Letter to Cheney” June 24, 1991 (Memorandum from Arledge and 16 other news

organization leaders forwarding concerns and recommendations about press restrictions during the Persian
Gulf War.)

42Pete Williams, “Let’s Face It, This Was the Best War Coverage We’ve Ever Had,” Washington Post 17
March 1991, see. D, p. 4.

18

an entire theater of operation. The 161 reporters in Desert Storm would be more
comparable to the 150 Northern journalists covering the Civil War who likewise had to
report upon units spread across wide areas.

After the Persian Gulf War, the defense beat seemed to deal more with human
interest stories about downsizing. Editors wanted stories that gave audiences more of a
perspective and explained the impacts of force reductions than those that demonstrated a
reporter’s knowledge of the defense industry.43
Previous Literature on Specialized Beats

Debate has continued for many years in this area as to whether it is more desirable
for journalism students to rely on a broad liberal arts education or to seek specialized
instruction, perhaps even taking a second major, to increase their opportunities for
employment upon graduation.44 Wolseley and Campbell advised those interested in
specialized reporting to select an area where the prospective journalist has the most
natural background or opportunity for concentration. Majoring in economics, natural
sciences and sociology were cited as examples of concentrations that were helpful in
allowing students to find work covering these specialties. However, they recognized that
students may have difficulty focusing on a particular specialty too soon during their
studies.45

Yet at one point, specialized curriculums seemed on the rise as more schools
offered students programs to help them cover more complicated issues. Currently, health
communications seems to be a growing field as health care issues become increasingly

related to technology. In fact, a physician critical of the reporting on genetic engineering

 

”Lynch, 34.
44Shoemaker and Reese, 62-64.

19

research said the reason the public did not hear more about the issues involved was the
difficulty most reporters had in comprehending the technology.

Lovell advises new journalists performing “public affairs reporting” to “gather
general knowledge” as soon as one is assigned to a specialized beat by becoming familiar
with how the beat works. In the case of government beats, he suggests studying any
guidebooks offered by the entity covered to learn how it operates and interviewing
experts to become more familiar with the beat.

Those covering government beats should prepare for resistance by officials to the
release of information by knowing their rights under laws covering the freedom of
information and open meetings. The latest survey by Weaver and Wilhoit found that 58
percent of respondents cited “resistance by public officials, violations of open-records
laws, or government secrecy” as their greatest external constraint to coverage. For
example, a news director at television station in the South complained that, “Government
agencies frequently dodge the issue and are slow to respond...” A radio news director in
the Midwest said the biggest constraint was “federal government regulations and their
interpretation by bureaucrats at all levels.”46

It is also important, according to Lovell, to build good reference files, keep up
with technical developments and learn the special problems and rules of the beat.47

Bernard Watkins, an attorney and legal educator, believes that reporters should
prepare themselves better so that they fully understand the legal issues they cover, such as

California's "Victim's Bill of Rights." He argues that most reporters focus entirely on the

 

45Ronald E. Wolseley, and Laurence R. Campbell. Exploring Journalism; with Smcial Emphasis on its
Social and Vocational Aspects, 2nd ed. (New York: Prentice Hall, 1949), 171.

46David H. Weaver and G. Cleveland Wilhoit, The American Journalist in the 19905: US. News People a_t
the End of an Era (Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1996), 68-69.

47Ronald P. Lovell, Reporting Public Afi‘fls (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Publishing, 1983), 5-6.

20

"titillating" issues of the lawmen, criminals and citizens involved without ever discussing
what impact the legislation would have on the rules of evidence and court backlogs.48

Watkins believes preparatory training in legal reporting would help provide better
coverage without relying on lawyers who would use "tedious prose" to cover trails.49 Ed
Offley of the Seattle-Post Intelligencer has reportedly been trying to develop a Military
Reporters Association that would provide such training opportunities for working
journalists and students.50

Technical expertise is considered essential for science reporters who have to
translate technical reports into language the average reader can comprehend.“ Dr. James
Stokley, chairman of the National Association of Science Writers’ professional training
committee, advocated an educational program for potential science writers that was
heavily oriented toward science courses. His approach recommended that future science
writers obtain a bachelor’s degree with a major in one science or a broader interest in
physical or biological sciences. However, this approach was not backed by the leaders of
the NASW. Its Council for the Advancement of Science Writing inaugurated a much
different program to give reporters on-the-job training.52

Such workplace training by professional groups is not always available and has
lead to frustration for journalists new to a beat. During the early 19808, the AFL-CIO and
Ford Motor Company ran seminars that helped reporters interested in covering collective

bargaining and other work-related issues. These seminars were discontinued for an

 

48M.L. Stein, "School of law reporting proposed," Editor & Publisher 8 July 1989, 16.

49mm p.16

50Aukofer and Lawrence, 75.

51Conrad J. Storad, “Who Are the Metropolitan Daily Newspaper Science Journalists, And How Do They
Work?” W11 6 (Fall 1984): 39-40.

52Dean Warren Burkett, Writing Science News for the Mass Medip, 2nd ed. (Houston: Gulf Publishing,
1973), 60-62.

21

apparent lack of interest.53 Such seminars may have been helped Canadian journalists
new to labor coverage overcome their "greenness" to better understand the bargaining
process by learning from patient sources who were willing to explain issues.54

Charles Corddry of the Baltimore Sun said that the Pentagon was baffling to many
of his colleagues in the 19803 and feels that is the reason they did not give defense issues
more coverage. Corddry feels that it takes time learn how to report national defense
stories He said that “there is no way you can be an in—and-out reporter on defense, and no
way you can know what you are doing after a short while.”55

Many journalists fall into the habit of using "Mil-speak," and using terms such as
ATAs and AWACS in their stories. As far back as the eighteenth century, Samuel
Johnson accused journalists covering the military using language that was “utterly
unintelligible to those who are not engaged in military or naval business.”56

In more recent times, many Americans polled about the INF treaty proclaimed
their support for the document but could not explain that the pact dealt with intermediate
range nuclear forces (those equipped with missiles capable of reaching a target from 310
to 3,415 miles away).57 The challenge for defense journalists is to provide information
about operations or new military systems in such a way as the average citizen can
understand. With the exception of the procurement stories about overpriced items such as

screwdrivers and coffee pots, the general population is left without a common frame of

 

53Murray Seeger, "The Old and Future Labor Beat," Neiman Reports (Fall 1994): 5.

54John A. Hannigan, Laboured Relations: Reporting Industrial Relations News in Canada (University of
Toronto (Canada): Centre for Industrial Relations, 1986), 52-53.

55Sims, 26-27.

56Paul Mann, "The Washington Defense Journalist: An Eighteenth Century View" in Defense Beat: the
Dilemmas of Defense Coverage, ed. Loren B. Thompson, (New York: Lexington Books, 1991) p. 69.
57Ibid, 68.

22

reference for many of the increasing complex stories.58 Reporters who lack the
capability to think in the abstract have had similar problems as they try to communicate
with an audience that also does not understand science.59

Martin advocates a strong civic education program in the schools to make
audiences more capable of following complex defense stories.‘50 But a simpler solution
may be found in an experiment that demonstrated that the use of analogies to help
describe complex concepts. Analogies and parables were found to be the most effective
means of helping different types of readers apply scientific concepts to their own
experiences while examples were the least effective means.61 Participants of the Science
Writers Workshop training in 1980 reported the training made them less apprehensive
about dealing with technical jargon.62

Still, Pentagon reporters studied in 1983 felt they were more qualified to cover
defense issues than outsiders because the latter are frequently uniformed and pressed to
produce stories before they fully comprehend the material. Those with more time on the
beat are regarded as more knowledgeable and believed to have better sources. Some of
the colleagues, however, feel that those who have been on the beat a long time lack
enthusiasm while others say the more experienced reporters are simply avoiding specious
stories that less experienced defense journalists are prone to cover. Of the 39 reporters

studied in 1983, only 14 had military service and most of those were enlisted men who

 

”Mann, 70.

59James E. Grunig, "Three Stopping Experiments on the Communication of Science," Journalism Quarterly
51 (Autumn 1974): 388.

60Mann, 7r.
“Grunig, 399.

62Sharon M. Friedman, "Training Reporters to Cover Science & Technology" Professional Engineer 51
(September 1981): 23.

23

were drafted.63 Healy describes the Defense Department as having a language and
culture of its own.64

Inexperienced reporters and photographers can easily embarrass themselves and
lose credibility with a source when their questions or requests reveal a total lack of
understanding for the source's work.65 Richard Whitmire, former regional defense
reporter for Gannett News Service, stresses that it is important to know as much as one
can before approaching Pentagon officials for an interview to avoid being ignored:

“If you go in and you know something, they’ll really warm up to you. They
respect knowledge a lot. What they don’t respect is the press coming in and asking open-
ended questions. If you ask a question imprecisely, ...they’ll think you are going to be
sloppy with the information. Then they’ll think you’re not worth talking to... that will be
the end of it.”‘56

Whitrnire’s comments were reinforced by an address given by General Peter
Gration of the Australian Defense Force, who noted that the military would prefer to deal
with professionals who understand the complexity of military operations and are capable
of discerning major issues from trivia. One of the key points of his commentary was the
call for a professional system of quality control for correspondents.67

Former diplomat Richard Burt believed that far too few journalists had an
understanding of national security matters to accurately write about them, stating that the

“jack of all trades" ability of a reporter was still more valued by editors. He believes that

 

63 Sims, 142-143.

64Healy, 95.

65Shoemaker and Reese, 59.
66 Quoted in Campbell, 105.

“General Peter Gration, “Keynote Address” (delivered at International Conference on Defence and the
Media in Time of Limited conflict, April 3-5, 1991; Brisbane, Australia) in Defence grid the Media in Time
of Limited War ed. Peter R. Young. (Portland, Ore: Frank Cass, 1992), 20-21.

 

24

it is the “tradecr ” skills of reporters that take precedence for editors over subject-
specific expertise. “In fact,” Burt said, “there is a tendency for editors as well as fellow
journalists to be skeptical of a colleague with special expertise on the grounds that he or
she has somehow been coopted by the people or institutions they are assigned to cover.
Thus, sheer ignorance often masquerades as “professional distance.” 63

Seventy-four percent of the respondents to the Freedom Forum survey of news
personnel agreed somewhat or strongly agreed that journalists were lacking in knowledge
of national defense matters such as military personnel, equipment capabilities and the
specific aspects of foreign military threats. Only 15 percent of the military officers
surveyed by the Freedom Forum felt that the news media had “almost always” been
accurate in covering the Persian Gulf war. Seventy-three percent felt that journalist were
“often” correct in reporting the same conflict, but often is a vague term that is harder to
accept among professionals who depend upon accuracy to maintain their credibility.69

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General John Shalikashvili said in the same
survey, "There are reporters right now who would not know a battalion from a company."
Former Associated Press Correspondent Fred Hoffman believes the press corps of today
is disinterested and that major newspapers ignore important military news. Offley blames
the problem on a shrinking full-time military reporting cadre that he estimated at around
50in 1995. This observation seems consistent with the 1992 report in Washington
Journalism Review that claimed the number of defense journalists was declining as the
military and the defense industry began cutting back from the expansion of the 19808.

Some reporters were leaving the beat before being forced out while others were

 

“RR. Burt, “The News Media and National Security,” in The Media and Foreigp Policy, ed. S. Serfaty
(New York: St. Martins Press, 1991), 140 -l42.

