Media and Military Policy of the United States - Essay Example

Mass media platforms play an important role in contemporary warfare by virtue of the fact that they are closely associated with public opinion and public policy. Indeed, there is a communicative nexus between the mass media and modern warfare as media reporting is known to affect the justifications and means by which officers engage in war and how the military establishes military policies.This implies that media activities are social in nature and notable in scope. When news about U.S. military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan assume a ubiquitous nature, for example, a multiplicity of social institutions and practices are organized around them in spite of the fact that people and communities may choose to consume or ignore such news.

The described media capacity or state of being everywhere at all times continues to affect U.S. military operations and interests. This is because of the fact that global media platforms frame war news according to sociocultural perceptions and needs of those in power. The concept of flaming refers to “the way events and issues are organized and made sense of” In cross-cultural contexts, players have used the ubiquity of media to select some aspects of the U.S. military engagements and make them more salient in a communication context in such a manner as to promote a particular interpretation or moral assessment of America’s military efforts in various war fronts.The U.S.

military policy has responded to media ubiquity in terms of undertaking up-to-date briefings and opening up more space for media scrutiny. It should be recalled that, although the media may frame the military in a negative light based on political or cultural contexts, communication is nevertheless important in ensuring the effective functioning of the military. It is only by facilitating a smooth information flow that the U.S. military can be able to shape public opinion by influencing the actions of the mass media.

In recent years, the military has allowed reporters to be embedded in fighting units to enhance objectivity and accuracy in war reporting.