Phil Taylor's papers
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BACK TO : INFORMATION WARFARE (IW) & INFORMATION OPERATIONS (IO) - see also PSYOPS
Public Opinion, the Media, Informations, Propaganda and Media Operations by K P Stratford-Wright 
Public Opinion, the Media, Informations, Propaganda and the function of Media Operations Lt Col K P Stratford-Wright Chief Public Information Introduction The media pervades our lives and is something we all know about. After all, we all watch or listen to broadcast media and read newspapers. Contemporary military operations can rarely avoid scrutiny by this media and the modern communications available to reporters enable this examination to rapidly follow events, indeed it can even take place in real time. Accordingly, the importance of Media Operations, in NATO-speak Public Information (PI), is widely recognised within the military. NATO (and UK) doctrine stresses the importance of providing the media with as much information on military activities as possible, in a timely fashion, with an aim of promoting public understanding and support. We are, therefore, working to influence public opinion through the media. This is not just within the theatre of our operations, it is also back at home and in a wider international arena. In addition, our adversaries, who will be gaining information about our activities, our intent and the extent of our resolve through media coverage, will be affected. So all is straight forward. We tell the media what we are doing and why, they and the publics they inform make their judgements based on the information provided, and we get opinion on our side and the support we deserve. We will have countered our adversaries' "misinformation" and we may even have undermined their resolve. If only life were that simple. Public Opinion and the Media The giant slalom team Narrowly defined, public opinion represents the thought of any given group of society at any given time toward a given object. Public opinion tends to be slow and reactionary and reluctant to accept new ideas although, admittedly, it can change dramatically following a major incident or outrage. In general though, old ideas will very often be the majority ideas and, even if these are worn-out and prejudiced, it may prove hard to replace them. This reality applies as much to the media as it does to any other group, political party for example, seeking to influence opinion. Consider, by way of an illustration, OP IRAQI FREEDOM and the ongoing campaign to influence 'Arab Street' within Iraq and across the Middle East. Arab public opinion continues to be hostile to the US-led coalition and some - the US Administration in particular - have repeatedly held the Arab media, such as Al-Jazeerah and Al-Arabiya satellite TV channels, responsible. However, there are realities at play here that may not be immediately obvious. Most Arabs with access to satellite TV have many channels to choose from, they watch what they want and turn off what they don't, just as we do. People watch things on TV or read newspapers very often because they resonate with their pre-existing passions and opinions. TV channels, in pursuit of a market share, will therefore, quite naturally, seek to understand what is most common in their prospective audience, including their potential financial benefactors and advertisers, and cater for it. Accordingly, when there is so much resentment toward the United States (and Britain) across the Middle East, it would be unreasonable to expect Al-Jazeerah and its like to refrain from presenting anti-American/British views. As an aside, an examination of the English language Al-Jazeerah website will generally show a great deal of balanced reporting. American and British officials' statements seem to be faithfully presented. Admittedly, they may be followed by the critical views of others - the reverse side of the argument - but what's wrong with that? It is standard media practice. Ironically, such is the extent of some of Al-Jazeerah's efforts to report news in a balanced way, it has been accused by Arabs of being "pro-Israeli" and a "Zionist agent" simply for putting Israeli voices and views on air on a regular basis. The truth is that more bias reporting than Al-Jazeerah's English language service can be seen every day in the West, particularly so in those media outlets with their own agendas. The key point to register is that although the media can shape public opinion to a degree, for the most part it reflects it2 . What about Vietnam you may say. What about the loss of a war in the living rooms of America because of a defeatist, anti-war media? What about the 'CNN Factor'? First, the influence of the media on the outcome of the Vietnam War has been grossly exaggerated and all serious studies of the subject conclude as much. To blame the media for what happened in Vietnam is comparable to the 'stab in the back' myth that pervaded Germany following the First World War. The 'CNN Effect' is similarly overstated. For example, whilst the media reporting of the 'Black Hawk Down' incident in Somalia was graphic and disturbing, it was coincidental with American disengagement not the cause of it. It may well be true, however, that ' where there is no effective policy in place, media coverage can bring about a knee-jerk reaction, something done to avoid a Public Relations disaster'. This is the view of United Nations Secretary General Koffi Annan and one can wonder what effect CNN might have had if it had brought the chilling events that took place in Rwanda in 1994 - for which there was clearly no effective policy in the UN or