69Aukofer and Lawrence, 32.

25

diversifying into areas such as the space program.70

Former Vietnam war correspondent Peter Braestrup explains that is why sexual-
harassment scandals such as "Tailhook" or social issues like gays in the military receive
coverage while traditional stories are "frozen out." 71 This is consistent with Friedman's
observation that general assignment reporters tend to overplay economic and political
issues because they are more familiar and easier to understand.72

Guy Gugliotta of the Washington Post reported difficulties understanding the new
technology of the modern weaponry used in the Gulf War despite having served in the
military during Vietnam. He relied heavily on public affairs officers to update his
education about the military before covering the Persian Gulf War."3 Hoffman advocated
a training program to help improve coverage, but added that it would take a lot of
salesmanship to get the military and editors to agree to it. Likewise, Lloyd argued that
“national schools of war coverage” would be less desirous for Australian media,
prefening the French concept of “immersion,” so long as it was not a means for the
military to approve journalists they liked.74

Jonathan Wolman, AP's Washington bureau chief, argues that many respected
journalists such as Ernie Pyle covered the military without military experience.75
Actually, Pyle did serve in the US. Naval Reserve and had an active interest in the

military before covering World War II.76

 

70Lynch, 33.

71Aukofer and Lawrence, 75.
72Friedman, 23.

73Aukofer and Lawrence, 74.

74Clem Lloyd, “The Case for the Media,” in Defence and the Media in Time of Limited War ed. Peter R.
Young (Portland, Ore.,: Frank Cass, 1992), 64-65.

75Aukofer and Lawrence, 71.
75Lee Miller, ms Story of Ernie Pyle (Garden City, N.Y.: Life Press, 1950), 11-12.

 

26

However, the more important point against Wolman's argument is that the
military is much more complex today than it was in World War II. Scholars studying
science writers have noted that the training received by previous generations of reporters
is not necessarily what they would advocate for students today. In fact, Ryan and
Dunwoody's study showed that science writers tended to recommend more science
training than they had received before starting the beat, especially as participants in lab
experiments. Their results show that for a beat as diverse as science reporting their is no
“one path” to follow.77

Like science writers,78 most defense writers covering the Pentagon operate on a
breaking news basis.79 This can be extremely dangerous in an environment where first
reports are often wrong and the pressure to be first with the story is high.80

Healy believes the audience is better served when reporters develop the
experience to pursue enterprise stories, but reporters say that it can take a long time for a
journalist to learn the culture of the beat and learn the right questions to ask.81 More
specifically, labor reporters have stated one needs 1-2 years to master the essentials of
covering their beat.82 An editor at the Washington Post feels that it also takes at least a
year for reporters to learn how to cover the Pentagon, likening the assignment to covering
a foreign affairs beat.83

According to Healy, the challenge of defense coverage involves moving beyond

 

77Michael Ryan and Sharon L. Dunwoody, "Academic and Professional Training Patterns of Science
Writers," Journalism Quarterly 52 (Summer 1975): 246, 290.

78Storad, 47.

79David C. Martin, "Covering the Pentagon for Television: A Reporter's Perspective" in Defense Beat: the

Dilemmas of Defege Covgagg, ed. Loren B. Thompson (New York: Lexington Books, 1991), 83-84 and
Healy, 96.

80Martin, 84.

“Healy, 96; and Hannigan, 52.
82Hannigan, 54.

33 Lynch, 35.

27

handouts to uncover trends and develop sources early enough to allow the taxpayer a
chance to react.84 For example, Maitre argues that a trained press would have realized the
differences in the bombs being used during Operation Desert Storm's air war, making
them more suspicious of US. Air Force claims of "unlimited success" in their bombing
when 90 percent of the ordnance dropped were simple gravity bombs.85

Such an inability to readily identify possible inconsistencies makes it easy for
journalists to be mislead. Martin cites congressional protests regarding cost figures on the
Stealth aircraft as an example of such manipulation. Congressmen critical of the project
complained to the press about the difference between the original $35 billion cost
estimate for the aircraft and the $70 billion actually paid without mentioning that the
higher figure included fifteen years of adjustments for inflation. Martin believes
someone who understands how weapons systems are developed and funded would not be
easily misled into filing such a one-sided story, thus providing a more accurate and
balanced report.86 Such training may have helped advise new defense journalists
covering protests by Republican lawmakers over Pentagon efforts to redistribute money
from some anti-missile systems to seek nonpartisan sources such as the Defense Budget
Project.”

Operational security is also a key concern from a national security standpoint and
from an ethical perspective.88 Martin believes that no American media organization
would knowingly endanger the lives of US. forces, but at times he confesses that it is not

always easy to know what harm may be caused. If that is so for an experienced network

 

84Healy, 96—97.

85Maitre, 10.

86Martin, 86.

8"Henry C. Kenski, Ph.D. Reporter’s Sou_rce Book (Corvalis, Oregon: Project Vote Smart, 1994), 150.
88Sidle; and Aukofer and Lawrence, 24.

28

correspondent, it is probably more true of the less-seasoned journalist at the local
affiliate.

Other increasingly complicated fields have developed specialized curriculum to
help improve the coverage of science, medicine, agriculture, the environment and
business. Specialized instruction about the military for journalists has been recommended
in two studies,89 but working journalists contend that it is difficult to obtain a release
from their normal assignments for such an educational opportunity. Susan Schafer of the
Associated Press was skeptical that she would actually be given a year's leave of absence
to pursue training at the National War College until she received a $25,000 AP Study
Grant.

Lisa Burgess was subsequently sponsored as a fellow of the Freedom Forum.
Charles L. Overby, vice-president and chief executive officer of the group, said that
Burgess was chosen to attend the War College because the Forum’s own study had
concluded that training and education of journalists about the military would enhance
military-media relations. The reporter had previously written about the military for
Defense News and Commercial Aviation News.90

Journalists from such defense-related trade publications were aggressively
recruited by major publications during the 19808 who valued their experience. Time
magazine, the Washington Post, the New York Times, US. News & World Report and the
Los Angeles Times all went to specialty journals like Defense Week and the National

Journal to find defense expertise.9|

 

89Everette et a], 96-97; and Aukofer and Lawrence, 55.

90“Fellowship seeks to improve media-military understanding,” The Freed_om Forum News, 24 June 1996,
p. 2.

9‘ Lynch, 34.

29

While trade publications may offer a talented pool for major publications to
recruit from, there is still the broader question of how to prepare broadcasters and local
media covering military installations. If military beat reporters were to receive the type
of specialized instruction that has been given to some science writers, they might become
better able to address the complexities of the defense beat, especially those who lack
military service and are new to covering military issues.

Aukofer and Lawrence recommended that such training be conducted where
journalism schools and Reserve Officer Training Corps programs are co-located. The
problem with this recommendation is that ROTC programs are taught by active duty
military personnel. They are designed more for the training of potential officers in the
armed forces. Editors would probably fear graduates of such a program would be too
indoctrinated to report critically about the military. The ROTC programs are also geared
toward individual services and might not offer broad enough information to prepare
journalists to cover the other armed services.

Campbell argues that a new defense journalist should first decide where the focus
of his or her coverage will lie. He contends that only the reporters for wire services and
major dailies can try to keep up with everything. Sometimes the type of media
organization one represents can help determine where to concentrate one’s efforts. He
suggests starting one’s education by getting to know military public affairs officers.
Congressional staffers were also cited as sources who can get information from the
Pentagon that a journalist may not otherwise be able to obtain. Think tanks, watchdog

organizations, defense contractors and college faculty members are also recommended

30

sources.92

Maitre recommends that the military gather 150 military correspondents at
selected bases once a conflict has become imminent. He feels a training program for
these journalists that includes parachute jumps, survival training and “military lingo”
would given them the credibility to operate more freely among military units.93
Such was not the case for Australia’s media during a training exercise held in 1986.
Australian officials noted that most of the journalists covering the training tended to stick
close to the Media Support Unit provided by the military and work from the briefing
materials the unit provided, a finding defense officials claimed was consistent with
coverage of the Falkland Island War. The briefing room was seen as a place of
reassurance to journalists cast into unfamiliar surroundings.94

Science writers surveyed felt that former colleagues and journalism educators
were the best instructors to prepare journalists for their field.95 Boston University offers
a graduate study course in "Reporting Military Affairs" taught by Maitre, a former war
correspondent. The course offers students selected readings on the role of the press in
covering military conflicts as well and the methods used to cover military affairs during
peacetime.96

Military journalist and educator William Kennedy believes formal military
education is available to anyone willing and physically capable to serve in the National

Guard or Reserve. Even without formal affiliation, Kennedy contends that such education

 

92 Campbell, Don Inside the Beltway: A Guid_e to Washington Reporting (Washington, DC: Washington
Journalism Center, 1991), 103-105.

93 Maitre, 50.

94 Lloyd, 60-61.

95 Roger Allen Myers, "The Training of Science News Reporters," in "Journalism and Journalism
Education: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations," M 40, (1979) 11 (ERIC ED 189651).

96“Reporting Military Affairs,” Boston University College of Communication Course Catalog (Boston,
Mass: 1997/1998), 53.

31

is or could be made readily available through correspondence courses administered by all
of the armed forces. He cites the command and general staff college course as the
minimum required to gain an overview. Kennedy believes that it would be easy to
incorporate course material into a graduate program at a civilian university that wants to
produce specialists in defense journalism.97

From that base of instruction, Kennedy feels that the military magazines and other
periodicals that specialize in defense maters become more intelligible. The Center for
Defense Journalism offers access to the major trade publications that cover the armed
forces and the defense industry. Additionally, the Center publishes a monthly newsletter,
Defense Media Review, which offers information on recent trends in defense issues and

military coverage.

Hypotheses and Research Questions

Existing research suggests the following hypotheses:
H1. The number of military veterans covering the military will be fewer than those
journalists without military experience.
H2. Of those journalists who began covering the military without any specialized
knowledge of the armed forces, the proportion who recommend some type training for
those preparing for the beat will be higher than the proportion who recommend no
training.
H3. Those journalists without previous military knowledge will report more reliance for
story ideas on official government sources and defense contractors.
H4. Those journalists who served in the military or who report the most experience on the

military beat will report less reliance for story ideas on official government sources and

 

97William V. Kennedy, The Militpry and the Medi_a_r: Why the Press Cannot be Trusted to Cover a War
(Westport, Conn.:Praeger), 74-75.

32

defense contractors than those who are newly assigned to the beat.

The following research questions also will be answered:

RQl. How well do journalists on the beat feel their training prepared them to cover the
military?

RQ2. What training areas do military reporters believe would be most helpful to avoid
confusion among new colleagues?

RQ3. Does the defense journalist learn about the military mainly from Defense
Department sources or from those outside the government?

RQ4. How many sources does the journalist use from outside of the Department of
Defense or from defense contractors?

RQS. How long does the average journalist remain on the defense beat before they have
developed enough experience to pursue their own enterprise stories?

RQ6. Does it take longer for a journalist covering local military installations or those
covering the Pentagon to develop enough experience to pursue enterprise stories?

RQ7. What types of military stories has the respondent covered? (i.e. personnel,

equipment or technology related)

Veterans are defined for this study as former members of the US. Armed Forces,
either active duty or reserve. Enterprise stories refer to those reports begun on a
journalist's own initiative based upon trends observed on the beat. Sources includes any
information issued by a recognizable entity, such as the Department of Defense, either

through a spokesperson, written statement or Internet services (i.e. Defenselink).

