Gunner's Blog

The University of Oklahoma conducted a study in 2005 to find out if MilBlogs have an impact on public opinion. You can read the entire 49 page .pdf by clicking on the link below.

Full Study:

http://www.ou.edu/deptcomm/dodjcc/groups/06A/capstone.pdf

Study Abstract:

"As the popularity of Web logs increases, so, too, have the number of military Web logs. Service members, veterans, and family members are blogging from home, from the base, and from the battlefield. These milbloggers are able to write daily reports that anyone in the world – friend or foe – can read. Military public affairs officers may find it harder to manage the message as milbloggers become conduits for information to the public and the media. Little is known about milblogs. How do they tell the military story, and what messages do they convey? Are they perceived as credible? Do they contain more emotional content? This paper analyzes the content of milblogs and how they depict the military and its personnel. It also compares the credibility and tone of milblogs, traditional media, and Defense Department news sources, and how the content from these three sources influences readers’ attitudes toward the war in Iraq and the U.S. military’s continued presence in there."

Study Conclusion:

"The results of the study indicate that there is no significant difference in the effects of milblogs on public opinion as compared to the mainstream media’s effect on public opinion. This would indicate that military public affairs professionals should not be concerned with milblogs having a negative effect on public opinion and should encourage the chain of command to allow individuals in the command to produce blogs. However, all milblogs should continue to be monitored by the military to ensure that they do not include operational security violations, force protection information or violations of the privacy act."

Gunner Sez:

I found out about the study from a blog named "gwot dot us" (http://www.gwot.us/2006/12/09/university-of-oklahoma-study-milblogs-do-not-pose-a-security-threat/trackback/) by someone who is currently stationed in Afghanistan. You can view his take on the subject by visiting his blog.

My take on this subject - If the military public affairs professionals continue to "monitor" milblogs, all of us know that that equates to censorship. I remember WWII when NOK received letters that looked like a child had taken a pair of scissors and cut them up. In some cases, the censored letters contained only two lines - The Salutation, and the Signature at the end.

I truly doubt that the chain of command will ever encourage Milblogs being produced in a combat zone. But then, I never would have believed that they would embed journalists with combat units. I do believe that Milblogs are achieving one thing above all others - they are getting the word out to the world regarding the positive aspects of the accomplishments of our troops. Before the bloggers, we never heard anything good coming out of Iraq. I know because I looked for the good things, and I couldn't find them to post on this website/blog. Now, there are a few articles, such as the Saving Baby Mariam piece that found its way into the Boston Globe recently. See: http://www.usafns.com/2006/12/saving-baby-mariam.htm


~g