How an open Press can be a disadvantage

"If we are to collect lessons from this war, one of them would have to be that a closed society can control the image and the message that it wishes to convey to the rest of the world far more effectively than can an open society, especially one engaged in an existential struggle for survival. An open society becomes the victim of its own openness. During the war, no Hezbollah secrets were disclosed, but in Israel secrets were leaked, rumors spread like wildfire, leaders felt obliged to issue hortatory appeals often based on incomplete knowledge, and journalists were driven by the fire of competition to publish and broadcast unsubstantiated information. A closed society conveys the impression of order and discipline; an open society, buffeted by the crosswinds of reality and rumor, criticism and revelation, conveys the impression of disorder, chaos and uncertainty, but this impression can be misleading. "(The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006: The Media As A Weapon in Asymmetrical Conflict
By Marvin Kalb
Senior Fellow, Shorenstein Center, and
Carol Saivetz, Harvard University )

Thanks to Richard Sambrook who drew my attention to this piece which looks at the impact of journalism during last summers fighting in the Middle East.

According to the report,it could well be the information battlefield that decides the conflict between the West and the Islamic world.

"If bin Laden didn’t have access to global media, satellite communications and the Internet, he’d just be a cranky guy in a cave."

The work is 39 pages and I strongly suggest that budding students of journalism read what the authors have to say about the media coverage of the events of last year(see link).

It does however seem to suggest that Israel suffered due to its open media society,that media reports leant the reader/viewer to beleive that Israel was the aggressor and that Hezbollah knows how to manipualte the free press