33

Chapter 4
METHOD

This chapter offers additional information on the method used to conduct this
research. The principal instrument consisted of a survey questionnaire that was sent to
print and broadcast journalists covering the Pentagon on a daily basis and to those
covering the military in areas where there is a high concentration of military personnel.
According to Department of Defense statistics, the major locations of military personnel
are Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Arlington and Norfolk, Va.; Camp Lejeune,
N.C.; San Diego and Camp Pendleton, Calif; Fort Campbell, Ky.; Washington, DC. and
Fort Benning, Ga.

Additionally, the Center for Defense Information, offers a table of the top ten
states where military facilities are located. The Defense Department list is especially
useful because it provides a sampling of areas with major military installations that vary
in terms of media market. The high percentage of military personnel in the local
audience demographics of these markets would make the media there more likely to have
a military beat reporter as opposed to covering local defense stories with a general
assignment reporter. The exact number of reporters involved will depend on the number
of organizations that actually have reporters assigned to the military beat in their market.

The names of Washington-area reporters were requested through the Office of the
Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, which issues credentials to
reporters assigned to cover the Pentagon. Journalists in local markets were sought by
writing the public affairs offices at US. Atlantic Command, US Pacific Command, US.
Central Command, U.S. Transportation Command as well as their counterparts at the top
ten locations previously mentioned. Appendix B provides a sample letter sent to public
affairs offices requesting the names of journalists on their media lists.

The requests identified a population of 189 organizations that regularly cover

34

military affairs. Specific names were not available for a military reporter at each
location. One public affairs office noted in its response that they only kept lists of
organizations because the journalists covering the military in their market changed jobs
too often to keep any lists with names accurate. Additionally, one North Carolina editor
responded that his newspaper covered military stories less frequently and rotated such
assignments too often to identify any particular reporter. This news management
technique may have been present at other media organizations receiving the
questionnaire, making it harder for them to identify a knowledgeable participant, thus
contributing to the low response rate.

A cover letter addressed to editors and news directors was added to the surveys
sent to organizations where no military beat reporter had been identified. The letter asked
those assigning the stories to forward the survey to the journalist from their organization
who most often covered military stories. It was hoped that the response rate of the survey
would be enhanced by addressing correspondence to specific journalists instead of using
a generic title such as "nrilitary reporter." However, the number of surveys sent directly
to a military reporter was not as high as desired. A copy of the letter to the editors and
news directors, as well as a sample survey, can be found in Appendix C.

The survey was designed to provide useful demographic data to compare defense
beat journalists with trends observed in research on journalists in other specialties. Such
data might be useful in creating an initial overview of the type of journalists assigned to
the military beats, possibly providing a baseline for observing future trends in the type of
people who cover the military and how they are trained.

Likert-scale tests measuring a journalist's satisfaction with their previous training
were used to indicate an individual readiness to assume the military beat. All scales used
offered at least five options. An open-ended list of potential training areas for journalists

was offered to seek recommendations from those who have actually covered the military.

35

Ordinal variables were used to achieve average rankings for assessments on the types of
stories covered most often, topics that should be included in preparatory training and
sources for stories ideas. It was believed that reporters with previous military service
would be able to identify which areas of their past experience were most helpful in their
new role as journalists covering their military beat and those without such knowledge
would be able to identify what areas would have been the most useful to have studied in
preparatory training.

A test mailing of the instrument was sent to 10 subjects on Dec. 14, 1996. Four of
these samples were returned with no apparent difficulties among the respondents at
comprehending the instructions. With a 40 percent response rate to the test mailing it
was believed that the overall response rate would be high. However, the response rate to
I the first wave mailed on June 10, 1997 yielded only about 14 percent (n=24) from the
additional 174 sent.

A second wave was mailed to the 156 journalists in the population who had not
responded. This brought in an additional seven responses bringing the total to 35. Post
cards were sent to those still outstanding which yielded responses from people saying
they received the cards but had not seen the questionnaire. Another four questionnaires
were received from these respondents, bringing the final tally to 39. A few partial
responses were received via email from journalists who felt they would have only limited
input to offer.

The low response rate of 21 percent makes it difficult to infer statistically that the
recommendations offered by respondents will be consistent with the views of military
writers across the country. This is especially true in the smaller markets where there were
fewer respondents. Response rates for future researchers would probably be better if they
use telephone calls to solicit names of potential participants instead of relying upon an

editor or news director to select someone.

36

What the results can provide are descriptive statistics that can be used to refine the
hypotheses studied and foster future research to achieve a more representative sampling
of defense journalists from across the country. Medians will be discussed to describe the
central tendencies found in responses to questions related to Hypothesis Number One and
Research Questions One through Four and Six through Eight. Hypotheses Number Two
through Four and Research Question Five deal with comparisons between local and
Pentagon-level correspondents that are normally studied using a measure of association
will be used to help understand the differences between the two variables. However, the
small sample size in this case resulted in chi square cells less than five and occasionally
in zeros, making attempts to use Cramer’s V unreliable. Therefore, the comparisons
discussed will rely on the use of means to provide descriptive data on the central
tendencies of the two groups.

Such data gathered should be useful to editors and news directors evaluating the
need for an internal training or the effectiveness of techniques already in place to help
journalists cover the military. It also is useful for military writers considering the need
for a professional organization such as the National Association of Science Writers or the
Society of Environmental Journalists to help reporters share information on how to cover
complex, ever changing beats. Such a national organization would provide a more
representative voice in resolving issues with the Defense Department over access than
relying on networks and major publications to speak for all media. Additionally, the
study provides additional data to military professionals who often prepare training
opportunities for media based on military subjects they assume journalists need or want
to know more about.

Finally, it also will be helpful in soliciting support from defense contractors,
military support organizations (i.e. the Marine Corps League, the Navy League, the

Association of the US. Army and the Air Force Association) toward support a more

37

comprehensive effort. Since coverage of the military may affect the public and
Congressional support the services receive, such groups have an interest in encouraging
thorough, accurate and balanced reporting of defense issues. They do not face the same
restrictions placed upon the Defense Department that limit the types of studies that can be

done of American citizens since public funds are not used to fund such support groups.

38

Chapter 5
RESULTS

This chapter will provide the findings taken from the 39 questionnaires returned
by the participants of this study. There also will be references where pertinent to the
input submitted by military writers who did not wish to submit a complete survey but still
wished to contribute. Such contributions will only be used to illustrate and summarize
key points among the findings. No attempt has been made to factor such partial input into
the overall percentages reported among the results.

The vast majority of the respondents were male (n=30). Only 23 percent (n=9)
were female. The average age was 41.36 years with 15.78 years average reporting
experience. The average time spent on the military beat was 7.57 years.

Twenty-three percent felt they were chosen for the beat because of their ability at
general assignment stories. The next highest group was the 18 percent who volunteered
because of a personal interest in military subjects. Another 15 percent felt they were
assigned because their previous military experience. Fifteen percent expressed a variety
of reasons why they were chosen by selecting the “Other” option. Those who volunteered
to improve their skills as a beat reporter accounted for 2 percent. Eight percent indicated
they were uncertain why they were chosen for the beat.

The remaining 20 percent all gave multiple reasons why they were assigned to the
beat. Of this group, 5 percent said they were chosen because of previous military
experience and their personal interest in military stories. Such a personal interest coupled
with an ability for general assignment stories and a desire to further develop skills as a
beat reporter were reported by 3 percent. An ability for general assignments stories,
previous military experience and personal interest were reported by another 3 percent.
Another 3 percent were also personally interested in military subjects as well as showing

ability at general assignments and had previous military experience. Three percent said

39

they were hired for the general assignment ability and previous military experience. The
remaining 3 percent said they were chosen for both of those reasons as well as the desire
to develop beat skills and a personal interest in military subjects.

Almost half (49 percent) worked for newspapers. Magazines were next highest
with 15 percent. Ten percent worked for television stations. Radio stations comprised 8
percent. Radio and television networks were evenly matched at 3 percent each. Wire
services made up another 10 percent. One of these respondents was a freelance writer
who wrote for print and broadcast media. The remaining 2 percent consisted of a
respondent who belonged to a non-govemment organization that is active in organizing
periodic gatherings where guest speakers address defense journalists on military issues.

Hypothesis Number One expected to find that the number of military veterans
covering the armed forces would be less than those journalists covering the military
without having any military experience. As expected, the findings showed that most of
the journalists responding to this study did not have any military service before they
began covering the military. In fact, only 26 percent (n=10) reported having served in
uniform. The average time served among the veterans was 11.2 years, which 92 percent
felt was “very helpful” in preparing them to report about the military. Only one veteran
felt the experience was not helpful. Such assessments answered Research Question One
that asked how well journalists on the beat feel their training prepared them to cover the
military.

Hypothesis Number Two stated that among those journalist who began covering
the military without any specialized knowledge, the proportion of those who recommend
some type of training for those preparing for the beat would be higher than those who feel
such training makes no difference. The results supported this hypothesis with 67 percent
of the non-veterans (n=16) responding that some type of training would have been “very

helpful” in preparing them to assume the defense beat. Another 33 percent (n=8) thought

40

such training would have been “somewhat helpful. “ N 0 one reported being unsure nor
were there any assessments saying the training would not be helpful. However, it should
be noted that there were five respondents aside from the veterans who did not respond to
this question.

One television network correspondent who declined to submit a completed survey
also concurred on the usefulness of this type of training but also said it was not
absolutely essential. Several experienced correspondents wrote comments that indicated
the best training was spending more time in the field with units performing actual
missions or pre-deployment training.

Fifty-two percent (n=20) of the 39 respondents answering a question about the
type of preparation they received from their employer reported that they received no
special training of any kind. Twenty-six percent (n=10) said they received on-the-job
training with the journalist leaving the beat. Three percent (n=1) received background
notes from their predecessors to help them prepare. Another 8 percent reported receiving
"other" types of training. These included such steps as a half-hour orientation from an
editor, time for self-preparation and learning from other staff members married to
military personnel. One of the military veterans reported his organization gave him time
to visit military bases and read to broaden his previous experience. There was one
missing case that accounted for the remaining 3 percent.

Only 14 non-veteran journalists who received training rated its value. Of these, 21
percent said their training was "very effective," 51 percent rated their preparation as
"somewhat effective," 14 percent said it was "not very effective" and the remaining 7
percent assessed their training as "not effective at all." Along with assessments on the
value of military experience, this data also helps answer Research Question One,
indicating that having some kind of training is better than no training at all.

Research Question Two asked what training areas military reporters thought

41

would be most helpful to avoid confusion among those new to the beat. Journalists were
also asked to rate the importance of understanding different aspects of the military before
one begins covering the armed forces. Most had their own ideas of the most important
area to study. It was surprising to see the low importance given ascribed to training in
non-traditional uses of the military and allied operations despite the increase uses of US.
forces for operations other than war and as members of coalition forces.

Ironically, simpler areas such as ranks structures and how staffs are organized
were ranked very high in importance. These are topics that most in uniform take for
granted because they were part of their “basic training.”

