Balkan rats and Balkan bats: the art of managing Canada's media during the Kosovo air war
Date
2005
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The competing interests of a conservative military given to secrecy in the interests of operational security and a liberal news media given to openness set the stage for predictable conflict during armed conflict. The emergence of the modem day news media as an environmental element Canadian military commanders must manage in the interest of operational security raises the question of whether the news media are able to provide independent oversight of the Canadian Forces' application of military skill in combat. Many factors come into play when commanders make operational security decisions regarding the news media including threat assessments and accumulated wisdom from previous combat operations. Careful consideration is also given to the tactical and strategic effects news reports may have on the operation including safety and security of the mission, the safety of military families at home, mission focus and morale. Whether the Canadian Forces management of the news media during the Kosovo aerial bombing campaign allowed an adequate opportunity for the English-language news media to provide Canadians with sufficient information to make informed judgments about the Canadian military's prosecution of the air war is the issue under examination.
Description
Bibliography: p. 415-431
Keywords
Citation
Bergen, R. W. (2005). Balkan rats and Balkan bats: the art of managing Canada's media during the Kosovo air war (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/2461