An important - and perfect for any class on media, communications, propaganda, or PR -- investigative piece from NYTimes about how Pentagon has been using uniformed talking heads to build support for its positions:
"To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world. Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found."
Update [Apr 28, 2008]. Pentagon said it temporarily suspended the media analyst program. - Huffington Post
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