Pentagon using PR firm to screen reporters' coverage before embedding them
According to
Stars and Stripes, the Rendon Group is evaluating the work of reporters seeking to be embedded with units in Afghanistan to determine if their coverage of the war is "positive, neutral or negative." Rendon is the PR firm that helped tout the claims of Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction in the run-up to the 2005 invasion.
Pentagon officials claim the screening is not meant to block reporters from the field, but let commanders know who they're dealing with. And if you believe that, I've got a great time share in a ski chalet on the Bonneville Salt Flats I'll sell you. Making sure only reporters who give positive coverage to the war effort doesn't guarantee accurate reporting: It assures the Pentagon that they have a conduit to put their spin in the media.
President Barack Obama promised us a more transparent government. It's time the Pentagon read that memo and ditched this screening arrangement.