US Army PRs lead march on bloggers

Public relations consultants to the US army are recruiting bloggers to help fight the propaganda war by offering select pro-Army bloggers ‘exclusive editorial content’. Naturally some who feel they’ve something to say are disappointed not to have been approached, while others are suspicious: ‘why doesn’t the army blog this itself?’

Charlie Kondek of Hass MS&L is the public relations consultant responsible and he outlined his approach to PR and blogging in September. It’s all reasonable stuff. But I’m not convinced this initiative is the way to go.

Here one of the chosen few, Donald Sensing, outlines his editorial stance. If the initiative works, blogs like Donald’s can expect to become centres of attention as they break US Army news. Moreover, while they may not speak for the army, they have been chosen for their editorial stance; there’s an implication that stance is endorsed by the US Army. That’s dangerous because bloggers like Donald rightly take pride in their independence – ‘I… know when I’m being fed baloney’ – and cannot be controlled. Without that control, the army is vulnerable if one of its chosen few comes under fire: do they stand by their man or drop him? And many bloggers, used to being read by a relatively small number of like minded people and ignored as irrelevant by opponents, may lack the media savvy to defend themselves.

It would be better for the army to blog and take part in the internet conversation directly using its own clear voice.
Contact Stephen Newton

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