Wanted: Journalists who can keep quiet (The Hill)

[truthpusher]

http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/022305/homeland.html

Wanted: Journalists who can keep quiet
By Jim Snyder
The Bush administration is hiring more reporters. Only this time, it wants them to keep quiet.



The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last week placed a help-wanted listing on journalismjobs.com, an employment website. The department sought reporters to participate in TOPOFF 3, a biennial exercise directed by Congress that simulates a terrorist attack on the United States.

The posting, which has since been taken off the site, sought applicants who can write copy for an online news service “reporting events within the exercise for an audience of exercise participants.”

The ad follows the disclosure that two other federal agencies had hired conservative commentators Armstrong Williams and Maggie Gallagher to back administration proposals. Those contracts brought rebukes from media ethicists who said they blurred the line between journalism and propaganda.

(snip)

“You must NOT be currently employed by a real news organization and will be required to sign a nondisclosure agreement barring you from writing about this in the future,” the job posting stated.

(snip)

“We want them to act like reporters and to push the story forward,” Short said. The exercise would help public-relations officials better respond to any real terrorist attack, he said.

complete story:
http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/022305/homeland.html

[Occulus]

1. Ah, so. It DOES worm its way back to the WH after all.

Remember, DHS did not exist prior to the Bush* maladministration.

[Oilwellian]

2. Well there you have it

Propagandists wanted.

The wording of the ad was interesting.

The posting, which has since been taken off the site, sought applicants who can write copy for an online news service "reporting events within the exercise for an audience of exercise participants.”

Why would they need someone to report events to those who were there to experience the events?

[BR_Parkway]

5. I can see a legitimate need, if they want to look at realistic scenarios

Imagine a bomb going off in downtown major city. Other than the direct center of the blast, how is the guy in the office several blocks away going to react when the news breaks, and how long does it take to spread. Once it does, is there mass exit, potentially clogging up traffic corridors that might be needed to bring in additional fire/rescue crews or Nuclear/Biological/Chemical special response teams.

Are there additional injuries from said guy pushing his way out of the building, knocking over little old ladies in the stairwell (which really strikes me as a ReThuglican thing for some reason). Not that I trust this Admin in any direction, but I participated in some of these mock planning events while I was active duty, and they really did try to make them as realistic as they could - alot of "what if" planning went into it.

[punpirate]

3. Interesting choice of words....

“We want them to act like reporters and to push the story forward,” Short said. The exercise would help public-relations officials better respond to any real terrorist attack, he said.

So, this is planning for disaster by developing ways to put the best spin on disaster.

:grr:

[bettyellen]

7. because perception is more important than reality these days.....

[zann725]

4. Aside from an ad to replace Gannon, Williams, etc....

are they planning another LIHOP terrorist attack? Or just practicing for one? As you may recall, on 9/11 there was "practice"/training for a Terrorist Attack...going on simultaneous..with the REAL thing.

That aside, they're clearly interviewing for new "Gannon's." Jeffy has too high visibility for now.

[Rose Siding]

6. E&P reports that HS took the posting down over complaints...

snip>
Last week, the department placed an advertisement on Journalismjobs.com, an employment Web site, requesting reporters to participate in TOPOFF 3, a Congress-directed, simulated terrorist-attack exercise. The DHS sought to hire journalists at "competitive" rates to write and report on events only for exercise participants, The Hill newspaper reported.

The posting has since been removed because the department received sufficient applications, a DHS spokesman said.

While the posting clearly stipulated that applicants must not be currently employed by a "real news organization," and must sign a nondisclosure agreement and refrain from reporting on the events elsewhere, some ethicists say that participants who later return to traditional journalism careers might have difficulty maintaining their credibility and integrity.

http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000815619