Balancing Operations Security and Openness: Understanding the Military / Media Relationship in the Modern Media Environment

The military/media relationship is historically tenuous. While both the media and the military play a role in the preservation of American freedoms, the military depends on operations security for many of its functions while the media demands wide-open publicity. Professionals in both fields must understand the diverse considerations between military operations security requirements and media obligations to keep the public informed and then seek to reconcile them. With this foundation in mind, three areas of understanding are important to examine. First military and media professionals must understand why both operations security and openness are essential to the maintenance of a strong national defense and a free press. Second, they must understand the challenges posed by the modern media environment. And finally, they must understand the common ground upon which a military/media relationship can be built. This monograph analyzes the military/media relationship in today's complex, hybrid military conflicts. It provides a better understanding of the natural tensions between the military and the media and how operations security and openness can be balanced, given the challenges of a complex and ever-changing modern media environment.