Submitted by John Stauber on
Bill Berkowitz writes that "a relatively quick war against an overwhelmed and outmatched foe -- sanitized of civilian casualties -- has been a tonic for a Pentagon hungry for good publicity. ... Embedding reporters is the brainchild of Victoria 'Torie' Clarke, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. Clarke brings considerable PR experience to the task of winning the spin war.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"The front line in the war for hearts and minds in the Arab world and
beyond is here, at the U.S. Central Command headquarters and media
center," writes the New York Times' Nicholas Kristof from Doha, Qatar. Kristof gives the Bush administration credit for reaching out to the foreign press, noting that Al Jazeera was assigned a front row seat for press briefings while the Times was in the second row. But he suggests international journalists see through the spin.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"The Office of Global Communications, a controversial agency created by President Bush in January, has blossomed into a huge production company, issuing daily scripts on the Iraq war to U.S. spokesmen around the world, auditioning generals to give media briefings and booking administration stars on foreign news shows," the Chicago Tribune's Bob Kemper reports. "The communications office helps devise and coordinate each day's talking points on the war.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"If you want your core values to mean anything, you have to live them 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And you cannot simply abandon them in times of crisis," PR Week columnist (and weblogger) Paul Holmes writes in his Holmes Report.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"Why do we aid and abet the lies and propaganda of this filthy war?" asked the Independent's Robert Fisk. "How come, for example, it's now BBC 'style' to describe the Anglo-American invaders as the 'coalition'. This is a lie. ... The Iraqis try to imitate the US Central Command (CentCom) propaganda operations, though with less subtlety. ... Then there's the famous "war in Iraq" slogan which the British and American media like to promote. But this is an invasion, not a mere war. ...
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
"If till now the coalition forces have been the ones surprised by the apathy of the Iraqi population and the cool welcome given them, apparently it is now Saddam Hussein's turn to be surprised," writes Zvi Bar'el. "The initial pictures from the battle for Baghdad show Iraqi citizens starting to wave cautiously to the U.S. and British soldiers bearing down on the capital.
Submitted by John Stauber on
"While the Humvees are lined up in the desert, their cousins, the Hummers, continue to be Detroit's hottest seller. .... Rick Schmidt, founder of IHOG, the
Submitted by Laura Miller on
Australian cameraman Paul Moran, who was killed by a suicide bomber on March 20, had worked for the Rendon Group, a Washington-based PR firm currently being used by the Pentagon, the Adelaide Advertiser reports. At the time of his death, Moran was on an assignment for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in northern Iraq.
Submitted by John Stauber on
PR Week commentator Paul Holmes writes that "the 'embedding' of reporters in military units is the most brilliant
strategic decision of this entire campaign, since its effect appears to
be the transformation of usually intelligent reporters into Pentagon
[Public Relations Officers]. As someone in the administration obviously realised, it's hard to
hold on to journalistic integrity when you're dependent for continued
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Since the beginning of the Iraq war, write Brendan Nyhan and Bryan Keefer, "politicians and the American media have continued to circulate misinformation, much of which has gone largely unchecked." On the Spinsanity.org web site, they have compiled a list of "myths and misconceptions about the war." Examples include:
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