The coverage of alleged procurement abuses in the 19808 should have placed
training about the procurement process much higher than the 7.1 mean. Widespread
coverage of counter-drug and humanitarian operations also did not seem reflected. Table
1 shows rankings that respondents gave to different subject areas that one rrright include

in a proposed curriculum for training military writers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 1
Ratings for Possible Subjects Areas for Pre-Coverage Training“

Possible Course Areas Rating Mean
Other 2.03
Military Rank System 3.72
Military Staff Structures 4.69

Basic Military Tactics 5.18

Brief History of Services 5.36
Sources on Weapons & Equipment 5.49
Military Justice 6.26

Legal and Policy Limitations 6.83

Joint Operations 7.02
Procurement Process 7.10
Non-traditional Military Uses 7.18

Field Equipment for Reporters 7.59
Military Supply and Logistics 8

Allied Operations 8.08

 

 

I"This table shows the average ranking given by respondents to areas one should understand
before covering the military with 1 being the most important and 14 being the least.

 

42

Hypothesis Number Three said that journalists without previous military
knowledge would report more reliance for story ideas on official government sources and
defense contractors. The results did not support this statement. Rather, they showed a
surprise among the journalists without any previous military experience in their
assessments for the sources of their story ideas. In fact, Table 2 shows that those with
some previous military knowledge were reporting almost four percent more reliance on

official sources than those without such preparation.

Table 2
Comparisons of Sources for Story Ideas Between Non-Veterans With Training Prior
To Coverage and Those Without Such Preparation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source for story ideas Those with no training Those with some training
DOD/Local military 13.2% 16.9%
Outside sources 10.0% 12.1%
Contractor 03.0% 03.4%
Civilian Organization 05.0% 04.0%
Editor 08.3% 08.1%
Other publications 1 1.1% 09.6%
Broadcast stories 03.4% 04.9%
Own ideas 36.3% 35.0%
Other types of sources 09.7% 06.0%
N: 19 20

 

 

 

 

Even more startling were the results of tests for Hypothesis Number Four which
expected to show that journalists who had served in the military would show less reliance
on official sources for story ideas than those new to the beat. It was expected that the
results of the study would show much more use of outside sources by veterans cultivated
through the added experience level of this group.

Table 3 below, however, shows that veterans reported even higher uses of official
sources than those lacking military service or any previous training before assuming the
beat. This may be due to a measurement error caused by those who considered any
military personnel interviewed to be official sources even if the contact was obtained

without official support from government public affairs representatives. It may also be

43

possible that those journalists who served in uniform tend to have more trust in sources

that are also in uniform.

Research Question Three asked whether the defense journalist learns about the

military mainly from Defense Department sources or from outside the government. It

was hoped that the comparison between the source reliance of those with previous

military experience and those without such a background would answer this question. If

those without military experience tended to rely more on official sources than veterans, it

might have supported the notion that they were learning more from the public affairs

personnel whose positions were created to educate them. Based on the results, it seems

that a better method of resolving this question would be through oral interviews where

participants could be more specific about their training.

Table 3

Comparisons of Sources of Story Ideas Between Veterans and Non-Veterans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources for story ideas Those with military Those without military experience
experience
DOD/Local military 20.0% 13.2%
Outside sources 15.0% 09.4%
Contractor 03.0% 03.2%
Civilian Organization 07.0% 03.3%
Editor 08.0% 08.2%
Other publications 12.0% 10.0%
Broadcast stories 05.0% 04.0%
Own ideas 28.0% 38.3%
Other types of sources 02.0% 10.4%
N: 10 29

 

 

 

The use of non-official sources was also used to measure the respondent’s ability

to gain enough experience to go beyond the official channels of information offered

through the unit or the Department of Defense. Research Question Four asked how many

sources journalists used from outside the Defense Department in covering their stories.

Thirty-three percent reported using an average of one to two additional sources, 28

 

percent use three to four, 26 percent use more than six and the remaining five percent use
five to six. Eight percent did not select any of the answers offered. The reports were
higher than expected based on the number of written comments submitted that stated the
respondent's biggest concern was the reliance of colleagues on the beat who relied too
heavily on official releases and briefings for the bulk of their source material.

Research Question Five asked how long the average journalist was on the military
beat before they developed enough experience to pursue their own enterprise stories.
Veterans and those receiving on-the-job training may have contributed to the 33 percent
who felt they were comfortable enough within the first month to develop story ideas of
their own. The next highest group, 21 percent (n=8), reported taking four to six months to
reach that level. Eighteen percent felt comfortable between two to three months as did
those who took more than six months. Five percent were not sure how long it took them
become comfortable on the beat.

In comparing the journalist covering the military at the local level and those
covering the Pentagon, I expected to find that military journalists in Washington will
have the most professional experience overall. Newspaper reporters covering local
installations were expected to have more experience because of the higher level of
turnover in the broadcast industry.

Research Question Six asked whether journalists covering the military at the local
level would take longer to develop enough experience to pursue enterprise stories based
on their own ideas than reporters covering the Pentagon. Table 4 below shows the
comparison between the answers provided by local media and Pentagon correspondents

to this question.

45

Table 4
Comparison of Confidence Levels Between Local Media Covering Military
Installations and Pentagon Correspondents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Confidence Level Local Media Pentagon Media
One Month 17% 45%
2-3 Months 25% 17%
4-6 Months 33% 17%
More Than 6 Months 25% 17%
Not Sure 00% 04%

 

 

 

Research Question Seven asked what types of military stories has the respondent
covered most often. Journalists were asked to rank from 1 to 4 the types of stories they
covered most often. First among their choices were stories about local military units with
a mean ranking of 1.63. Second were national stories that affected all of the armed
services with a mean ranking of 2.11. Third place went to the "Other" category which had
a mean ranking of 2.5 while stories about defense contractors came last, averaging 3.

These choices seem to coincide with the lower ranking given to "stories about
weapons" and "stories about equipment" in terms of the assignments covered most often.
Journalists were also asked to rank from 1 to 7 the types of assignments they covered
most often. Their tendency to cover equipment stories less may have to do with the
increasing complexity of modern military equipment and the difficulties in marketing
technical stories to mass audiences.

Most journalists ranked the “Other” option closest to 1 with an average ranking
of 1.79 as the type of assignment they reported most. Their explanations for such
coverage consisted mainly of specialized interests in strategy and tactics, policies,
international relations, congressional action, retirees and ex-rrrilitary personnel, gender
issues, readiness, controversies and scandal, societal issues that impact the military and

history. Table 5 shows the average rankings.

 

46

Table 5
Assessments of Stories Most Often Covered By Military Writers

T of ° A
Stories about ' ' 2.211
Stories about exercise 3.31

Stories about actual ' 3.42
Stories about 4.211
Stories about ' ' families 4.26
Stories about 4.45

 

Time should not have precluded the participants from tackling more complicated
stories since 51 percent reported spending 81-100 percent of their work week covering
the military, contributing to the average of 1.2 additional beats among them. Sixteen
reported having no other beats besides their military coverage. Those working 21-40
percent and 41-60 percent of the week were evenly matched at 13 percent each. Ten
percent reported spending 20 percent or less time on the beat while another 5 percent
worked 61-80 percent.

The final question on the survey was an open invitation for journalist to state their
concerns about the state of reporting US. military operations. Their comments are
transcribed in Appendix D. They include comments about the lack of prior military
experience among those covering the military and its impact on a joumalist’s accuracy
and credibility.

“Very few reporters have any personal military experience and reporters assigned
to military stories do not take time, or are not given the time to become familiar with the
services, their culture, organization, how and why they do what they do As a result
stories are lacking in perspective, frequently wrong in fact and often slanted because of an
anti-military bias This increasingly distorts the public’s perception of the military.”
(See item 15, Appendix D.)

There was also some concern about the willingness of some journalists to cover

47

the military from Washington without getting out into the field to see for themselves how
well operations are going. “The pack at the Tuesday/Thursday Pentagon briefing is
growing,” lamented one journalist. “Too many reporters are becoming spoon-fed there
and on the Hill.” (See item 20, Appendix D.)

There were also several respondents concerned about the control that military
public affairs officers maintain over access to personnel. Their comments stressed the
need for more openness and willingness to discuss more sensitive issues without trying to
put a "spin" on the story. One respondent felt that public affairs officers were being too
successful in coopting military beat reporters which he believed contributed more to their
"hawkish" accounts more than any lack of knowledge.

“I think journalists have to work hard to overcome the handicap of working
through public affairs, whose only job is to make their services look good,” argued one
writer. “If news is to be fair accurate and impartial, a reporter has to develop sources and
not be spoon fed or shackled by the PAOs.” (See item 6, Appendix D.)

Like Offley, several were concerned about the number of journalists still assigned
to the military beat. They too see declining numbers in their midst. Among them was the
comment, “I find few people devoted to military coverage -- TV sends a kid who doesn’t
know a Harrier from a carrier, or a corporal from a colonel, to cover an event. The
military tends to respect someone who has done their homework, observes a semblance of
military protocol, and is not a hazard to themselves or others in the field, on a boat or in

an aircraft.” (See item 5, Appendix D.)

48

Chapter 6
DISCUSSION

The data collected during this study, while not a representative sample of all
journalists covering the military, still offers some interesting comparisons with previous
literature on military journalists and other beat reporters.

While defense reporters were still found to be predominantly male, the nine
female reporters responding to the survey did represent an increase from the lone woman
included among the Pentagon journalists in Sims’ study in 1983. Three of the nine
women responding to this study were among the 16 Washington area journalists
participating.

The average age of 41.36 years was consistent with Sims’ observation that just
over half of Pentagon reporters were over 40. This is somewhat younger than the 48
years of age achieved by the average science reporter responding to Small’s 1964 study
and considerably older than the 26.7 years of the average beat reporter in Lacy and
Matusik’s research. Labor reporters in Canada were also younger, averaging 30-40 years
of age.

Defense reporters in this study averaged 15.78 years reporting experience as
opposed to the 24 years of professional experience noted among the average science
writer. Sims study also noted that 41 percent of the 39 Pentagon reporters studied had
more than 20 years of experience and only 4 had less than 10 years. The latter was true
for the 16 Washington journalists in this study. Almost 44 percent of the 16 (n=7) had
more than 20 years of reporting experience which raised the average years of experience
for Pentagon area media to 16.56. Much higher than the 2.32 years experience noted by
Lacy and Matusik in the average beat reporter they studied or the two years of general
experience averaged by Canadian labor reporters .

The average military beat time of 7.57 years included five Washington journalists

49

who were in their first three years of covering the Pentagon as opposed to three in 1983.
Science reporters studied averaged 14 years on the beat.

The finding that a personal interest in military subjects was cited in 32 percent of
the responses was comparable with the one-third of the Canadian labor reporters
interviewed who actively sought their beat. The 35 percent of occurrences were a
journalist felt the assignment to the beat was related to an ability to cover general
assignment stories supports the contention of Sims and Lynch that the trend in defense
coverage has become increasingly reliant on general assignment reporters since the
19808.

The finding that only 26 percent (n=10) reported having served in uniform was
consistent with the introduction of the all-volunteer force and Sims’ earlier observation
that the American society and the defense press corps was moving toward a population
that had not served in the military. However, even if more veterans were available,
Mathews historical research would predict that the proportion of those with military
experience and the literary skills to make good would probably still be insufficient.

