The embed process was the brainchild of Victoria Clark, former Pentagon Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. I saw an interview with her a few days ago (after the Marine incident) and she was still very happy with the way the process has worked. The military and White House have been happy too, and with good reason. Here is the idea behind the process, in Clarke's and Rumsfelds words:
"We need to tell the factual story -- good and bad -- before others seed the media with disinformation and distortions, as they most certainly will continue to do," Rumsfeld and Clarke wrote.
"Our people in the field need to tell our story. Only commanders can ensure the media get to the story alongside the troops. We must organize for and facilitate access of national and international media to our forces, including those forces engaged in ground operations....To accomplish this, we will embed media with our units. These embedded media will live, work and travel as part of the units...to facilitate maximum, in-depth coverage."
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/877282/posts
The process has worked exceedingly well. Most of the footage being shot shows heroic American Marines and soldiers taking the fight to the bad guys. The dramatic drive into Baghdad, "Where do we get guys like these..." images and soundbytes that not only instill pride in the American people, but no doubt help move some percentage of young men and women to make the trip to the recruiter's office.
To my estimation it works too well. The media was way to soft on the Administration leading up to the war. Practically gave it a free ride where issues like how much, how long and at what cost were concerned. It wouldn't be surprising to learn that those asking tough questions would be traveling with the 193rd Field Kitchen Unit vs. some Cav trooper's Bradley. Something similar happened to Helen Thomas when, for the first time in decades, she was left off the list for the final pre-war White House press conference.
Once in the field, when something bad happens the journalists understand the context better having been there. But, they also now have a personal connection with the troops (sharing danger and hardship) which leads to the temptation to self-edit and soften the story. Similarly, I would imagine the fear of loosing good access to the people and places you need can be a nagging pressure. Really quite brilliant. Carrot, stick and empathy all rolled into one, and likely leading to a higher level of favorable coverage than you would expect otherwise.
If anything the Marine clip shows that the media hasn't been fully co-opted quite yet, and that some journalists aren't too afraid to leave the green zone and get in the line of fire and do their jobs. The bad with the good, or it's just another dispatch from the ministry of propaganda.
Charon
