[whataretheysaying] Mary Madigan: The Media As A Weapon in Asymmetrical Conflict

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Posted by Mary Madigan:
The Media As A Weapon in Asymmetrical Conflict 
http://whataretheysaying.powerblogs.com/posts/1174941663.shtml


   Marvin Kalb and Carol Saivetz analyze the media's role in the
   Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006 [1](pdf)

     Add one other crucial ingredient to this journalistic wartime stew
     of charge and counterchargeâand that was the Internet. This was a
     live war, in which the information battlefield played a central
     role. Here the Israelis suffered from the openness of their
     democratic society. They succumbed to the public pressures of live
     24/7 coverage. They couldnât keep a secret. Hezbollah, on the other
     hand, controlled its message with an iron grip. It had one
     spokesman and no leaks. Hezbollah did not have to respond to
     criticism from bloggers, and it could always count on unashamedly
     sympathetic Arab reporters to blast Israel for its
     âdisproportionateâ military attack against Lebanon.

     Nik Gowing, a respected BBC World anchor, warned at a recent
     Harvard conference that the "new asymmetric informationâthe new
     level of accountability and public perceptions in a time of crisis"
     exposed "the vulnerability of traditional institutions of power and
     influence." Israel, in this context, was the "traditional
     institution," made suddenly âvulnerableâ by the flow of "asymmetric
     information." Gowing gave an example of how "in a time of crisis
     and tension, public perceptions can be created by the new media
     matrix." During the war, even though Israel still had military
     censorship, technically, "you could be up there on the northern
     border [of Israel] filming, uplinking live war: live war of
     soldiers moving into south Lebanon, live war of anti-tank missiles
     immobilizing Merkava tanks." Such reporting, common on the Israeli
     side of the war, had "a fundamental impact on the reputation and
     the image and the fear factor created by the IDF." The bloggers
     helped spread the impression of Israeli "vulnerability." Gowing
     said "it was the bloggers and the calls to radio stations, which
     were highlighting the vulnerability of the Israeli defense forces."

     Whether the flavor of journalism is American or Qatari, both march
     to their own drummer, both convinced their principles best define
     good and honest journalism. Efforts at reconciliation are likely to
     fail, at least in the near future. Yet both schools of journalism,
     however different they may be, are strongly influenced in their
     practice by what might be called âthe new media,â that combustible
     mix of 24/7 cable news, call-in radio and television programs,
     Internet bloggers and online websites, cell phones and iPods. The
     upshot is a new kind of populist journalism, which strongly
     influences the story that is being covered. Indeed, the journalist
     or, in this new age, the commentator, often becomes part of the
     story.

   Link thanks to [2]Noah Pollak

References

   1. http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/presspol/research_publications/papers/research_papers/R29.pdf
   2. http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ODg3MGZkODllMThmM2ZhMmE4NWEzZmJhZTc3MTFiNGI=