Among the veterans in this study, the average time served of 11.2 years seems
much higher than that served by the 14 veterans in Sims’ study. Most of his group were
draftees who normally serve about two years active duty. The finding that veterans
generally find their experience helpful supports the arguments made by military
participants in Aukofer and Lawrence’s study that journalists should receive some type of
training to help them understand the complexities of the military beat. Such arguments
are also supported by the disappointment expressed by the majority of the 14 journalists
who received training by their organizations, but who found it either slightly effective or
not very effective. Most Canadian labor reporters studied likewise lacked any type of
apprenticeship with an experienced colleague and had to learn while doing the job.

The ratings in Table 2 regarding the value of proposed training areas for defense

50

journalists are similar to Small’s results that gave science writers a chance to rate the
importance of different subjects in training science reporters. Like the previous study, the
results should help educators and media managers prioritize their training strategies to
make the best use of available time.

The finding that most defense journalists rely on their own ideas to generate
stories seems consistent with the negative relationship found by Lacy and Matusik
between experience and the use of organizational sources. Their study suggested that
reporters either gain the ability to generate their own sources as they gain experience or
assimilate the values of the organization. Based on these earlier findings it was expected
that most veterans would report higher journalistic initiative then their non-uniformed
colleagues. But actual findings showed that veterans report lower percentages of stories
coming from their “own ideas” than those with little or no training about the military
before assuming the beat. This trend among veterans that is most likely related to the
belief that journalists assimilate the values of organization they cover.

The data supports Geiger and Johnson’s conclusions that even though reporters
overtly resist attempts to be assimilated, their desire to serve the public can create a
strong “in-group” loyalty that makes them more likely to avoid conflicts. The researchers
also noted that the functional relationships that city hall reporters had with their sources
made them more cooperative and willing to collaborate on stories.98 Since journalists who
were veterans already had long term exposure to the military beliefs during their careers
in the armed forces, they may already bring some “in-group” loyalty with them when
they start the beat.

Such data did not support Hypotheses Number Three and Four, which predicted
veterans to be the journalists with the least reliance on official sources. Another

explanation may be a lack of agreement as to what constitutes a military story as well as

 

98Walter Gieber and Walter Johnson, “The City Hall “Beat”: A Study of Reporter and Source Roles,”
Journalism @arterly 38 (Summer 1961):297.

51

whether military sources identified by the journalist through unofficial channels still
constitute an “official” response to a query.

A story about the reaction of military personnel at a local base to the latest Tom
Clancy novel may seem like a defense related story to a local journalist but might seem
more like an entertainment feature to a Pentagon reporter. Future studies should use
trained interviewers to ensure that respondents fully understand the definitions of what is
meant by terms like “military story” and “official source.”

The amount of time that military journalists had to focus on this beat also may
have contributed to the decreased dependency on official sources by non-veterans. The
findings in this showed that 51 percent spend 81 to 100 percent of their work hours on the
military beat with 16 having no other beats. Such findings compared well with the 79
percent of the week spent on the job by the average science writer. The average military
writer fared slightly better at 1.2 additional beats than the 2.6 beats averaged among beat
reporters in Lacy and Matusik’s study. However, their study was focused on suburban
dailies which tend to have smaller staffs, making the higher number of beats
understandable.

The heavy use of official sources was noted in the open comments included from
journalists who complained about the number of defense reporters who are too willing to
be “spoon fed.” Such comments may indicate that assimilation by veterans has more to
do with their higher level of dependence. However, observations of British and
Australian defense officials also indicate that the military briefings offered by official
sources have a way of making the unfamiliar subject seem less uncomfortable. Veterans
should not be unfamiliar with military topics, unless they are covering a military service
other than the one they served in or units that are very different from the ones where they
served.

Differences of Opinion as to what constitutes a military story also may affect the

52

tendency for substantial numbers of defense reporters to claim they are comfortable
generating story ideas within a month when Canadian labor reporters felt a year or more
was needed to be fully competent on the beat. Healy and other experienced defense
journalists likewise claim that it can take a year to become seasoned on the military beat.
The high tendency shown toward covering stories involving personnel supports earlier
claims that reporters are opting for more human interest stories and staying away from
more complex issues that would take longer to be comfortable with.

A better explanation for this difference lies in Table 4 which shows the proportion
of journalists claiming confidence within a month are mostly the Pentagon press corps
who generally have more overall reporting experience. Some have also worked for
specialized publications covering the defense industry. Their increased overall
experience, along with the veterans who felt their military service was helpful in
preparing them for the beat and the journalists’ criticism of unschooled colleagues in
Appendix D, help support the causal model in Chapter 2 that suggests a positive
relationship between experience, military service and preparatory training as contributors
to higher levels of performance.

The findings that military service was helpful to veterans in preparing them for
the beat and that most non-veterans agree that some type of preparatory training would be
very helpful offer additional support for such a relationship. They also help support
Aukofer and Lawrence’s recommendations for a training program to prepare journalist
for the beat. The rankings for areas that such training should include offer useful
alternatives to the recommendations to use ROTC programs to help train journalism
students or Maitre’s notion of establishing pre-deployment training camps or programs
similar to those used by the Australian defense forces to accredit their media.

While this study was helpful in confirming the desirability of preparatory training

among military journalists, it also demonstrates that it is easier to get people to agree that

53

training is helpful than to find consensus on the best means to accomplish it. The wide
diversity among the topics journalists believed were the most important for training and
the types of stories military journalists reported covering the most showed the difficulties
one faces in trying to develop a training program that satisfies everyone. This
observation supports Campbell’s belief that the journalist on the defense beat should find
an area to specialize in since he believes that no single reporter can fully master all of
specialties related to covering today’s military.

If that is true, it may wiser to encourage news organizations to have one reporter
who serves as the overall conduit for story ideas that are passed to business,
environmental, legal and science reporters when the issues involved overlap with such
specialty beats. Given the Defense Department’s growing use of industry partnerships, it
may be increasingly easier for business reporters to comprehend procurement issues than
it would be for an all-purpose military specialist.

The next chapter will offer some recommendations for possible pilot programs
based on the findings. Such programs could be field tested like the science writing
seminars to provide further evidence on the relationship between training and improved
levels of performance. Feedback from students participating in these programs could be

collected to measure the utility of the topics offered.

54

Chapter 7
RECOMMENDATIONS

While previous studies have supported the need for professional training to help
journalists understand the complexities of the military, their recommendations as to how
to accomplish such training have been too vague or too impractical. While the efforts of
the National War College and Boston University are encouraging, the data indicates that
more needs to be done at the organizational and association level to provide shorter
alternatives for journalists who cannot be spared by their organizations for training that
lasts a semester or more in length. Military public affairs professionals and members of
Boston University’s Center for Defense Journalism have observed that journalists
themselves would like to take advantage of training opportunities to learn more about the
forces they cover. The difficulty, according to these sources, is in getting editors and
news directors to agree to time spent learning that does not provide copy for that day’s
news product.

As previously mentioned, many editors feel that all a reporter needs is good basic
reporting skills to do a credible job at covering most beats. Hopefully, the responses
supporting the value of preparatory training from those thrust into the beat will help more
editors support the need for preparatory training.

Most of the non-veteran journalists trained through their organizations reported
receiving on-the job style training. At a minimum, editors and news directors who offer
such training are encouraged to continue to do so, but the results of this study
demonstrate the need to regularly seek input from the reporters trained to evaluate the

quality of the program. They are also encouraged to monitor the types of errors most

55

often made by reporters on their military beat to make regular revisions to training
materials. Such data can be compared against the ratings provided by journalists
assessing the topics they feel are important for training programs to see if there are areas
where reporters are unaware of the need for improvement.

Organizations should also strive to ensure they are helping their military reporters
by gathering the types of reference data and contacts suggested by Lovell and Campbell
to support the military reporter. Kennedy recommends military reporters have access to
publications like the US. Naval Institute’s Proceedings, which he contends “is far and
away the premier U.S. professional military journal, albeit with obvious limitations in
that it presents almost exclusively a Navy and Marine Corps point of view.” He describes
Air Force magazine as the journal of the Air Force Association, “built on heavy aviation
and space industry support...” He also believe that the magazine treads very carefully
around the interests of its industrial patrons. Kennedy credits a succession of first-rate
editors for giving the Army Times standing over other quasi-official publications focused
on the Army. The Armed Forces Journal International has become oriented toward
international military sales, but he believes that it still presents articles of importance to
US. defense policy and national strategy by competent authors.99

The Society of Professional Journalists and the Association for Education in
Journalism and Mass Communication could help with training by using their influence to
promote membership in a Military Writers Association that would serve defense
journalists nationwide. The previous literature shows that such an association has been
helpful for science writers and improved their rapport with researchers and medical

professionals.

56

A military writers association could partner with Boston University’s Center for
Defense Journalism to provide guidance for organizational training programs. At the
very least, the Center offers a monthly publication entitled Defense Media Review that
could be used as a training tool to follow trends in defense issues. It could also be used to
promote basic workshops for working journalists as well as specialized forums.

A 1989 seminar on “Reporting Technology Advances” brought together
journalists, government officials, public affairs specialists and defense industry
representatives and students for discussions how reporters worked to decipher complex
information while industry and government officials attempt to get their messages
published.100 Such gatherings are comparable to the seminars held by science writers and
offer exceptional training to help improve the average joumalist’s understanding of
defense issues and would probably be easier for them to attend.

The ratings offered by the journalists in this study could help design regional
seminars for working journalists. These seminars could offer handouts to help explain
simple matters such as rank insignia along with brief overviews of each military service.
Class time could be devoted to the more complicated matters, such as how various
military staffs are organized, basic military tactics, and where to find information on
weapons and equipment. There could also be classes offered on where to find sources for
assistance in analyzing budget, procurement and statistical issues about the military.
Time should be reserved for open forum discussion on problems journalists are facing to
allow for the exchange of ideas in how to overcome them. Questions from participants
could also help expose areas that should have been included and discourage repeats of the
areas that may have been unnecessary.

Seminars for students could be held during the summer when there are typically

major exercises being conducted across the United States by active duty and reserve

 

”Kennedy, 75.

100 “News from the Center,” Defense Media Review (Boston, Mass: Center for Defense Journalism, May
1989), 7.

57

forces. Such an approach would be similar to the way Michigan State University students
travel to England and Scotland to learn the challenges of reporting abroad. Military
exercises often culminate in several days of major combat-style maneuvers that would
offer students the chance to see a wide variety of operations in a short time and practice
reporting upon them. As a practical matter, the previous literature shows that it may be
far easier for a student who wants to spend time in the field getting to know the military
to so during a scholastic career instead of trying to find the time as a professional,
especially if the person has several additional beats.

Students participating could have their assignments critiqued for accuracy by
military public affairs officers. This would give students an opportunity to see how much
they learned and where they still need work. The feedback from participants in the
weekend and the student seminars could provide the additional data to help validate the
areas that needed to be included in longer, formal classes like the Boston University
course. Spreading the course across the country should also make the training more
accessible to those who cannot afford the time or funds to study in Boston.

The Directorate for Defense Information in the Office of the Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Public Affairs could be helpful in supporting such seminars. Working
with the unified commands, they could help provide panel members to help answer
questions during the open forums. They might also be able to help with transportation of
media and students to exercises using military aircraft and vessels.

The Directorate should also consider sponsoring informational booths at
professional gatherings such as the national conventions for the Society for Professional
Journalists and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Similar appearances at gatherings for the Society of Environmental Journalists or other
specialized reporting groups could help journalists in other beats help the defense beat

reporter by showing how the military compares with other areas of the government and

58

the private sector when it comes to such hazardous waste disposal, procurement or
education.

