An analysis of recent coverage of Ft. Hood, Texas, in the print media of five surrounding communities: Temple, Killeen, Belton, Copperas Cove and Gatesville

Background. This subject was chosen as my thesis topic for a variety of reasons. First, my temporary locality made Ft. Hood a practical choice for research. Second, I felt Ft. Hood was a viable target for a journalistic investigation because of its size and importance as a government agency. Third, the relationship between Ft. Hood and the print media in the surrounding communities seemed to me to be an important subject for study as that relationship is the major link between the American people and the largest armored military training post in the Free World. I set out to discover if the relationship was one which would foster good, objective reporting and guard the people's right to know.; Scope. The thesis was limited in scope by the fact that Ft. Hood is in an area with no large cities within 50 miles, and that the larger newspapers have a tendency to react to news that has already broken, rather than assign reporters specifically to Ft. Hood. For this reason, responsibility for thorough coverage of Ft. Hood has fallen to the newspapers in close proximity to the Fort. Consequently, although the position of the larger city papers in Dallas, Austin and Waco is explained in chapter V and an overview of coverage is given, the thesis is most concerned with local coverage. In addition, an attempt is made in Chapter VII to show that the situation at Ft. Hood is not unique and that improvements applicable here might also be of value to other military bases and communities.; Purpose. The purpose of the thesis is two-fold: to improve journalistic coverage of the military, particularly at Ft. Hood and to improve the relationship between journalists and Army Public Affairs personnel. Journalists reading this thesis should become aware of the importance of the public's right to know and their ethical responsibilities in reporting the facts of a story as they are, not as they seem to be at face value. They should be alerted to their responsibilities to dig for the facts if necessary and get the whole story whenever possible. In addition, the thesis should help explain the Army point of view and help promote a better understanding between the Army and the press.; The value of this thesis to the Army is in its explanation of journalistic responsibilities to the public and the motives behind investigative reporting. Also, the thesis should help point up some problems between the policies and practices of Army Public Affairs Offices.; Basically, the thesis presents a particular situation as it exists in Central Texas, giving both sides, a variety of views and suggestions for improvement. If properly used, it will help promote the causes of journalism ethics, the public's right to know and military responsibility in a democratic society.