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INTRODUCTION: Civilian news coverage helped maintain soldier morale. Coverage was generally positive; the American people were behind the operation, and soldiers felt this impact. Soldiers also benefitted from media reports on the overall operational picture. It helped them keep their unit operations in perspective.

TOPIC: Relationship between CI and PI.

DISCUSSION: The media, phone calls and mail all serve as bridges between internal and external audiences. Information released to internal audiences will likely be picked up by the civilian media, and information released to the media will almost certainly be received by soldiers and family members. It is nearly impossible to separate the two audiences. Commanders and family support groups, for instance, now use several innovative techniques for keeping internal audiences informed, including newsletters, "telephonic trees" and conference calls with their deployed soldiers. These techniques are to be encouraged, but commanders, family support group leaders and PAOs should be aware of some potential problems.

With each company, battalion and brigade releasing information to its own audiences, it's easy to imagine scenarios where information could reach the local media that would contradict what is being officially released. The chances for premature release of casualty information, and deployment or redeployment information, for example, are bound to increase. Rumors could run rampant. The family support groups are valuable additions to CI programs, but commanders should request PAO or unit public affairs representative (UPAR) assistance to advise the support groups.

When people don't have facts, they fill in what they surmise to be as close to the truth as possible. Or they put two or three letters together from two or three different units, and think they have the big picture. Then they share this big picture with everyone else.
Division Rear Detachment Commander

It seemed like any time something significant happened, we wouldn't get the paper for a while. It's like it would be intentional. The impression I got was they'd only let you read what they wanted you to read.
Specialist

It seemed like a lot of times, the wives would find out something before we did...a guy would call home and his wife would tell him.
Company Commander

Quality of info is just as important as quantity, and we need both.
Sergeant

LESSON(S): Commanders should:

• Follow Public Affairs Guidance (PAG) when discussing operational matters with family support groups.
• Provide PAOs with courtesy copies of unit CI products provided to support groups.
• Request training for soldiers and family members from PAOs dealing with:
  • How CI and PI can complement each other.
  • How to deal with the media.
  • Requesting assistance from PAOs to develop family support and soldier handbooks or handouts addressing the handling of "news" and interview requests during operations and exercises.
  • Ensuring that soldiers know and understand the information family members are provided.

TOPIC: Local Media Provides a Morale Boost to the Soldier.

DISCUSSION: It is impossible to overstate the importance of local civilian media coverage. PAOs, forward-deployed commanders and rear commanders agreed that bringing local media into the theater should be done at the first opportunity. Local reporting gave soldiers and family members the detail they said the national coverage lacked. It also helped offset the perception of imbalanced coverage among units. Local reporters may also have the advantage of being familiar with the unit and unit leaders.

Bringing local media into the theater also provided a tremendous boost to local community relations at home station. PAOs and rear detachment commanders said seeing local soldiers on TV and in the newspapers brought the operation home and led to tremendous support within the communities. One division issued "hip pocket" invitational orders to selected media representatives at home station to facilitate their deployment in the future.

The local reporters [had the greatest impact] because they were getting stuff that we knew was going to get back to the families.
Company Commander

People turn more to the newspapers -- especially local newspapers -- to try to find out what is going on. I would have liked to have seen the military tailor their efforts more so that the hometown newspapers could get the kind of coverage that I think they needed.
Division Rear Detachment Commander

[The reporter with us] was a positive influence because he was able to send the tapes right back home to the local station. He showed a lot of the everyday scenes -- what we were living, what we were talking about. He conveyed those graphically back on TV.
Battalion Commander

The local papers [had the most impact]. Soldiers are concerned about what's going on in their hometown.
First Sergeant

The local reporters [who went to theater] would come back and do briefings with family members. They would do briefings with schools...very helpful.
Battalion Commander

LESSON(S): Limitations on local media hurt public affairs efforts at home. Key points to remember are: Local media must be sponsored by a unit.

• Media may fly aboard military aircraft without a PA escort.
• Unit PA products may be carried back to home station with the returning local media.
• Local media are less likely to complain about delays in obtaining release approval because they are guaranteed a local scoop.
• Identify a UPAR to produce in-house releases to augment media coverage and avoid the requirement for country clearances.
• PA annexes should include plans for bringing local media into theater as soon as possible.
• PAOs or UPARs should arrange to provide print and audio-visual releases to home stations and local media outlets.

TOPIC: Value of Accepting Media for Semi-permanent Attachment to Unit.

DISCUSSION: Reporters who stayed with units for extended periods provided more accurate and balanced coverage than reporters who visited a unit for a day or two. The reporters, leaders and soldiers developed a sense of mutual trust. Commanders, leaders and soldiers who experienced such a relationship during Operation DESERT STORM had little but positive things to say about the experience.

We had a TV crew on my aircraft crossing into Iraq. They were no hindrance. If anything, they helped us. My problem, being a Vietnam veteran, is that the theme for the story was always the reporter's hidden agenda. Here, it was positive; it was upbeat because these guys didn't have a hidden agenda. They were very professional; they were very, very proud to be with us; and they appreciated the assistance given. Guys like me will be more receptive to the media next time because of that.
Brigade CSM

I'll tell you, get a lead on the press, take them with us, get them there up front. I don't think we have to violate the initial H-hour secrecy and all that, but the days of closing off the war zone to the press are over with.
Brigade Commander

I had a reporter in my command track the whole war. That was a most positive experience. [Our soldiers] all know that we were part of history anyway, but they were part of written history [with] that two-page [Newsweek] spread. Very positive, I thought.
Brigade Commander

Probably the nicest thing we had happen was a guy from the Atlanta Constitution was let in by division. I treated him like part of the unit. I gave him a cot next to me. I knew what type of person he was and gave him almost free rein.
Battalion Commander

LESSON(S): Most reporters will provide positive -- or at least balanced -- coverage when they are allowed to stay with a unit for extended periods of time. They are not a burden to the unit, and, in fact, have a positive effect on morale both in theater and at home station. Commanders and leaders should consider making room for reporters during future operations and exercises.

Table of Contents
Section I, Part 2
Section II, Part 2