I still cant quite believe it! Thank you George and Laura for yr sterling
services to International Anarchy.
WASHINGTON: The eruption of war in Iraq last week set in motion a massive
global PR network, cultivated by the Bush administration during the
months-long buildup of forces.
The network is intended not only to disseminate, but also to dominate
news of the conflict around the world.
Before the attacks began, Suzy DeFrancis, deputy assistant to President
Bush for communications, outlined the daily media relations hand-off that
was about to begin.
"When Americans wake up in the morning, they will first hear from
the (Persian Gulf) region, maybe from General Tommy Franks," she
said. "Then later in the day, they'll hear from the Pentagon, then
the State Department, then later on the White House will
brief."
Before anyone goes on air, however, White House press secretary Ari
Fleischer will set the day's message with an early-morning conference
call to British counterpart Alastair Campbell, White House communications
director Dan Bartlett, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher,
Pentagon spokesperson Torie Clarke, and White House Office of Global
Communication (OGC) director Tucker Eskew - a routine that mirrors
procedure during the conflict in Afghanistan.
The OGC, an office born out of post-September-11 efforts to combat
anti-American news stories emerging from Arab countries, will be key in
keeping all US spokespeople on message. Each night, US embassies around
the world, along with all federal departments in DC, will receive a
"Global Messenger" e-mail containing talking points and
ready-to-use quotes.
While an obvious benefit to having communicators spread across time zones
is the ability to dominate the 24-hour news cycle, DeFrancis said the
White House would enforce clear jurisdictions between
departments.
For example, "this being a military conflict, operational questions
will be handled from the Pentagon," she said.
In a dramatic shift from past conflicts, administration officials have
made it clear they'll rely on independent journalists,
"embedded" by the Pentagon with military units, to act as one
of their most reliable PR vehicles.
"That's the first time it's ever been done," DeFrancis
offered.
http://www.prweek.com/news/news_story.cfm?ID=174751&site=3
