Military tracking reporters in Afghan war

updated 8:33 p.m. ET Aug. 27, 2009

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military in Afghanistan acknowledged Thursday that it pays a private company to produce profiles on journalists covering the war.

But despite a report showing the company rated some reporters on their work, officials denied that the information is used to decide which media members travel with military units.

Pentagon officials are on the defensive after a recent series of stories in the Stars and Stripes newspaper that said journalists were being screened by a Washington-based public relations firm, The Rendon Group, under a $1.5 million contract with the military.

The newspaper, which is also partly funded by the Defense Department, said it had obtained documents showing Rendon graded journalists' work as "positive," "neutral" or "negative" and suggested ways to make the coverage more positive.

"U.S. Forces Afghanistan has never denied access to any reporter based upon their past stories," said a statement issued Thursday by Army Col. Wayne M. Shanks, a military spokesman in Afghanistan.

Reports on media accuracy
Shanks said the Rendon contract provides a number of services, including news releases and "talking points" as well as reports on media accuracy. The information is used partly to assess how well the military is doing in getting information out, Shanks said.

He said the military gets information on journalists, including biographical details and recent topics they have covered, to prepare commanders for interviews. A sample profile released Thursday included information on reporters under the headings of professional "Background," "Coverage" and "Perspective, Style and Tone."

Rendon has said a small part of its contract involves preparing profiles of reporters preparing to travel with U.S. troops. These reviews are done only upon request and are intended to give commanders a better idea of what topics the reporters embedded with the unit are most likely to ask about, according to Rendon.

In a statement posted on its Web site, Rendon said it provides analysis of news content focused on themes such as stability and security, counterinsurgency and operational results.

"The information and analysis we generate is developed by quantifying these themes and topics and not by ranking of reporters. The analysis is not provided as the basis for accepting or rejecting a specific journalist's inquiries, and TRG does not make recommendations as to who the military should or should not interview," it said.

Rendon gave as an example: "Neutral to Negative coverage could indicate that content in stories were negative in relation to mission objectives," which it said could include kidnappings or suicide bombings.

‘No purpose’
Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told Pentagon reporters that he had not "seen anything that violates any policies." But he also appeared to question why the activity was needed.

"For me, a tool like this serves no purpose and it doesn't serve me with any value," Whitman said.

A number of reporters in the Pentagon and elsewhere are demanding to view their profiles. The International Federation of Journalists also complained about the policy Wednesday.

"This profiling of journalists farther compromises the independence of media," Aidan White, general secretary of the Brussels-based federation, said in a statement. "It strips away any pretense that the Army is interested in helping journalists to work freely."

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