360DigitalInfluence

Again some recent items from the week past…

U.S. News‘ “Washington Whispers” notes that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that the Pentagon’s Iraq PR campaign to reach out to former military officials “did not violate the publicity or propaganda prohibition.”  The GAO report, which was released back on July 21, received minimal media attention.  A Google News search only found articles from the Associated Press and The Hill, along with pieces in some smaller trade publications.

In regard to the program, U.S. News further reports,

The GAO report, signed by Acting General Counsel Daniel Gordon, was requested by House and Senate Democrats who were concerned that the Pentagon was violating a law that prohibits using appropriations for propaganda. The GAO said that, unlike propaganda, the retired officers program was about helping pundits tell the straight story about the wars. “Federal agencies have a responsibility to inform the public about their activities and programs, explain their policies, and disseminate information in defense of those policies or an administration’s point of view,” the report said.

That said, the GAO did make one recommendation…

While DOD understandably values its ties with retired military officers, we believe that, before undertaking anything along the lines of the now-terminated program at issue in this decision, DOD should consider whether it needs to have additional policies and procedures in place to protect the integrity of, and public confidence in, its public affairs efforts and to ensure the transparency of its public relations activities.

The program created a huge brouhaha when David Barstow of The New York Times originally reported it in April 2008 and the reporting won a Pulitzer Prize.  I have to admit that I am cynical by nature, but I have to admit was I underwhelmed by the story (its follow-up that focused on Gen. Barry McCaffrey’s business dealings, which was also addressed in the GAO report, was much more interesting).  As one whose firm does government public relations work and as one who has a government client, I’ve always felt that much of the criticism of the government’s use of traditional public relations tactics and public relations firms was misplaced.  Sure, there have been times when the line between public relations and propaganda has been crossed, but in vast majority of cases I find it sour grapes when groups complain that the government uses traditional public relations tactics or firms to make its case.

As I mentioned on my earlier Twitter post, it will be interesting to see how Congress reacts to this report.  According to The Hill, Sen. Russ Feingold’s office had no immediate statement on it and, as of this morning, no statement appears on the Senator’s home page.

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The Times had a fascinating front pager yesterday in regard to the apparent cease fire between Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly and MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann.  The hosts’ bosses at  General Electric and News Corporation agreed to have the hosts of their respective 8 PM cable news shows stop taking swipes at each other (or, in the case of O’Reilly, General Electric).

For those who have not been following the feud, here is a short recap.  Olbermann, the ratings underdog, began by regularly challenging statements that O’Reilly made on his program.  O’Reilly then retaliated by going after NBC News’ objectivity and, more importantly, General Electric’s business practices (although not usually referring to Olbermann by name).  This led to a scene earlier this year when MSNBC critics (with an O’Reilly producer present) brought up many of O’Reilly’s complaints at a General Electric stock holders’ meeting.  Those questions stopped when General Electric turned off the microphones.

I think first and foremost, the thing to remember is the the key word here is “apparent.”  As Olbermann told the Times, he was not a party to the deal.  Moreover, should a deal exist, it has not stopped other Fox hosts going after NBC and General Electric and other MSNBC hosts from going after Fox hosts, such as Glen Beck.  Nor should they.

Moreover, the deal doesn’t seem to cover other corporate entities — the New York Post recently went after MSNBC’s David Shuster over an alleged tantrum.   In short, both networks have had their share of cringe inducing moments and even if they aren’t brought up between 8-9 PM ET, they get coverage elsewhere.

In the end, I don’t see many of the big journalistic crises that others, such as Aaron Barnhart of the Kansas City Star, Salon’s Glen Greenwald and the team at Mediaite (run by MSNBC contributor Dan Abrams), do.

Would I like to have seen the feud continue.? Not really.  It has long since become tiresome, especially on Olbermann’s part.

Does it reinforce some of the talking points that Greenwald and others make about “corporate media?”  Yeah.  But there is nothing stopping others, including others at MSNBC, from picking up Olbermann’s mantle (assuming he agrees to the terms of the deal).