its leading nations - into living rooms across the World. Information Operations (IO) IO is a means to create desired effects or outcomes that influence an adversary's behaviour, will, perceptions and understanding. IO attacks the mind of an adversary as much as his systems. It also has a defensive, protective task to fulfil. IO is now considered a military core competency and is a fundamental part of Effects Based Operations. Whilst Media Operations are not a part of IO - it is an associated or related activity - the two are both part of the Strategic Information Campaign. NATO nations hold differing views about to what extent IO and Media Operations/PI should directly associate but practitioners tend to agree that Media Operations should support the achievement of IO objectives where it is appropriate to do so. For appropriate read - based on absolute and demonstrable truth. It must be admitted, of course, that there will be times when the truth, about a mishap, misdeed or policy stance, will work directly against IO objectives; the mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib jail is a prime recent example. Openness is, however, required as to attempt to hide or distort the truth, simply because it makes the military (or its political masters) uncomfortable or is unhelpful to the mission, would undermine the entire credibility of mission's leadership and its supporting media operations. Psyops leaflet dropped over Southern Iraq 1 March 2003 Propaganda The word 'propaganda' has deeply entrenched negative connotations yet its original meaning did not. Pope Gregory XIII formed a committee, the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide, 1572-85 with the aim of combating the Reformation. This committee had the purpose of advocating a particular view on an important issue of church doctrine. This is reasonable in itself but, because Lenin and Goebbels were happy to use the word to describe their own public opinion moulding activities where there was no access to a free press and the alternative point of view, the modern use of the term propaganda implies lying and dishonesty. This is unfortunate as the Psychological Operations (Psyops) element of IO can quite legitimately be defined as propaganda. It puts one side of the argument and the delivery mechanism of the message, leaflet production or radio broadcast, is controlled by the military. But the military need not be unduly defensive about its IO/Psy ops activities and their use of propaganda so long as one litmus test is applied. Psyops messages must be supported by demonstrable policies, actions and truths as words on their own will achieve little or nothing. There must also be close coordination with media operations activities so that the message is coherent. Media Operations A spokesman at work - Media Operations or Propaganda? The media are now a fundamental part of the operational environment, just like ground and the weather. They cannot be avoided, the media must be engaged with. If IO objectives are to be met then particular attention must be paid to the local and regional media. For example, even though it must be often be a disheartening, up-hill struggle, in the current operational theatres of Afghanistan and Iraq the Arab media must be a high priority in the media engagement process. The first part of the media operations challenge will be to seek to ensure, ideally, that reporting is accurate or, at the very least, includes our version of events alongside those of others. This can be achieved only by providing the media with the right information, comprehensively supported by facts, in a timely fashion. IO 'own goals' (I am again thinking of the Abu Gharib scandal as an example) will need to be managed in a similar proactive way by applying the principle of 'Go Ugly Early'3 . Thereafter, whether the reporting is positive and supportive of the mission will depend, first and foremost, on the policies pursued and the actions taken in support of the mission. Even the finest presentation of a policy or military activity will be unlikely to attract positive reporting if a policy is ill-judged or without substance or if an action cannot be justified. This will especially be the case where, for reasons explained above, there may be deep-rooted scepticism of a Western military's motives. Put simply, if a military spokesman cannot present a chosen policy or an action taken as 'reasonable under the circumstances', it might just be the wrong policy decision or the wrong thing to have done. Keeping an eye on the presentational aspects of the conduct of the mission is therefore a key part of Effects Based Operations and a factor in mission success. Notes: 1 Media Operations, although not a NATO agreed term, is the operational function incorporating Public Information and Public Relations designed to plan, direct, co-ordinate and conduct the media campaign in peace and operations to support the successful prosecution of the military mission. 2 I must make an admission at this point. As I do not speak Arabic, I cannot vouch for the Al Jazeerah's Arabic services and the possibility exists that Arabic broadcasts may lack some of the objectivity seen on the English language service. I do know that Al Jazeerah has modest resources (especially so when compared with the likes of the BBC and CNN) and this could make it vulnerable to the will/agendas of its principal sponsors. 3 Whilst it may be tempting to try to keep quiet about an incident that should or could have been avoided, bad news does not get better with time and there is little the media like more than the scandal of a cover-up. |