When 'good' conflicts go bad: Testing a frame-building model on embeds' attitudes toward government news management in the iraq war

Scholars have debated how successful the government was in managing coverage of the ground war in Iraq through the embed system, but few have surveyed the embedded journalists themselves to discover the degree they believe their press freedom was restricted. This study compares results from a survey conducted of embedded journalists in late 2005 and early 2006 to one conducted in early 2004 to examine whether embeds' opinions toward press freedom have changed over time and whether they believe government news management has increased as criticism of the Iraq War has increased and public support has declined. It also tests the hierarchy-ofinfluences model by examining the degree to which individual, journalism routines, external and cultural factors significantly predict attitudes toward press freedom and perceptions of censorship after controlling for demographics and political ideology.