Is there a winner here? Yes. Fox. The story makes it seem like General Electric sued for peace which means O’Reilly’s tactic of going after Olbermann’s employer worked.  It also puts Olbermann, MSNBC’s most popular host, in a pickle.  If he abides by the deal, he looks like he was muzzled and it hurts his credibility with his  fan base.  If he doesn’t, then he gives O’Reilly an excuse to go back after General Electric.

FWIW, Barnhart also links to Olbermann’s ratings over the past year click here.  In short, Olbermann is back to about where he was this time last year.

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In his question of the day, Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic asks if the White House can turn around the health case debate in the next three weeks.

With the House having gone home for August recess and the Senate scheduled to do so at the end of the week, look for the war over health care to continue back in the states.  I think the President and the Democrats have a lot of work to do to repair the damage that has been done to their position, as evidenced by the polls.  But I wouldn’t count them out.  Led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, look for a lot of Democrats to go after insurance companies.

As Politico reported this morning, expect the insurance companies to push back (emphasis in the original)…

EXCLUSIVE — FOOD FIGHT AT THE TABLE — THE HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY, LONELY IN THE LEGISLATIVE CROSSHAIRS, IS STARTING TO PUSH BACK, ACCUSING DEMOCRATS OF USING INSURERS AS A SCAPEGOAT — America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP — the national association representing nearly 1,300 member companies providing health insurance coverage to more than 200 million Americans) is urging the industry’s hundreds of thousands of employees to GO TO TOWN MEETINGS WITH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN AUGUST TO CONFRONT THEM on House Democrats’ top recess message — that health-reform legislation is “health insurance reform to hold insurance companies accountable.” The association’s positive TV ad will continue into this week, but look for the spots to toughen up soon.

AHIP’s director of strategic communications, Robert Zirkelbach, tells Playbook: “The American people want Washington to focus on solutions, not the same old divisive political rhetoric that hasn’t worked in the past. Our industry has offered to completely transform how health insurance is provided today. We have stepped up to do our part to make health-care reform a reality. That’s an INCONVENIENT FACT that some people have chosen to ignore. These attacks are politically motivated, and they ignore the significant commitment that our industry has made to the health-reform process. WE’RE GOING TO BE VERY ACTIVE. We have people on the ground in more than 30 states. There are thousands of industry employees WHO HAVE NOW HAD THEIR INTEGRITY CALLED INTO QUESTION. They want to have their voices heard as part of this.”

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While much of the attention has been paid to how the Democrats fight back on health care, I think the more interesting battle to watch is whether the Democrats start an internal civil war with the liberal wing of the party going after the more centrist wing (not just the House Blue Dogs).  Last week alone, Sen. Tom Harkin suggested that the Senate Democrats vote on committee chairmanships by secret battle, a not not-to-subtle threat to Sen. Max Baucus, who helped broker the Senate Finance Committee’s reported deal.  In the House, Rep. Maxine Waters suggested that the liberal wing of the party run liberal candidates in the upcoming Democratic primaries in an effort to elect candidates who are, well, more liberal.

This threat is not new, although much of the attention was paid in recent elections when conservative Republicans ran a similar campaign against moderate Republicans (see Lincoln Chaffee, Wayne Gilchrest and, most recently, Arlen Specter).  In 2008, the liberal wing of the Democratic party unseated Rep. Al Wynn of Maryland and threatened to go after other Democrats who were not viewed as sufficiently anti-war.  A recent cover story in National Journal noted that the elements in the party were working on a campaign to repeat the Wynn case in 2010 as part of an overall attempt to reduce the influence of the moderate wing of the party (including trying to undercut the legacy of the Clinton administration).

This strategy did not work well for Republicans.  It will be interesting to see if the Democrats follow a similar path.

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The first NFL preseason game is next Sunday night — not a moment too soon.  Yes, I AM ready for some football.

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For daily thoughts that are 140 characters or less, check me out on Twitter @gregstanko