Let me get something straight. The White House that has
released bad news when no one was paying attention, that has
packaged official government releases as news stories, that has paid for stories
at home and
abroad that push their agenda, that has
planted reporters in the press corps to ask softball questions, that may very well have
spied on journalists and that seems
more adept at fighting a war with the media than in the Middle East -
that White House is now telling us that their latest push with Iraq has
nothing to do with politics? Explain
this, then:
U.S. military leaders in Baghdad have put out for bid a two-year, $20 million public relations contract that calls for extensive monitoring of U.S. and Middle Eastern media in an effort to promote more positive coverage of news from Iraq.
The contract calls for assembling a database of selected news stories and assessing their tone as part of a program to provide "public relations products" that would improve coverage of the military command's performance, according to a statement of work attached to the proposal.
The request for bids comes at a time when Bush administration officials are publicly criticizing media coverage of the war in Iraq.
The proposal, which calls in part for extensive monitoring and analysis of Iraqi, Middle Eastern and American media, is designed to help the coalition forces understand "the communications environment." Its goal is to "develop communication strategies and tactics, identify opportunities, and execute events ... to effectively communicate Iraqi government and coalition's goals, and build support among our strategic audiences in achieving these goals," according to the statement of work that is publicly available through the Web site http://www.fbodaily.com.
A public relations practitioner who asked for anonymity because he may be involved in a bid on the contract said that military commanders "are overwhelmed by the media out there and are trying to understand how to get their information out.
"They want it to be received by audiences as it is transmitted , but they don't like how it turns out," he said. As an example, he said, there are complaints that reports from Iraq sometimes quote Shiite cleric and militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr more than military commanders.
The proposal calls for monitoring "Iraqi, pan-Arabic, international and U.S. national and regional markets media in both Arabic and English." That includes broadcast and cable television outlets, the Pentagon channel, two wire services and three major U.S. newspapers: The Washington Post, New York Times and Los Angeles Times.
Monitors are to select stories that deal with specific issues, such as security, reconstruction activities, "high profile" coalition force activities and events in which Iraqi security forces are "in the lead." The monitors are to analyze stories to determine the "dissemination of key themes and messages" along with whether the "tone" is positive, neutral or negative.
The media outlets would be monitored for how they present coalition or anti-Iraqi force operations. That part of the proposal could reflect Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's often-stated concern that the media does not cover positive aspects of Iraq.
Let that sink in for a moment. This administration would like to spend $20 million to look for good news that's simply not there. Donald Rumsfeld, who couldn't even be bothered to
personally sign the condolence letters sent to the families of our fallen soldiers and who
joked about the lack of proper equipment in Iraq, would rather force-feed you lies than look after his own troops. $20 million at a time when Congress
seems poised to cut spending on researching and treating traumatic brain injuries - the signature injury of this war - from $14 million to $7 million. Again, let that sink in:
The Republicans seem fine with the fact that they'd prefer to spend nearly three times as much money on needless spin than they would treating the traumatic brain injuries suffered by our troops. If you ask me, there's simply no positive way to spin that.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(504 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
