White House prepares to feed 24-hour news cycle
Written by Douglas Quenqua
Published on March 24 2003

WASHINGTON: The eruption of war in Iraq last week set in motion a 
massive global PR network, cultivated by the Bush administration 
during the months-long buildup of forces.  

The network is intended not only to disseminate, but also to 
dominate news of the conflict around the world.  

Before the attacks began, Suzy DeFrancis, deputy assistant 
to President Bush for communications, outlined the daily 
media relations hand-off that was about to begin.  

"When Americans wake up in the morning, they will first hear 
from the (Persian Gulf) region, maybe from General Tommy Franks," 
she said. "Then later in the day, they'll hear from the Pentagon, 
then the State Department, then later on the White House will brief."  

(snip)

The OGC, an office born out of post-September-11 efforts to combat 
anti-American news stories emerging from Arab countries, will be 
key in keeping all US spokespeople on message. Each night, US 
Embassies around the world, along with all federal departments 
in DC, will receive a "Global Messenger" e-mail containing talking 
points and ready-to-use quotes.

While an obvious benefit to having communicators spread across time 
zones is the ability to dominate the 24-hour news cycle, DeFrancis said 
the White House would enforce clear jurisdictions between departments.

(snip)

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Full article at PRWeek
http://www.prweek.com/news/news_story.cfm?ID=174751&site=3

Cheers, Steve..

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