Such added expertise would help media organizations provide broader, more
thorough coverage of the military without being overly dependent on one or two reporters
to know everything about how today’s military functions. It would also address Wilson’s
criticism that training for journalist is not as “regularly established” as it is for business
professionals.101

Just as medical professionals are encouraged to regularly meet with reporters,
attendance at such professional gathering would foster ongoing dialogues between both
sides that would be helpful. Journalists could gain information on the latest public
information tools available to them such as the Defense Department’s Defenselink page
on the World Wide Web which offers the latest press release, briefing transcripts and fact
files on military equipment.

The Center for Defense Journalism also offers its own page on the Internet, but
some of its contents does not appear to be as well maintained as the government’s page.
This is probably due to the higher manpower and funding that the federal government has
made available for public information programs on the Internet. A professional
organization devoted to military reporters could help raise funds to pay for additional
manpower and the computer resources needed to provide timely, up—to—date information
on defense issues and the quality of military coverage.

A professional group also could help expand the web site with an on-line guide
for military correspondents similar to the one sponsored by the NASW for use by science
writers. An experienced military correspondent tried to publish such a guide while on a
fellowship at the Center for Defense Journalism but could not find a publisher who felt
there was enough interest. An on-line guide would not only fill that void, but it also

could provide usage data to more accurately assess the demand for such a reference. The

 

10‘ Aukofer and Lawrence, 172.

59

organization would also be helpful in promoting the type of regional training sessions

discussed earlier.

60

Chapter 8
CONCLUSION

This study has shown that many of the past trends noted about defense journalists
still tend to prevail. Most are male, in their forties, and many felt they were assigned for
their abilities as general assignment reporters or because of a personal interest in military
topics.

They seem comparable with reporters in other beats, differing mainly in their
more rapid degree of confidence in pursuing enterprise stories. This could well be
explained by the higher degree of overall journalism experience found among the
Pentagon level media, and the fact that many of the local aspects of military coverage are
similar to covering general assignment news in a small community. Military installations
are often thought of as communities within a community -- each with its own human
interest and quality of life issues. In such a context, journalists may perceive their new
role as defense journalists as being that much different than the duties they had covering
city government. Future researchers need to conduct interviews and perform content
analysis comparisons of the assessments provided by journalists and their military
coverage to see if the degree of confidence expressed after a short time on the beat is
matched by the quality of their stories.

The chief concerns of defense journalists about the beat seem to regard the
amount of control exercised by public affairs officers over access to key sources and the
unwillingness of less knowledgeable colleagues to become more informed. Military
officers have spent a great deal of training time since Grenada, Panama and the Persian
Gulf, trying to improve their media relations skills. But apparently there is still not
enough openness by the military to satisfy journalists. The answer may lie in the fact that
those trying to answer the media’s requests for information are often limited by policies

and guidelines beyond their control. Journalists should begin tracking the nature of the

61

requests that are turned down or that are slow to resolve so that trends may begin to
emerge that will help clarify where the problem lies.

A8 for the willingness of colleagues to seek training, it is hoped that the
recommendations offered in this study will result in the growth of available opportunities
that are more practical for the amount of time that individual reporters can spare. Not all
journalists have the ability to take prolonged periods of absence for formal schools. Even
correspondence courses can be a problem if they are too detailed and consume too much
of the little free time a working journalist usually has available.

Part of the challenge to future researchers in meeting this need is the diversity
among the interests selected by those trying to identifying the most important topic to
teach new journalists on the beat. Still, those faced with the challenge of pursuing
military stories with little or no preparatory training did agree that new initiates to the
beat should benefit from some type of preparatory training. Given the speed with which
new contingencies arise, it is inconceivable that media managers should take for granted
that their reporters will have enough time to learn as they go before they must cover
complex operations and make their reports understandable to a civilian populace equally
inexperienced in martial subjects.

The recommendations offered in this study provide a variety of training
opportunities that should help prepare a new journalist to know what to look for when
heading out for that first military assignment. Adopting such programs could help editors
prepare a reporter who may be assigned to the beat one week and deployed oversees to a
peacekeeping or humanitarian operation the next week. In such cases, training may help
a journalist overcome his or her lack of experience on the beat and be ready to cover
tougher stories sooner than someone learning on their own.

The reporter would at least know where to readily find information to properly

identify equipment and vehicles, what staff officer is most likely to have the information

62

needed for a story on a particular aspect of the operation and what questions the source
will likely be able to answer and which will most likely be classified.

A8 Australian General Peter Gration said:

“It is not good enough that any cub reporter can roam unrestricted around a
theatre of operations understanding little of what he sees, but nevertheless tuming out
copy that will be read or viewed by someone Some process of education on both sides
would help.”102

The press serves a valuable interest to the reader or viewer who cannot
accompany the media and observe firsthand how their loved ones are treated, how
valuable assets are being used and the effectiveness of the tactics employed. If the
coverage of these matters is shallow or inaccurate, the public is less capable of exercising
the informed consent envisioned by Jefferson and the other founding fathers. Therefore,
journalists must do all they can to preserve the quality of their reporting on the military if

they are to fulfill their intended role in the democratic process.

 

‘02 Gration, 21.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A
Strength Figures for US. Armed Forces from 1950 to 1996

63
APPENDIX A
Figure 2 Strength Figures for us. Armed Forces From 1950 to 1996
(Source: Department of Defense)

ugh-8..

£88....

«3.25

953

8.8:

NEE.

 

 

 

. 1F 1 a r-.- r -38.; ...i I.
I... Snztdl-hl aux-1|. .l.

I‘ll-uln— a. n Rial.”

--i-- -- -...........m..u.

a. 3.5.5 can

.. 1. . suitcaiiirfii I. .t. d.i..n....f.ar¢.rt.fi.i him. a. . 1 .1...

by I D D F P D P

 

APPENDIX B

Sample Letter Sent to Public Affairs Offices Seeking Contact Names

64

APPENDIX B

Sample Letter Sent to Public Affairs Offices Seeking Contact Names

 

TD

Mar. 22, 1997

Public Affairs Office
Marine Corps Logistics Base
Barstow, CA 92311-5001

 

Dear Sir,

I am writing to seek your help in identifying the media that normally cover the military in
yourarea lam seekingthisinfonnationtosupportmygraduatereeearchtowarda
proposed training program to assist reporters in becoming more familiar with the
military. There have been numerous works suggesting the need to send reporters who are
knowledgeable about the military to cover contingency operations, but there does not
seem to be any scholarly research proposing exactly how to ensure experienced
journalists will be available.

The statistical validity of this research would be greedy enhanced if your office could
provide the names and affiliations of journalists that have repeatedly covered your
operations. Having actual names of journalists will increase the odds that the surveys
being distribuwd for this research will reach those most likely to respond with pertinent
information.

AsaReserve PAO myself, lhopeyouwill seethevalueofthisresearch andsupportthis
request Similar studies have improved the quality of reporting in science and other
specialty fields and should hopefully do the same for military coverage. Please forward
whatever information you can to:

Tim Hoyle
10482 Bell Rd.
Clarksville, Ml 48815

Information can also be sent by email to hoyletim@prlot.msu.edu. Faxes may be sent to
(616) 693-7410.

Sincerely,

Tim Hoyle
Project Coordinator

 

 

School djoumalism - Michigan State University 0 East Lansing.” 48824-12 I2 - 517/353-6430 - Fan 517055-7710
k E-mail:]$droo@pibtmu.edu ~WWW:hup:llwww.|oumalIsmmsu.edl|-sehoolhml J

 

APPENDIX C

Sample Questionnaire Sent to Military Writers

65

APPENDIX C

Sample Questionnaire Sent to Military Writers .

 

 

Dear Military Writer:

Your help is needed in addressing the issue of how journalists can better cover the 11.8. Armed
Forces. There have been many forums. panels and studies that have recommended journalists
obtain training before they cover the military. but no one has identified any specific curriculum.
A 1995 Freedom Forum study, for example, suggested that journalism schools at universities
with ROTC programs offer an interdisciplinary program to teach future journalists about the
military. These ROTC programs. however. are geared to individual services and may not be
adequate to prepare students to cover the military in general.

Therefore, this study was designed to obtain information from professionals who have covered
the military to identify what areas of instruction might best prepare those journalists newly
assigned to covering military matters. By obtaining information on possible problem areas for
journalists new to military coverage, a curriculum can be recommended to reduce the errors and
misunderstandings between journalists and military personnel.

The information obtained during this survey will be handled with complete confidentiality. The
identification numbers on the questionnaire will be used to prevent wasting your time and
research funds by mailing follow-up questionnaires to you after you have already responded.
No specific information about you or your media organization will be released. All records cor-
relating identification numbers on questionnaires to individuals will be destroyed at the com-
pletion of this study.

Please answer each item as fully as possible. Feel free to attach any additional sheets necessary
to provide comments on areas you feel are pertinent to this subject but not addressed in the

questions. A postage-paid return envelope is included for your convenience.

I can be reached at (616) 693-2951 or at hoylctim®pilot.msu.edu if you have any questions.
Your participation will be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Tim 110er
Project Coordinator

 

School of Journalism ’ Michigan State University ‘ .105 Communication Arts ' Fast Lansing, M148824-1212
k Plume: (517) 353-6430 ' Fax: (517) 355-7710 1

 

 

66

Questionnaire

I. How did you become specialized in covering military related stories? (Please circle the number that most closely matches
your assessment.)

(I) Assigned because of ability at general assignment stories

( 2) Assigned because of previous military experience

(3) Volunteered to develop skills as a beat reporter

(4) Volunteered because of personal interest in military subjects
(5) Not sure how i was chosen

(6) Other (Please explain)

 

 

2. If you were selected for the military beat because of prior military experience. how many years did you serve?
(Please write in the number of years.)

 

For questions 3 8r 4: Veterans ofthe Armed Forces should answer Question 3 and alrip Question 4. Those without
military service should skip Question 3 and answer Question 4.

 

3. If you were a veteran (someone who served on active duty or in the reserve forces of one of the Armed Forces) before
reporting on the military, how helpful was your experience to your ability to understand and more thoroughly report upon
the issues in your stories? (Please circle the number that most closely matches your assessment.)

(l) very helpful ' (2) somewhat helpful (3) not sure

(4) would not have helped very much (5) would not have helped at all

4. If you were not a veteran before you began reporting on military subjects. how helpful would it have been to have
received instruction on the Armed Forces? (Please circle the number that most closely matches your assessment.)

(i) very helpful (2) somewhat helpful (3) not sure
(4) did not help very much (5) did not help at all

5. Which type of training or assistance did your media organization provide to help prepare you to cover the military?
(Please mark next to the training received. if any) '

__ OtHhe-job training with journalist previously covering the military beat
Background notes on military prepared by joumalist previously covering the military beat
__ Other (please explain)

 

 

No special u'aining provided

 

if you received training designed to help you cover the military. please answer Question 6. if not, please skip it and go
on to Question 7.

6. How effective was your media organiration's training at preparing you to cover the military? (Please circle the number
that most closely matches your assessment.)

(I) very effective (2) somewhat effective (3) not sure

(4) not very effective (5) not effective at all

67

7. How long were you assigned to the military beat before you felt informed enough to develop sources and story ideas on
your own? (Please circle the number that most closely matches your assessment.) -

(a) one month (b) two months to three months (c) four to six months

((1) more than six months (e) Not sure

8. In the average assignment. how tnany sources are you able to identify besides official ntilitary spokesmen or experts
offered through the public affairs of f we? (Please circle the ttutttber that tttosl closely rtmtcltes your assessment.)

