[Texgreen] Desperately searching to buy positive media spin on war

[Roger Baker]

Bush started a war under false pretenses, is now losing that war  
which seems to be morphing into a civil war, but still wants the  
public to see the result positively. At least until the Nov.  
elections. Thats a tall order, even for Karl Rove.

Will buying coaching lessons to advise the military on how best to  
spin the war help much? I think thats what we're about to see.   --   
Roger

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<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/30/ 
AR2006083003011.html>


Positive Press on Iraq Is Aim of U.S. Contract

By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 31, 2006; Page A20

U.S. military leaders in Baghdad have put out for bid a two-year, $20  
million public relations contract that calls for extensive monitoring  
of U.S. and Middle Eastern media in an effort to promote more  
positive coverage of news from Iraq.

The contract calls for assembling a database of selected news stories  
and assessing their tone as part of a program to provide "public  
relations products" that would improve coverage of the military  
command's performance, according to a statement of work attached to  
the proposal.

The request for bids comes at a time when Bush administration  
officials are publicly criticizing media coverage of the war in Iraq.

The proposal, which calls in part for extensive monitoring and  
analysis of Iraqi, Middle Eastern and American media, is designed to  
help the coalition forces understand "the communications  
environment." Its goal is to "develop communication strategies and  
tactics, identify opportunities, and execute events . . . to  
effectively communicate Iraqi government and coalition's goals, and  
build support among our strategic audiences in achieving these  
goals," according to the statement of work that is publicly available  
through the Web site http://www.fbodaily.com .

A public relations practitioner who asked for anonymity because he  
may be involved in a bid on the contract said that military  
commanders "are overwhelmed by the media out there and are trying to  
understand how to get their information out.

"They want it [news] to be received by audiences as it is transmitted  
[by them], but they don't like how it turns out," he said. As an  
example, he said, there are complaints that reports from Iraq  
sometimes quote Shiite cleric and militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr more  
than military commanders...