60 Years of Conflict Communication

The media are defined broadly for the purposes of this thesis to mean broadcast television. Media have long had a dynamic, and often difficult relationship with the United States military in their attempt to professionally, accurately, and objectively disseminate information to the general public specifically in times of conflict. Throughout history, the prevailing challenge that has repeatedly hardened the relationship between the media and the U.S. military has been the attempt for the two to agree upon a satisfying method to disseminate appropriate information that not only appeases the public’s interest on the home front, but also protects U.S. military forces fighting in combat abroad, and allows for the success of their often dangerous missions. This thesis will review key points of broadcast coverage of American military conflicts by correspondents on the frontlines over the past 60 years beginning with the Vietnam War era through the more recent ‘War on Terror’ and fight against ISIS. The conflicts are connected by focusing on the continuously hardened relationship between the U.S. military and the media in a narrative that highlights the ways in which broadcast reporters have been subject to various tactics of reporting the war from the frontlines, often finding no easy solution that satisfies the public, the media, and the military simultaneously