Media Influence on National Security Decision-making

Former senior government officials discussed and compared press coverage of the war on terrorism and of previous national crises as part of the Brookings/Harvard project studying press performance in the current crisis. Joining co-hosts Stephen Hess of Brookings and Marvin Kalb of the Shorenstein Center on Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard were Jeanne Kirkpatrick (Reagan administration), James Woolsey (Clinton administration), and James Schlesinger (Nixon, Ford, Carter administrations).

Panelists addressed key questions such as: How did they view and handle the press during their time in office? How did they manage leaks? Were they ever compelled to misinform the press to protect national security? Did they favor certain journalists over others? How would they judge Bush administration relations with the press, and how would they judge press performance during this crisis?

This seminar was be the fifth in a weekly series co-sponsored by Brookings and Harvard. The first focused on what lessons journalists drew from their coverage of previous wars, dating back to World War II. The second challenged White House spokespersons to discuss their management of the press during earlier crises. The third highlighted recent poll findings about public attitudes toward press coverage of the current war. The fourth featured the experiences of four foreign correspondents who have been covering the anti-terrorist war from Washington, D.C.