Memo to DHS — Track terrorists, not journalists
You’d think that the Department of Homeland Security would have its hands full tracking terrorists. But it looks like there’s still time (and taxpayer money) to track what kind of press the agency is getting around the globe.
The DHS office responsible for protecting the nation’s physical and cyber infrastructure wants to hire a company to monitor news stories related to DHS or “a particular event” — along with their “sentiment” — across 290,000 media outlets in more than 100 languages.
The winning contractor would assemble a database of “top media influencers,” including correspondents, editors, bloggers and those on social media, their contact information and an overview of their “previous coverage.”
It would also measure something called “AVE.” That stands for “advertising-value equivalency," used in public relations to calculate the value of media exposure, based on what the equivalent cost in advertising would be.
Precisely how all this makes America safer, or how much it would cost, is unclear. Frankly, it sounds more fitting for a Fortune 500 company trying to enhance its image than a government agency with a life-saving mission.
When some news outlets suggested this looked like the start of a government effort to monitor the leanings of top journalists, DHS spokesman Tyler Houlton responded with — what else? — a tweet: “Despite what some reporters may suggest, this is nothing more than the standard practice of monitoring current events in the media. Any suggestion otherwise is fit for tin foil hat wearing, black helicopter conspiracy theorists.”
Actually, the idea of government cataloging reporters based on the tone of their stories isn’t so far-fetched. In 2009, the Pentagon terminated a $1.5 million public relations contract after it was revealed that the firm was assessing journalists’ work for “perspective, style and tone” before embedding them with troops.
Last week, Houlton told us that the purpose of the planned database is to collect “stories across the globe about events and issues … that impact national security,” adding that other agencies under DHS already have similar operations.
It’s true that government agencies, like private companies, have long monitored stories about themselves and events that affect their mission. The Pentagon, for instance, still compiles news and opinion for distribution to military and civilian officials.
But the DHS plan, at least as described in the solicitation, goes beyond standard practice. It’s media monitoring on steroids, and in Bengali, Sunda, Sindhi, Tagalog and Zulu to boot.
Here’s a little advice. When reporters ask questions, don’t tweet that they’re crazy. It’s not the best way to influence “media influencers.”
And if a government agency wants good coverage, it’s easy. Just do a good job.