Hi Bill,

Quote Originally Posted by Bill Meara View Post
I go on to discuss how, when we did finally figure out that PSYOP might be an important element in the Central American war, we did what we always do: we threw money and technology at the problem. Our enemies focused not on the media, but on the message, and were much more effective than we were. See http://www.contracross.com
I think that right now there is a double problem: one operational and one ideological. Operationally, most of the PSYOPs and IO seems to be focusing on obsolete, broadcast media rather than on the particular media used by a given audience (e.g. the newer interactive media or the older "oral culture" media). At the ideological level, there is very little sophistication or cultural appropriateness in the message.

If McLuhan was correct in his little aphorism of the "medium is the massage" (that's the original, not the later popularized version), then the campaign is failing on all fronts. Throwing money and technology at a problem may work in some settings, but this is too complex a problem for it to be appropriate. Without a solid, salable ideology it doesn't matter which media are used.

Marc