Monitoring the Media
Posted by StormWarning on 31 Aug 2006 at 09:46 pm | Tagged as: Current Affairs, National Security
Just an update on the on-going "hub-bub" over surveillance and monitoring of the media by the government.
Pentagon Moves Toward Monitoring Media
The U.S. command in Baghdad is seeking bidders for a two-year, $20 million public relations contract that calls for monitoring the tone of Iraq news stories filed by U.S. and foreign media.
Proposals, due Sept. 6, ask companies to show how they’ll "provide continuous monitoring and near-real time reporting of Iraqi, pan-Arabic, international, and U.S. media," according to the solicitation issued last week…
…The winner of the contract will likely also be required to develop an Arabic version of the multinational force’s web site…
…The military last year was criticized for a public relations in Iraq that included hiring a consulting firm that paid Iraqi news media to carry news stories written by American troops.
Pentagon officials have defended the program as a necessary tool in the war on terror. But critics have said it contradicts American values of freedom of the press.
Let’s hear it folks! What do you all (y’all) think?
Current Affairs, National Security
