As the literature on military-media relations grows, it is informed by antagonism either from journalists who report on wars or from ex-soldiers in their memoirs. Academics who attempt more judicious accounts rarely have any professional military or media experience.

A working knowledge of the operational constraints of both professions underscores Shooting the Messenger. A veteran war correspondent and think tank director, Paul L. Moorcraft has served in the British Ministry of Defence, while historian-by-training Philip M. Taylor is a professor of international communications who has lectured widely to the U.S. military and at NATO institutions. Some of the topics they examine in this wide-ranging history of military-media relations are:

the interface between soldiers and civilian reporters covering conflicts

the sometimes grey area between reporters right or need to know and the operational security constraints imposed by the military

the militarys manipulation of journalists who accept it as a trade-off for safer battlefield access

the resultant gap between images of war and their reality

the evolving nature of media technology and the difficultiesand opportunitiesthis poses to the military

journalistic performance in reporting conflict as an observer or a participant

Moorcraft and Taylor provide a bridge over which each side can pass and a path to mutual understanding.