Pentagon rules for the news media

This document provides a fascinating glimpse at the rules established by the Pentagon for war correspondents' coverage of upcoming military operations. It's an Adobe PDF fle, which has the usual annoying features that you can't save or cut and paste from the document. Here are some excerpts:

2.C.4. No communications equipment for use by media in the conduct of their duties will be specifically prohibited. However, unit commanders may impose temporary restrictions on electronic transmissions for operational security reasons. Media will seek approval to use electronic devices in a combat/hostile environment, unless otherwise directed by the unit commander or his/her designated representative. The use of communications equipment will be discussed in full when the media arrive at their assigned unit.
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3.G. Commanders will ensure the media are provided with every opportunity to observe actual combat operations. The personal safety of correspondents is not a reason to exclude them from combat areas.

3.H. If, in the opinion of the unit commander, a media representative is unable to withstand the rigorous conditions required to operated with the forward deployed forces, the commander or his/her representative may limit the representatives participation with operational forces to ensure unit safety and inform OASD (PA) through PA channels as soon as possible. Gender will not be an excluding factor under any circumstance.
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3.K. Units hosting embedded media will issue invitational travel orders, and nuclear, biological and chemical *NBC) gear. See Para. 5. for details on which items are issued and which items the media are responsible to provide for themselves.
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3.R. There is no general review process for media products. See Para 6.A. for further detail concerning security at the source.

3.S. Media will only be granted access to detainees or EPWS within the provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. See Para. 4.G.17. for the ground rule.
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4. Ground rules. For the safety and security of U.S. forces and embedded media, media will adhere to established ground rules. Ground rules will be agreed to in advance and signed by media prior to embedding. Violation of the ground rules may result in the immediate termination of the embed and removal from the AOR. These ground rules recognize the right of the media to cover military operations and are in no way intended to prevent release of derogatory, embarrassing, negative or uncomplimentary information. Any modification to the standard ground rules will be forwarded through the PA channels to GENTCOM/PA for approval. Standard ground rules are:

4.A. All interviews with service members will be on the record. Security at the source is the policy. Interviews with pilots and aircrew members are authorized upon completion of missions; however, release of information must conform to these media ground rules.
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4.C. Media embedded with U.S. forces are not permitted to carry personal firearms.

4.D. Light discipline restrictions will be followed. Visible light sources, including flash or television lights, flash camera will not be used when operating with forces at night unless specifically approved in advance by the on-scene commander.

4.E. Embargoes may be imposed to protect operational security. Embargoes will only be used for operational security and will be lifted as soon as the operational security issue has passed.

4.F. The following categories of information are releaseable.

4.F.1. Approximate friendly force strength figures.

4.F.2. Approximate friendly casualty figures by service. Embedded media may, within OPSEC limits, confirm unit casualties they have witnessed.

4.F.3. Confirmed figures of enemy personnel detained or captured.

4.F.4. Size of friendly force participating in an action or operation can be disclosed using approximate terms. Specific force or unit identification may be released when it no longer warrants security protection.

4.F.5. Information and location of military targets and objectives previously under attack.

4.F.6. Generic description of origin of air operations, such as ìland-based.î
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4.G.11. Extra precautions in reporting will be required at the commencement of hostilities to maximize operational surprise. Live broadcasts from airfields, on the ground or afloat, by embedded media are prohibited until the safe return of the initial strike package or until authorized by the unit commander.

It goes on like that.

Simply fascinating. Weíll see how long this open access to the troops and to the front lines remains in force if things start to go badly.

Web producer 'embedded' with US forces

The Christian Science Monitor, always at the cutting edge of online journalism, has done it again. They've send Ben Arnoldy to the Middle East. Ben is a web producer and reporter, and he may well be the first web producer/reporter to be embedded with US troops. Ben is stationed with the 332nd Air Expeditionary Group at an Air Base in Kuwait.

Check out his bloggish daily dispatches on this beautifully produced special section page. Or, if you use a news aggregator, the RSS feed is here.

His entry today will describe his arrival at his air force unit.

Blogs are 'not a media outlet'

The Reverse Cowgirl, on the sexually explicit fake Puma ads contretemps, quotes a web dept. manager thusly: Blogs are "not a media outlet" and that they are therefore not protected on First Amendment grounds.

Bzzzzt! Wrong, bucko!

Jarvis and Mossberg on blogging

Pointers from the estimable media site iwantmedia.com:

Jeff Jarvis: 'Bloggers Are Becoming Influencers.' The head of Advance.net is so captivated by power of weblogs that he is launching an Iraq "Warblog" across the news sites affiliated with Advance newspapers. An iwantmedia original interview.

Walt Mossberg in the WSJ: The What, Who, Why of Blogs. He writes, "While bloggers aren't constrained by the policies of big media, they also aren't bound by journalistic standards."

E&P: Washington Post to Get 'Jiggy' on Sundays, launching a section for young and infrequent readers that it describes as "Webby and experimental."

MTV refuses antiwar ad

NY Times: MTV refuses to air a commercial opposing a war in Iraq, citing a policy against advocacy spots.

This is disturbing news, and comes awfully close to censorship, especially given that MTV is one of the few networks directed at the youth market.

Random acts of the blogosphere

Nice to see my SxSW presentation about random acts of journalism is getting some traction in the blogosphere, including excerpts or mentions in McGroarty's Ink Feed, Weblogs at Harvard, JOHO, News Goat, One Hand Clapping and elsewhere.

Meantime, Tennessee journalist Bill Hobbs has a rejoinder. He concludes, as I do, that blogging is sometimes journalism, and points to examples where bloggers do a better job than the pros do.

After the CD, what then?

NY Times: Beyond the CD: A Bid to Burnish Records' Sheen.

In the age of online music, when any 15-year-old with a modem can download the complete works of Eminem, some listeners may well have bought their last shiny silver disc. After a 10 percent plunge in CD sales last year, the record industry is desperately trying to find a way to take its business online - and make it pay.

But a second front is developing in the music counterrevolution, with a different set of weapons aimed at a different kind of target. The strategy is to keep listeners - especially older, more affluent ones - buying discs, and making what is on them richer in sound and appeal.

Higher fidelity, alas, comes with increased DRM.