Is the Pentagon screening embedded reporters' coverage of Afghan war?

Posted by Liz Webber on August 27, 2009 at 3:07 PM

According to documents obtained by Stars and Stripes, a controversial public relations firm contracted by the American military routinely reviews the coverage of embedded journalists in Afghanistan and categorizes the work as "positive," "negative" or "neutral." This information is then used to steer reporters towards certain stories or sources in order to produce more positive coverage.

Pentagon officials and representatives of The Rendon Group, the PR firm, had previously denied such a practice still existed, stating journalist profiles were now conducted to determine accuracy and familiarize the military with new reporters. However, the leaked documents showed the ranking system existed at least as late as May of this year.

Prior to Rendon's current $1.5 million contract with the Defense Department, the firm became known for its help in the creation of the Iraqi National Congress, a group responsible for distributing a lot of the bogus claims about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction.

Earlier this summer, Stars and Stripes saw the categorization process put into effect when one of its reporters was prevented from returning to Iraq because he "refused to highlight" the positive news stories he was encouraged to cover by the military. Last year, a New York Times photographer experienced a similar rejection after the paper published images of Iraq deemed too graphic.

Several US and international journalists' organizations have spoken out against the Pentagon's screening practices, notably the International Federation of Journalists.

"This profiling of journalists further compromises the independence of media," said Aidan White, IFJ general secretary. "It strips away any pretence that the army is interested in helping journalists to work freely. It suggests they are more interested in propaganda than honest reporting."

Embedding within a military unit is often the only way for journalists to cover a war on the ground level, and thus the only way readers hear about the day-to-day realities of that war. The long-running conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan may have lost popularity with the American people, but they are also increasingly out of the public eye. It is therefore essential that reporters are allowed to cover the conflicts without restrictions in order to keep the public informed.

Source: Stars and Stripes (1), Stars and Stripes (2), International Federation of Journalists