|
Comment on this article |
Email this Article
|
|
News :: Media |
|
Pentagon Wastes Taxpayer $$ On Propaganda Facade |
Current rating: 0 |
by Bill Mauldin
(No verified email address) |
12 Mar 2003
|
|
U.S. Military public affairs officers at Central Command in Qatar are putting the finishing touches on their media center. USA Today reports that a $250,000 briefing stage has been shipped in from Chicago at a cost of $47,000. |
"Painted battleship-gray and backed by a 38-foot repeating world map, the set has five plasma screens, two rear screen projectors, two podiums and five digital clocks, including one giving Baghdad time. Behind the set is a state-of-the-art control room that requires at least three service members to operate," USA Today writes. "It's much cheaper than one bomb, and it can do a lot more. It is the face of the military," George Allison, who designed the Defense Department set, told USA Today. The Pentagon is expecting 1000 journalists at its daily briefings in Qatar. Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that "images of that war are likely to follow not long afterward at the local multiplex - all shot in the latest high-definition digital video. ... From the military point of view, the project 'is intended to maintain a strong connection with the American public ...' " Source: USA Today, March 9, 2003
http://www.prwatch.org/spin/
**********************************
Original Story
Lights, cameras, get ready for war
By Andrea Stone, USA TODAY
CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar As the U.S. military prepares to fight what could be the most sophisticated, high-tech war in history, its public affairs troops here already have launched a media offensive.
Public affairs officers at the U.S. Central Command media center have engaged in various techniques from logging onto Internet chat rooms to providing ready-to-use factoids for cable TV news shows to get the Pentagon message out to the world.
"Just like warfare has changed, the media has changed; the military must adapt," said James Wilkinson, who as director of strategic communications oversees the effort and is Gen. Tommy Franks' chief spokesman.
Formerly President Bush's deputy communications director, Wilkinson was among those behind the now-ubiquitous message-of-the-day backdrops such as "Corporate Responsibility" or "Strengthening Our Economy" that appear behind President Bush at speaking events.
On Sunday, workers here completed Wilkinson's latest weapon in the war media campaign: a $250,000 briefing stage that cost $47,000 to ship from Chicago by FedEx.
Painted battleship-gray and backed by a 38-foot repeating world map, the set has five plasma screens, two rear screen projectors, two podiums and five digital clocks, including one giving Baghdad time. Behind the set is a state-of-the-art control room that requires at least three service members to operate.
The Star Trek-like set, light-years from the flip charts of the Gulf War, was designed by a New York freelance set designer with Hollywood credentials. George Allison, 43, has designed sets for ABC's World News Tonight and Good Morning America. He also has worked on Bush's message backdrops.
His latest job: art director for the film It Runs in the Family, a comedy starring Kirk and Michael Douglas, opening April 25.
Allison, interviewed while overseeing set construction last week, said the cost of the briefing stage is justified.
"It's much cheaper than one bomb, and it can do a lot more. It is the face of the military," he said. "What's important is not what they're standing in front of, the set, but the ability to communicate with members of the press."
It was clear over the weekend that as the final diplomatic maneuvers played out at the United Nations, the military is wary of talking too much about its media battle plan. Public affairs officers have actively encouraged the media to cover other preparations for war, such as gas-mask drills. But Air Force Col. Ray Sheperd, the public affairs director here, refused to allow photos to be taken of the set that presumably will be seen soon by billions on TV via satellite.
"It's not part of the communication message yet," he said.
Navy Capt. Frank Thorp, who oversees the media center where more than 1,000 journalists are expected for daily briefings, defends his staff's approach.
"As an American citizen, I feel really good about the military's efforts to tell taxpayers, to tell mothers and fathers of the people who are serving, what's going on here," he says. "This isn't spin. These are facts."
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2003-03-09-media-war-usat_x.htm
© Copyright 2003 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. |
