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Government Information Quarterly

Volume 9, Number 4, 1992

The Military and the Media: They Can Both Win
R.E. Wildermuth ................................................................................... 409

First Person: The Persian Gulf War
Frank Aukofer, Malcolm W. Browne, Cragg Hines, and Joan Lowy .................... 419

Words at War: Reflections of a Marine Public
Affairs Officer in the Persian Gulf
Mark Hughes .................................................................................. 431

The Eye of the Sandstorm: The Erosion of
First Amendment Principles in Wartime
Jane E. Kirtley ........................................................................................ 473

Appendix
A: Principles of Information ........................................................................... 491
B: Statement of DOD Principles for News Media........................................... 491
C: Press Statements ................................................................................. 492

Contributors ..................................................................................................... 495

Index/Volume 9 ................................................................................ 499

Steven L. Katz

This article provides an overview for the symposium while delving into specific facts about the development and implementation of the Pentagon's press policy during the Persian Gulf War. The article assesses the military-media relationship, and the Penta gon's own policy development, in the aftermath of the invasions of Grenada and Panama. It describes the power and authority of the President, and civilian and military leaders, at the time of the war, to supersede the best intentions and plans of Pentagon public affairs specialists. It reveals the inability of the media during war to perceive and impact how such policy is shaped. The article identifies, as a high priority, the independent, timely, and accurate reporting to the nation when America enters c ombat.

R.E. Wildermuth

This article addresses concerns raised by both the media and the military public affairs officers charged to support them, during Desert Shield/Storm. Public affairs acted as a catalyst between two very diverse organizations with differing goals and metho ds. The military was concerned about operational security, while the media wanted complete freedom. Since neither position, in the extreme, represents a just or workable solution, a compromise must be introduced. This article attempts to offer solutions t o the concerns raised and to bring both sides closer together.

Frank Aukofer
Malcolm W. Browne
Cragg Hines
Joan Lowy

This article presents the experiences and views of four journalists assigned to the Persian Gulf War.

Major Mark Hughes, USMC

This article covers my personal experiences in dealing with the media and the military during my stay in Saudi Arabia from August 17, 1990 to April 9, 1991. The first four months I was assigned to the Joint Information Bureau (JIB) in Dhahran, Saudi Arab ia. The remaining time I was assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF). This will not be a comprehensive review nor an academic article. Instead, this will cover some of the pertinent issues which had to be addressed by the military and the media; a look at some insights into how the two institutions operated during the build-up and the war; and a presentation of incidents involving media-military relationships.
When addressing the issue of news media coverage of military operations (i.e., combat) the ultimate goal for all parties should be not to allow personalities to dominate over principals. And the underlying principle should be that the American peop le must be kept informed of how their soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines are doing. That is the bottom line upon which I believe the military and media agree. The disagreement is over how this will be accomplished within security and safety restraints .

Jane E. Kirtley

The conflict between the military's desire to keep secrets and the media's mission to report the news inevitably leads to clashes during wartime. These opposing forces have been held in an uneasy balance by the U.S. Constitution during most of modern hist ory. But, recent policy has allowed the unprecedented exclusion of the press from the battlefield, with increased government control over the flow of information to the public as the result. Press restrictions during the Persian Gulf War led to a threaten ed constitutional crisis, ending in an uneasy truce which leaves fundamental issues still unresolved.

Malcolm W. Browne is a science writer for The New York Times. Since the Korean war, he has also covered military affairs and war. He was a 1964 recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Vietnam war.

Cragg Hines of The Houston Chronicle has covered Congress, the White House, and national politics.

Major Mark Hughes was assigned as the director, Marine Corps Public Affairs Office, New York, in 1989. His principle public affairs assignments have been:
-Okinawa
-U.S. Central Command
-Deputy PAO Camp Lejeune, NC/ PAO 6th MEB
-PAO, Commander Marine Forces Panama
During these assignments he deployed to the following exercises: Solid Shield (N.C./ Honduras), Gallant Eagle (Calif.), Valiant Blitz (Philippines), Agile Sword (Puerto Rico), and Bold Guard (Germany). During Operation Desert Shield he was the senior Marine at the Joint Information Bureau in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Just prior to Desert Storm he was assigned as the PAO, I MEF rear.
Major Hughes is a graduate of the Defense Information School, Amphibious Warfare School and the Command and Staff College. Among his decorations and awards are the Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Navy Achievement Medal.

Steven L. Katz is Counsel to the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. He is an attorney and a specialist concerning law and policy in the areas of media, information, and government. In 1991, he coordinated the Committee's hearings on the Pentagon's media policy during the Gulf War, and edited the Committee's hearing record and documentary history: "Pentagon Rules on Media Access to the Persian Gulf War." Mr. Katz is a past contributor to Government Information Quarterly, author of "Government Secrecy: Decisions Without Democracy," and co-author of "Federal Information Policy Development: A Citizen's Perspective," which appeared in U.S. Government Information Policies: Views and Perpectives (Ablex, 1989).

Jane E. Kirtley is Executive Director for The Reporters' Committee for Freedom of the Press, a voluntary association of reporters and editors dedicated to protecting the First Amendment interests of the news media. A lawyer and former reporter, Ms. Kirtley writes and speaks frequently on press freedom issues. She also edits the Reporters Committee's quarterly magazine, The News Media & The Law.

Joan Lowy, a career reporter, was assigned to the national staff of Scripps Howard News Service to cover Congress. Before this assignment, she had worked in the Scripps Howard Washington Bureau as a correspondent for the Rocky Mountain News of Denver, and she had been a reporter for the News in Denver. She came to the News following the demise of The Washington Star, which she joined in 1979 after working for the syndicated political columnists Evans and Novak. Ms. Lowy was reared in Locust, NJ, and graduated from George Washington University in 1978 with a degree in journalism.

Captain Ron Wildermuth is the Public Affairs Officer for U.S. Central Command. He has served in various Navy and Unified Commands, including the U.S. European Command where he helped plan the media coverage of the release of hostages from Iran on the staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the raid on Libya, and at the U.S. Atlantic Command where he was instrumental in obtaining open coverage for the press after the start of the military operations in Grenada. Captain Wildermuth is a graduate of the Naval War College and holds a Master's degree in Public Relations from American University