FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2003
Marine PR guy: Rumsfeld is "a master of media manipulation"
The Rake
Marine public affairs officer Jerry Broeckert tells student-soldiers to
think of the news media as an offensive weapon. "Plan for their employment
just as you would plan for any of your other supporting arms -- your
artillery, your close air support and your naval gunfire," he advises.
"They'll be there and there's nothing you can do about. It's a fact of
life." PLUS: Broeckert says Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is "a
master of information control and media manipulation."
Posted at 1:56:04 PM
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War correspondents turn to troops for candid comments
Hollywood Reporter
The Pentagon and the president say the war is going fine, but one GI
recently told a CNN correspondent: "(The Iraqis) weren't rolling over like
we thought they would." Andrew Grossman writes: "That ground troops have
often been more candid in their assessment of the fighting than Pentagon
officials back in Washington or Qatar has proved to be a bonus for the
information-starved media, which in previous wars has been at the mercy of
sketchy briefings that downplayed bad news. A CBS News veep says of the
GIs: "I don't think they see the press as the enemy."
> Zinsmeister: "A lot of soldiers start out suspicious of reporters" (NatRev)
Posted at 12:46:28 PM
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Star Tribune war reporter: We haven't showered in weeks
Editor & Publisher | Baltimore Sun
Sharon Schmickle, 60, tells Dave Astor: "We haven't showered for two weeks,
we sleep in dirt because it's impossible to keep it out of our tents. We've
made several quick dives into bunkers because of missile attacks, and we've
spent long hours in gas masks, flak jackets, and kevlar helmets when
security at our camp was breached." Plus, the sandstorms have been rough on
their equipment.
> STEPHANIE GOSK OF ABC NEWS says she spends about 40 percent of her time
reporting, interviewing soldiers and writing and filing stories. "The rest
of the day is spent trying to maintain equipment in this environment -- it
gets covered with dirt -- and trying to maintain myself," she tells David
Folkenflik.
Posted at 12:23:52 PM
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Al-Jazeera reporter: We cover the news from all sides
"Larry King Live" transcript
Larry King asked Al-Jazeera correspondent Omar Al Issawi about the POW
footage: "You don't make a judgment decision, then, on taste or whether
this thing might be objectionable to some? If you think it's newsworthy you
go with it." Al Issawi's reply: "Well, basically, I think that's the
criteria for most news organizations. The threshold might be different. The
level of tolerance might be different and I think that will vary from
culture to culture. But if you examine Al-Jazeera's track record, them you
will find that we've done similar things in the past." (Mid-transcript)
> Author: Al-Jazeera is showing war's bloody, tragic and painful side (BN)
Posted at 10:48:17 AM
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