Thursday, August 27, 2009
Embedded NBC Journalists in Iraq (photo: 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum)
Reporters seeking to cover the war in Afghanistan may not get the chance to embed with U.S. military units if their previous coverage of the conflict is deemed too negative. The Pentagon is relying on the controversial public relations firm, The Rendon Group, to critique the media work of journalists who have requested assignments with U.S. Army, Air Force or Marine Corps units.
The Rendon Group became infamous after the invasion of Iraq once it was discovered that its PR people helped manufacture the Iraqi National Congress, which was funded by the CIA and provided much of the erroneous information about Saddam Hussein’s government possessing weapons of mass destruction.
The news of screening reporters follows an earlier revelation that Army officials denied a Stars and Stripes journalist from embedding with the 1st Cavalry Division in Iraq because he “refused to highlight” good news coming out of that war. Stars and Stripes is funded by the Department of Defense.
An Air Force spokeswoman denied the military is playing favorites with members of the media. “We have not denied access to anyone because of what may or may not come out of their biography,” said Air Force Captain Elizabeth Mathias, a public affairs officer based in Kabul, Afghanistan. “It’s so we know with whom we’re working.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Journalists' Recent Work Examined Before Embeds (by Charlie Reed, Stars and Stripes)
Military Denies Media is Graded for Embeds (by William H. McMichael, Air Force Times)
Army Bans Stars and Stripes Reporter from Covering Iraq Combat Team (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
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