| The Role of Media in War | | | “Journalists will say that war is too important to be left to generals. Reporting of war is too important to be left to reporters. Soldiers need to get involved in this.” | -Maj Gen Patrick Brady - 1990 | (former Public Relations Chief of US Army) |
The revolution in information technology, from the transistor through widespread digitisation, deeply networked communications, as well as, the revolutionary changes in the employment of airpower have profoundly influenced analysts and planners and has completely changed the conduct of war.The Gulf War afforded the world its first glimpse of the future of warfare. Millions around the globe were treated to precision-guided bombs annihilating targets in downtown Baghdad, learned of satellite uplinks from the battlefield that provided real-time connectivity, and applauded the ability of Stealth aircraft to ensure aerial dominance. Everyone seemed to understand that something was different about this “Video-game war”. There was much more to the spectacle than the one provided by previous wars. How much of it was real and how much rigged, are discussed below. More recently India’s use — or rather abuse — of the media to dupe its own people during the Kargil Crisis is a case in point. The important thing to note is that the revolutions in the field of information technology have caused the media to have a much greater impact on operations. Thus it is imperative to take a closer look at the intricate relationship between the military and the media, and to understand the role of media in war.The Military And The Media : Who Needs Whom?The question here arises: who needs whom? Does the media need the military or does the military need the media? The answer is, however, not that simple. Throughout history both institutions have been at odds with each other. The military is perennially