The U.S. military has the means to influence news coverage of its forces since journalists are dependent upon them for their security, says Amy Mitchell from the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
“The U.S. media is very dependent upon the military – which is an arm of the U.S. government – to get them into certain places and to protect them to make sure they stay alive when they go there to cover certain things. So the journalists are dependent on the military to be able to get there and to get information. And the military has a very vested interest in that information, in how it gets reported,” Amy Mitchell told RT.
The Pentagon is being accused of trying to censor the news coverage of U.S. forces. Journalists wanting to accompany troops first have their previous work rated in terms of how positive it's been.
Journalists have expressed outrage at a scheme that screens reporters.