News TV coverage during conflicts: a study of media information control and its influence on security

Abstract

This research study analyses the need for an optimal level of government control over information provided to and broadcasted by television news media to best serve a nation’s security. The key elements contributing to this study include an overview of the influence of globalization on media reach and an account of the tactics used to control the media including propaganda, framing and censorship. I use this to contextualise three case studies that help me prove that news media is capable of influencing a nation’s security. The three case studies analyse news media reporting during the Tet Offensive of the US-Vietnam War, Hamas’s control of state-owned media to inject its ideologies, and the role CNN reporting played in justifying the need for war against Iraq. This research is based on correlation research methodology and comparative analysis. I conclude recommending the need for additional research, specifically empirical research, around the concept of the optimal level of media control to support a nation’s security.

Date of Award	May 2014
Original language	American English
Supervisor	Brett Steele (Supervisor)