(I) l-2 (2) 3—4 (3) so (4) more than six

9. Using the number I as the most often and 7 as the least often. how frequently would you estimate you cover the following
assignments? (Please enter your making on the line beside each option.)

Stories about equipment

Stories about weapons

Stories about military personnel

Stories about the families of military persoan

Stories about military exercises

Stories about actual military operations (i.e. Haiti. Somalia. Bosnia. etc.)
Other (Please explain)

 

l0. Using the number I as the most important and I4 as the least important. how would you rate the importance of under-
standing the following areas before covering-the military? (Please enter your making on the line beside each option.)

Brief history of each service

Brief overview of fundamental air. ground and naval tactics

Where to find information on weapons and equipment

How weapons and equipment are developed and procured

What equipment to take to cover units in the field and where to get it
Military justice

Command and staff structures for each service and major units

Joint operation: between different armed services

Operations with UN. forces and nations allied with the United States
Military supply and logistics

Military rank structures for each service

Non-traditional uses of the military

Legal and policy limitations on the use of the military

Other (Please explain)

llllllllllllll

l l. About what percentage of your military stories are initiated by the following sources? (Please enter the percentages in
the space next to the option that best matches your assessment. Percentages should total 100 percent)

Department of Defense or local military press release

A source outside the Department of Defense or a local military unit

A press release from a defense contractor (i.e. McDonnell Douglas)
Civilian organizations monitoring the military (i.e. Brookings Institute. etc.)
Your editor

Other publications (i.e. newspapers. newsletters. magazines)

Broadcast news stories

Your initiative

Other types of sources (Please explain)

HIHHH

 

 

 

68

l2. How many years have you been assigned to the military beat? __ (Please do not count beat experience where the
military aspect of the coverage was incidental — i.e. writing about off-duty service members arrested by the police while
serving as a police beat reporter.)

l3. How much of each work week is devoted to military related stories? (Please circle the number that most closely matches
your assessment.)

(I) l-ZO‘II (2)2l-40% (3)4l-60% (4) 6l-80% (5)8I-I(X)%

l4. Starting with the number I as the most of ten. please rank the type of military story you cover the most.(Please enter a
ranking in the space provided. You may go beyond 4 if multiple entries are made for “Other.” If so. please place a number
beside each type of story listed in that category.)

National stories affecting all of the services

Stories about local military forces (including local impacts of Pentagon/White Ilouse actions)
Stories about defense contractors

Other (Please explain)

Ill!

 

 

l5. How many other special interest areas or “beats” do you cover? (Please write in the number.)

 

to. What is your age? __ (Please write in the number of years.)

l7. How long have you been a reporter? . (Please write in the number of years.)

 

l8. What is your gender?
(I) Male (2) Female

l9. What type of media organization is your employer? (Please circle the appmpriate number.)

(I) Magazine (5) Radio station

(2) Newsletter (6) Television network
(3) Newspaper (7) Television station
(4) Radio Network (8) Wire Service

20. What are your main concerns about the state of reporting of US. military operations. Please use the remaining space to
write in your comments. You are welcome to attach additional page: if necessary.

  

 

p

69

 

June 7, 1997

Dear Fditors and News Directors,

lam writing to seek your help in identilying the media that normally cover the military in
your area. I am seeking this information to support my graduate research toward a
proposed training program to assist reporters in becoming more familiar with the
military. There have been numerous works suggesting the need to send reporters who are
knowledgeable about the military to cover contingency operations, but there does not
seem to be any scholarly research proposing exactly how to ensure experienced
journalists will be available

Please ask the person who is assigned to the military beat to complete the survey
enclosed If you do not have a military beat, please ask the person most ollen assigned to
report military stories to complete the form. A return envelope has been provided for the
respondent's convenience. Respondents do need to provide their names. All respondents
may rest assured that their individual answers will be treated with strict confidentiality.
No individual journalists or news organizatimrs will be identified in the findings.

Please send any questions you have about this survey by email to boyletim@pilot.
msuedu. Faxes may he sent to (616) 961-74l0.

Sincerely,

Tim Hoyle
Project Coordinator

School otter-mum . Michigan State University - Em Lanshg, Ml 48824420 . srmsssoo - Fax muss-77 l0
Emi: JSchool@pilot.mu.edu 0 WWW: hrrp'llwwwiournfliammusdullvschoolbeml

Sample cover letter sent to editors and news dirctors

J

 

APPENDIX D
Comments Submitted By Military Writers About The Beat

70

APPENDIX D

Comments Submitted By Military Writers About The Beat
The last question in the questionnaire sent to military writers solicited their main
concerns about the state of reporting of US. military operations. Not everyone who
responded to the questionnaire answered this question, therefore, the responses shown will
be lower than the overall return rate. But for those who did respond to this open invitation,
their unedited responses are provided to give funn'e researchers a more first hand account

of the concerns submitted.

1. The following topics were listed as “all equal concerns” by the respondent:

0 “Gotcha” journalism

0 Inexperience of reporters

o Knee jerk reactions to current events

0 Lack of a gaze into future issues
Lack of relationship between DoD, White House, State, intelligence community, Treasury,
Justice, etc. -- in stories, half or partial pictures of issues
2. Continuing decline in credibility of others, non-beat assigned reporters and
videographers covering the military here. This often stems from lack of knowledge,
specialized training and interest in the beat. Often stories get bogged down in “officialese,”
focus on weapons systems, or strategic policies and do not focus on the people they affect;
the troops, families and American public. And, the decline in free access to stories, issues
and information from local units deployed internationally.
3. Accuracy
4. The military needs to be more open with reporters. Stop thinking of everything as a

positive or negative story.

71

5. I find few media people devoted to military coverage -- TV sends a kid who doesn’t
know a Harrier from a carrier, or a corporal from a colonel, to cover an event The military
tends to respect one who has done some homework, observes a semblance of military
protocol, and is not a hazard to themselves or others in the field, on a boat, in an aircraft. I
write features not breaking stories.
6. I think journalists have to work hard to overcome the handicap of working through
public affairs, whose only job is to make their service look good. For the most part, they
are obstructionists. If news is to be fair, accurate and impartial, a reporter has to develop
sources and not be spoon fed or shackled by FAQs.
7. We don’t do nearly enough of it -- especially as it regards the economic and social
impacts on our market area -- There are fewer and fewer journalists with actual military
experience, and that shows up in increasingly inaccurate or slanted coverage.
8. Lack of knowledge or interest of media to learn nitty- gritty of military. Most military
coverage focuses on things happening at the Pentagon without checking with people at
units elsewhere.
9. Having worked on both sides of the fence, I have a deep concern about news
organizations assigning people with absolutely no prior contact with the military to cover
the military beat. The issues involved are so complicated that it is very easy to make
mistakes. I would suggest that anyone covering the military for the first time contact the
local installation’s public affairs office. Most are happy to arrange a tour and a briefings to
orient the reporter on history and local issues as they affect the community. Other than that,
the only way to pick it up is through constant contact and personal research.
10. The following bullets were submitted by the respondent:

0 Confirmed and accurate information

0 Speed in accessing information

0 Interviews with the source of the story.

72

11. Too many people with too little knowledge of the subjects about which they are
writing. Also, too few editors with knowledge of the military.

12. Being able to talk to anyone but the PAO officer. Having access to the commanding
general or other staff blocked. Units each having different policies regarding the media.
Military medical units having no knowledge of existing practice/law (not knowing what
is/is not releasable.)

l3. Journalists who do not cover military issues on a regular basis routinely jump to
inaccurate conclusions about “headline” stories - particularly issues such as gender
relations in the military - without being fair in their reporting about the military’s side of
the story.

14. Biggest problem is misleading spinning by officials, or flat out lies. DoD also often
makes it very difficult to attain mundane information.

15. Very few reporters have any personal military experience and reporters assigned to
military stories do not take the time, or are not given the time, to become familiar with the
services, their culture, organization, how and why they do what they do. This is aggravate
d by the fact that most members of Congress and people in the think tanks are similarly
ignorant. As a result, stories are lacking in perspective, frequently wrong in fact and often
slanted because of an anti-military bias. News organizations increasingly do not want
coverage of the military except in the scandals, accidents or major procurement problems.
This further distorts the public’s perception of the military.

16. Many colleagues cover the military from Washington -- covering press conferences,
hearings and briefings. That’s OK, but it leaves them without an understanding of field
Operations, which shows up during times like Desert Storm/Bosnia. I believe no special
training is required of journalists - only that they spend time in the field writing stories.
17. A key concern is all the media (national and international) the military will try to deal
with dining operations. My concern is the military will try to deal with all and forget to

give extra attention to the US. networks and CNN.

73

18. Reporters can go overboard on things like the sex scandal. There is no sense of
proportion.
19. The following bullets were submitted:

0 Diminishing experience interest

0 Tight travel budgets

0 Uncooperative military
20. The pack at the Tuesday/Thursday Pentagon briefing is growing. (The Directorate of
Defense Information holds a press briefing every Tuesday and Thursday to offer
information on items the Defense Department is required to announce or considers
newsworthy.) Too many reporters are becoming spoon-fed there and on the Hill. Too
few think for themselves.
21. Understanding the uses of the military and how budgets pay for more than weapons.
Military people, soldiers and family members as “the services.”
22. Much the same as in other subject areas: pack journalism and failure to understand
fundamental structure. The pack doesn’t dig deep enough, which perpetuates falsehoods
(the coverage of the Ralston-Flinn scandals for the most part failed to note that Ralston
continued his affair after reconciliation with his wife); Fundamental structure
misunderstandings generally abound during war. But with so few reporters specializing in
the military, stories that confuse brigades with battalions will always be with us.
23. Still find the public affairs stast info control attitude frustrating. As a relatively
small, niche publication, we are often at their mercy. In other words, if we piss them off,
we get reduced cooperation on later stories.
24. The focus has shifted from the military services, weapons and other hardware to social
policy. It doesn’t seem to be much of a military beat. The debate over MX or Midgetman
missile has been replaced by gays in the military and adultery by senior officers.

25. The dailies, other than the Washington Times, tend to sit back on their heels and wait

74

to react to statements by defense secretary, members of Congress or others. I don’t buy
into complaints about reporters’ lack of knowledge though. If anything, press corps tends
to be coopted. Most defense reporters tend to be almost hawkish.

26. The number of qualified military journalists has declined as many major publications
have eliminated this as a prime beat. Thus the quality of coverage has declined.

27. The following bullets were submitted:

0 Fairness and accuracy

0 The military/DOD is a very complex organization made up of arcane structures
and processes. It can be very difficult to grasp what can and cannot be done -
to develop the DoD budget, to acquire weapons, to create a defense strategy, to
sell weapons overseas and to prepare an operation ( and then execute it).

o The weapons technology is complicated and many reporters are overwhelmed
by it and fall either into the of automatically being “wowed” by it or being
automatically critical. Healthy skepticism and objectivity are required.

