The Foreign Service Journal, June 2012

This came to an end in 1977, when Hodding Carter, spokesman for Secre- tary of State Cyrus Vance (1977-1980), decided to allow the broadcast media to bring their cameras and sound equipment to the briefing room. Overnight, the informality of the brief- ing was gone. Spokesmen stopped smoking at the podium, smiled more and dressed better. Perhaps to set a good example, Hodding himself ceased practicing his golf swing during long-winded ques- tions. But he did once fire a rubber chicken at the tirelessly combative Lester Kinsolving, a stringer for radio stations who was also a Protestant min- ister. More importantly, the new audio and video devices had a chilling effect. Spokesmen could no longer go on background, the procedure that had al- lowed them to explain more and give out sensitive information on the condi- tion that they not be named. Instead, they were identifiable only as a “U.S. official” or “administration official.” This permitted more candor on the part of the briefer and more in-depth stories. But subsequent attempts by spokesmen to provide clarity on back- ground after the briefing with cameras off have never worked well. As a result, briefings became a chore, producing less meat and more pablum. The downside of the old system, of course, was that promiscuous use of background comments opened the way for manipulation of the press without accountability, an obvious danger. As a result, media outlets grew increasingly wary of any use of background quotes in any story. The Decline of the Press Briefing Some Secretaries of State were more finicky than others about spokes- men sticking strictly to the script handed to them. During the 14 or so months that he served as Al Haig’s spokesman, Dean Fisher, a former Time magazine reporter, said he devi- ated just three times from the exact wording of the official guidance. And each time, he said, his superiors “rapped me on the knuckles” for his transgression. In October 1998, 21 years after cameras had first been allowed into the briefing room, an electrical prob- lem meant that no functioning cam- eras or microphones were present for a noon briefing by Albright’s spokes- man, Jamie Rubin. He was almost giddy about being able to horse around at the podium and, more im- portantly, go on background at will. A weight had been lifted from his shoul- ders. The next day, electricity having been restored, it was business — or blandness — as usual. David Passage was a State Depart- ment press officer and briefer during the Carter administration. He devel- oped the habit of making up answers if there was nothing official at hand on a particular subject during a briefing. I always knew when he was wing- ing it. Instead of using the normal dodge — “I have nothing for you on that” — he would begin, “The United States believes....” He would follow that with an off-the-cuff account of what he thought the United States be- lieved. (I was grateful, though, for all the times David was helpful to me over the years by phone or in his of- fice.) With the computer era, attendance at State Department briefings de- clined sharply because transcripts were available within an hour after their conclusion. Gone were the days when the networks routinely had two big-name, on-air reporters on duty daily at the department, and TV cam- eramen jostled for space at the rear of the briefing room. Also absent were correspondents from prominent news- papers and much of the foreign press, including Arab and Israeli reporters. To many reporters, repetition was often the most insufferable part of noon briefings. One day in 2003, a briefer urged an end to Israeli-Pales- tinian violence 29 times in 30 minutes. All the while the cameras rolled, and so did the eyes of correspondents. Despite all these constraints, most of the spokesmen I saw in action over my 39 years at State served the de- partment very well. I would put Hodding Carter, Chuck Redman and Richard Boucher at the top of my list. 40 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U N E 2 0 1 2 Most of the spokesmen I saw in action over my 39 years served State very well. Dear Readers: In order to produce a high- quality product, the FSJ depends on the revenue it earns from advertising. You can help with this. Please let us know the names of companies that have provided good service to you — a hotel, insurance company, auto dealership, or other concern. A referral from our readers is the best entrée! You Are Our Eyes & Ears! Ed Miltenberger Advertising & Circulation Manager Tel: (202) 944-5507 E-mail: miltenberger@afsa.org