The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1944-02-01
. BEHIND THE SCENES
IN WASHINGTON .

Army's is from eight TO 10 day,
or maybe $500 in the course of a
year.
A conservative guess on the
entire output of the govern
ments press agents-pardon,
public relations offices--Would
be in the neighborhood of &c.
600 to 10000 items and pieces
handed out to the papers last
year, not counting speeches,
pamphlets and posters.
MILLIONS OF WORDS
This is something to demand
worshipful attention, any way
you look at it. You can look
at it as something awful, or you
can look at it with just awe,
while exclaiming, Gee. "Ain't
it wonderful that our govern
ment makes so much news!" All
this, mind you, is in addition to
the news made by Congress, the
White House and whatever orr
ginal and exclusive news is dug
UP by a press, radio. periodical,
trade paper and racket trade
letter-writing corps that now
numbers over 1000 and turns
out gosh knows how many mil
lions of words.
A lot Of the stuff which they
turn out is of necessity a rehash
of the handouts, for handouts
have become increasingly inn
portant in the wartime scheme
of the government informa-
ton setup. Principal reason for
the increasing importance of the
handout is the fact that the OWL
gag rule, requiring govern
mcnt officials to tell the same
story in an effort to keep them
from saying things which are in
conflict with the things said by
the heads of other government
agencies, has been responsible
for making lot of these Off
Gals draw in their neckS. None
wants to butt his head into
controversy if he knows it is go
ing TO be cut off. That happen
ed, you'll recall, to Vice PreSl-
dent Wallace and Secretary OF
Commerce Jones when they
started squabbling about Board
OF Economic Warfare.
PUBLICITY NOW AVOIDED
The result is that top govern.
ment spokesman and admins
traitors have became unusually
reticent-for public officials
Grabbing the headlines has beer
succeeded by studied effort tc
keep out Of the papers, which
is now official public relation!
policy in some agencies.
Controversies are fought GU
behind conference room door!
instead of in public. War De
partment public relations office
has a new rule that no genera
may say anything for publica
ton unless his remarks are pass
ed not only by the review
) branch, for security, but th'
commanding officer Of the bur
eau of pubic relations himself.
Part of this new tightening VI
Of news sources by the Army i
pre-invasion filters. Part of 1t i
a reaction to the unfavorabl'
publicity which the Army go
after a high officers off-the
record conference in which M
said strike threats had prolong
ed the war by months, WoulC
cost many American lives anC
had prevented the internal col
lapse of Germany and satellites
Admerals Leahy and King arr
practically unapproachable. TIT
next lower layer Of admirals /
available from time to time a
Secretary Frank Knox's SEIZED
uled tWice-a-week press confer
ences, which are fairly regulal
and do produce news. Secretar,
of State Cordell Hull schedules
press conference daily at noon
Of the other cabinet officers
Secretary Morgenthau schedule
two a week, Stimson and lcke
one each, but this trio perform
only about half the time.
The tendency, whenever there
is anything TO say, grows mor'
and more towards saying /
with handouts.