28. The competence of reporters.

29. I drink rapport is especially important when covering the military. I think the average
soldier doesn’t trust the media because he/she doesn’t really know what we do. The public
information office here conducts “media on the battlefield” training to get soldiers
accustomed to talking reporters and I believe this training helps some. The most difficult
part of reporting on the military is having to go through the public affairs or public
information office. PAOs can be helpful, but you often have to wait for your expert or
source to find time for you. It’s difficult to find people to talk to you without going
through the PAC because most will tell you to go back to the FAQ.

30. The liberal national press -- particularly TV.

APPENDIX E

Sample Article Solicited By Hometown Media

75

APPENDIX E

Sample Article Solicited By Hometown Media

“E m TUB—M. M N. INI—"A

The ‘mother of all battles’
ended in surreal fashion

 

mmmm-lm "By mid-afternoon
MM SdrmLhu
3.93035.me we had reached the
Mt- 15' lawmmwm- outskirts of the city
5?"‘ "swam... and waited to enter
Gut Warmth-Whale

the airport Jubilant
Kuwaities drove past
our convoy, waving

beginning of Operation Desert

Storm

bathtub-Ne. grin-Irat-
hmdoooount d’ w
MWM” endedhb.

 

 

3‘» flags and honking
m. motile: Jean Hoyle emu» _
land. mu am my: dripped homo.
hdtoéhmhuntmmm
0.8. Winnant

 

._—_——-—-l

 

continued on next page

76

Sweepin‘patdnmwaec-
battlea'weweprormaedtaoverao uedpoamornalongthemdmlhc
aoaratterttatarted. faratdeandprepared for any
‘ attemptabytheenenrytoretunOw
.trektothearealndtakenrnoetolthe

Maddaletomltuthatwehadpen-
fideflntdefaflmbeltwtth-
a

htertlnt daywernoved lntothe
WampbunttohouaeAlWaf-
rah‘a employees and their tarrullea.

anythlnguaefuLaenlmrt fixtures.
butattllpveuaaomeahelterfmm
thentn.

The net afternoon gave no out
flntchanoetowttneaahowpoorthe
moralewaahrhq'aioreeaAcolumn
oftanharrtvedatourouterdeienaea
and atopped. Uncertain of thetr

covertngflrel’orthe td'thehatta
m -
lion tt followed thelr tracks

Wham
mU.S.aratody.Wlththoae&ornthe
tart column. the unit had taken

mapnadwaytoothhandmury
belted fuaea. Some of the more
aophlattatodonealackedhattenea
”Mu-neon.

E
5
E:

Mandarin
Multirthevefldehoad-

S

ttlendd.
Byrntd-alhnnoonwehadnadnd

mbtrlldlnphdbeenatnppedof worldofthealrelattmhehadloet

lraqt occupation.

‘WheretahlamotheflWherelahb
father? he asked. up hta
thumb and immrger.

bunkenand

tothetrfarnmea takeadvanta‘:
daomethlngtheyhaventhm
a while — time

BIBLIOGRAPHY

77

BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. Books
Aron, Raymond. W London: Rowledge & Kegan Paul,
1983.

Aukofer, Frank A. and William P. Lawrence, ‘ ‘
- a ' . ' Nashville, Tenn.: Freedom

 

Forum, 1995.

Burkett, Dean Warren W 2nd ed. Houston.
Texas: Gulf Publishing, 1973.

Burt, R. R. “The News Media and National Security.” In W,
edited by S. Serfaty. New York: St. Martins Press, 1991, 137-150.

Campbell Don WW3 Washington. DC:
Washington Journalism Center, 1991.

Dennis, Everette E. et al.,

Center, 1991.

Evingcr. William R. MW Phoenix, An'z: Oryx
Press, 1995.

Gration, General Peter, “Keynote Address.” (delivered at International Conference on
Defence and the Media in Time of Limited Conflict, April 3- 5, 1991; Brisbane,
Australia) In W edited by Peter R
Young. Frank Cass: Portland, Ore. 1992, 15-23.

New York City : Gannon Foundation Media

Hannigan, John A. .z.
University of TorOnto: Centre for Industrial Relations, 1986.

 

Healy, Melissa, "Covering the Pentagon for a Major Newspaper: A Reporter's
Perspective." In I _ - ~ ,
Loren B. Thompson. New York: Lexington BoOks,1991,95-103.

 

Jefferson, Thomas. "A Noble Experiment," In W edited by
Frank Luther Mott and Ralph D. Casey. New York: R. S. Crofts & Co., 1937, 52-
55.

 
   

Kennedy, William V. '1 - e. . 9 .
mm Westport, Conn. :Praeger.

Kenski, Henry C., Ph.D. W Corvalis, Oregon: Project Vote Smart,
1994.

Lloyd, Clem. “The Case for the Media.” In
edited by Peter R. Young. Portland, Ore.: Frank Cass, 1992, 44-68.

Lovell, Ronald P. W. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Publishing,
1983.

Mann, Paul. "The Washington Defense Journalist: An Eighteenth Century View. " In
edited by Loren B. Thompson.
New York: Lexington Books, 1991, 59-72.
Mathews, Joseph J. Wars. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1957.
Martin, David C. "Coverrn g the Pentagon for Television: A Reporter' s Perspective." In

edited by Loren B. Thompson.
New York: Lexington Books, 1991, 83—94.

Middleton, Kent R. and Bill F. Chamberlin. W. 2nd ed.
White Plains, N.Y.: Longman Publishing, 1991.

Miller, Lee. W Garden City, N .Y.: Life Press, 1950.

Padover, Saul. W. New York: New American Library,
1939.

Roth. Michael P. Histodcalflefionmflflarlomnahsm Westport. Conn: Greenwood
Press, 1997.

Shoemaker, Pamela J. and Stephen D. Reese, W. White Plains, N.Y.:
Longman Publishers, 1991.

Sigal, LeonV. inmost ' 2- '
(Lexington, Mass., D. C. Heath, 1973)

Sims, Robert B. W. Washington, DC: National Defense University
Press, 1983.

 

Washington, D. C.: Office of Planning,
Research, and Statistics, Resolution Trust Corporation, 1995.

Weaver David H and G. Cleveland Wilhoit, ' ' ° °
° ° . Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana
University Press, 1994.

79

Weaver David H and G. Cleveland Wilhoit, '
W Mahwah, N. J. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1996.

Wolseley, Ronald E. and Laurence R. Campbell.
1949.

.2nd ed. New York: Prentice Hall,

B. Scholarly Research Journals

Dennis, Everette E. and James McCartney, "Science Journalists on Metropolitan Dailies:
Methods, Values and Perceptions of Their Work." Igumdgflfinximnmand
Edugafign 10 (Spring 1979): 9-15

Engber, John B. “The Press and the Invasion of Grenada: Does the First Amendment
Guarantee a Right of Access to Wartime News?” W 58 (1985):
873-901.

Friedman, Sharon M "Training Reporters to Cover Science & Technology." Bmfessignd
Enginea 51 (September 1981): 22-27

Gieber, Walter and Walter Johnson. “The City Hall “Beat”. A Study of Reporter and
Source Roles.” lonmdjsmflnanaly 38 (Autumn 1961): 289- 297.

Grunig, James E. "Three Stopping Experiments on the Communication of Science."
MW 51 (Autumn 1974): 387- 399

Kenealey, Kevin P. “The Persian Gulf War and the Press: Is There a Constitutional Right

of Access to Military Operations?” MW 87 (Fall 1992): 287-
325.

Lacy, Stephen and David Matustik. "Dependence on Organization and Beat Sources for

Story Ideas: A Case Study of Four Newspapers." W 5
(Winter 1984): 9-16

Maitre , H. Joachim. "Journalistic Incompetence" Wanna. 45 (Summer 1991):
10-16.

Myers, Roger Allen, "The Training of Science News Reporters," (1979) in "Journalism
and Journalism Education: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations." DAI January - June
1980 (ERIC ED 189651).

Nelson, Anna Kasten, “Secret Agents and Security Leaks: President Polk and the Mexican
War.” humdjsmfluanefly 52 (Autumn 1975). 9-14.,.98

'«..111'01.1n.-. 1.1,“.1'1010 1"«1 ~1011 111 0111 11:11
MasLszmnnicanonEdnaation. 2d Ed ( Eugene. Ore: School of Joumalism.
University of Oregon; Nov. 1987.

Reese, Stephen D. and Buckalew B. The Militarism of Local Television: The Routine

Framing of the Persian Gulf War " CmicalfimdieainMassEommunieation 12
(March 1995): 40-59

80

Ryan, Michael and Sharon L. Dunwoody, "Academic and Professional Training Patterns
of Science Writers," lonmdrsmflmnaly 52, (Summer 1975): 239- 246, 290

Seeger, Murray. "The Old and Future Labor Beat." NEW 48 (Fall
1994): 3-8.
Sherman, Capt Michael T. (US Navy, Ret.) “Forgive Us Our Press Passes.” W

W 66 (1992): 633-648.

Storad, Conrad J. "Who Are the Metropolitan Daily Newspaper Science Journalists, And
How Do They Work?" WW 6 (Fall 1984): 39-48.

C. Other Sources

Ahem, Tim. “Washington Dateline,” W3 (Washington, DC), 15 Dec. 1983,
no pag.

Arledge, Roone “Letter to Cheney” June 24, 1991 (Memorandum from Arledge and 16
other news organization leaders forwarding concerns and recommendations about
press restrictions during the Persian Gulf War).

Comballes, Pascale M. “Operation Just Cause: A Military-Media Fiasco.” Militant Mgdja
Berries! May-June 1995, 77-85.

"Clinton rallies against Iraq." Mam: (Mich.), 16 Nov. 1997, sec. A, p. 1.

Born, Edwin. "10 Ways to Look at the Department of Defense." Department of Defense
(DoD) Wings, Vol. 10, No. 36. Washington, DC: Department of Defense,
1995.

“Graham, Bradley "Pentagon Plan to Delay Antimissile Programs Draws Heated
Opposition on Hill." WM 7 Mar. 1996, sec. A, p. 12.

Fellowship seeks to improve media-military understanding.” W
(Nashville, Tenn.) 24 June 1996, Vol. 3, No. 12, p. 2.

Kate], Peter. “Navy may settle with slain goat herder’s family.” W 3 Apr. 1998,
see. A, p. 8.

Lynch, David J. “The Beat That Came in From the Cold.” MW
June 1992, 32-35.

“News from the Center,” W Boston, Mass: Center for Defense
Journalism, May 1989, 7.

Peterson, Tricia "New Report Seeks to Combat "Odd Couple Disagreements. " Amajgan
lamahsmfiesdm. (September 1995): 84-7

“Reporting Military Affairs.” '
Cam Boston, Mass: Boston University, 1997/1998, 53.

Sidle, Winnant "Report by CJCS Media-Military Panel.” Washington, DC: Department of
Defense, 1985.

81

Stein, M.L. "School of law reporting proposed," W 8 July 1989, 16.

U.S. Term Limits, Inc., et al., v Ray Thornton et al. Winston Bryant, Attorney General of
Arkansas v. Bobbie E. Hill et al. 514 U.S. (1995), 779 - 926.

“Welcome to Task Force Eagle, Send Mail to Soldiers Page,” see www.tfeagle.army.mil/
mail.htm

Williams , Pete “Let’s Face It, This Was the Best War Coverage We’ve Ever Had,”
W 17 Mar. 1991, see. D, p. 4.

MICHIGQN

“WW ll‘l‘l‘fl ‘ITIH ll TITS W“ I

279301 128798

STQTE

 

 

 

 

m—

 

/' A—fv