Almost two centuries passed, but the ability to canalize the newsflow remains topical.
NATO claiming the role of a global leader has this ability and likes to do it. In so doing, the Alliance in its practice uses various mechanisms, of them “the public affairs” technology is not the least one. By this term the Alliance understands a package of measures “pursuing a goal to establish and maintain friendly relations between official institutions and public through generation of an information environment favorable for the former.”
The abovementioned technology is applicable to all initiatives and practical actions of the Alliance. This assertion is confirmed by the experience of international exercise Bold Monarch-2008.
Bold Monarch-2008 is a multinational exercise to practice life-saving operations in support of distressed submarines. It was sponsored by the North Atlantic Alliance and took place from May 26 to June 6, 2008, off the coast of Kristiansand, South Norway. The exercise was held under the command of Captain (Navy) Dave Dittmer (USA), Deputy Commander, NATO Submarine Allied Force “North” (Northwood, Great Britain). The main mission was to help to validate assets and standard operating procedures, and further develop rescue systems of NATO and Russian Navy as well as practice cooperation in rescue operations .
As soon as information-support tasks were determined (a key task was to demonstrate readiness of Brussels to lead multinational operations aimed at rendering support to a distressed submarine of any nation) and person-in-charge of public relations was appointed (represented by the Command of the NATO Allied Naval Force “North”) the respective structures proceeded with “the public affairs” activities.
As far back as March-April 2008, various mass media received invitations to attend the exercise as a highlighting party. NATO officers have done a good job. So, dozens of representatives of international and national news agencies, TV companies, newspapers and magazines from Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Great Britain and the USA arrived to observe Bold Monarch-2008.
The bodies to implement the strategic intentions were formed in situ plainly in a soldier-like manner in accordance with the approved schedule. A press information center established in Norwegian AF Base Kjevik (Kristiansand ) became an HQ of numerous groups and team. Simultaneously to provide higher efficiency and dynamism of information processing, “a forward press center” was established aboard a Norwegian amphibious warship.
Main duties of press-centre personnel represented by military PR specialists were to provide assistance to journalists, facilitate conduct of briefings and press-conferences, and prepare own press-releases. Printing facilities of Norway as a host-country of Bold Monarch-2008 were actively employed for copying the press-releases. Both civil bodies (municipal authorities of Oslo and Arendal) and military structures (unified military command and Naval Base Hokonsvern) provided for printing of colorful booklets devoted to the exercise in a limited number of copies.
The exercise sponsors understood well that the main precondition of success in fulfillment of the “public affairs” tasks was to provide the people with easy access to prepared information while the news would be distributed by news agencies themselves. So, as soon as the practical phase of the exercise started, they distributed a preliminary detailed press-release. Hereafter, as the exercise tasks were successively fulfilled the journalists were provided with official press-releases on the results of individual elements of the operations.
The NATO “public affairs” masters made their best to diversify their work with attending journalists. Besides the standard services provided by the press information center the journalists got an opportunity to visit practically all ships and vessels involved in Bold Monarch-2008, and see and shoot in a real-time format joint operations of rescue teams with submarines not only on the surface but also from inside of special craft that submerged and docked with submarines.
Finally in accordance with the tradition in order “to put an exclamation mark” and “draw a line” The Day of Press was conducted for all journalists. The event was attended by at least 36 representatives of mass media accredited to the exercise. They were addressed by Captain (Navy) Dave Dittmer, Bold Monarch -2008 Commander. He made a convincing speech on the importance of the exercise and “readiness” and “ability” of the North Atlantic Alliance to perform such operations. He emphasized that the exercise “demonstrated tremendous progress achieved due to activities sponsored and efforts made by NATO” while “the Alliance is going to proceed forward to attain higher perfection”, and so on, and so forth.
The fact that the North Atlantic Alliance is not going to rest on the achieved results including generation of a favorable information environment is confirmed by posting the Bold Monarch-2008 web site in the Internet. This electronic resource designed to expand the audience ten-fold versus the traditional mass media facilities was opened in the global network long before the exercise. Numerous Internet users have got free access to unclassified data on the purpose, schedule and participants of the event. The web site was used for daily posting the details of individual stages and press-releases of the NATO Command, which reflected its attitude to the developments. As the exercise finished, the black-and-white texts of official documents were colored with numerous photo and video materials.
It is noteworthy that the web-resource is proved to be designed for years ahead. Though it is quite explainable taking into account the ambitions of the Alliance, which stand clearly corresponds to the idea expressed by Richard Nixon, thirty seventh president of the eternal NATO leader – the United States of America, who said that it is more profitable to invest one Dollar in press than ten Dollars in arms because arms will hardly speak at all while press does not close its mouth day and night.
