Hard Press Briefings, Soft Publicity

            The media’s influence over foreign policy is a topic that would take extensive knowledge of the relationships between reporters and state officials to fully understand. I have been lucky enough to sit-in on three press briefings held between state officials focused on foreign policy and the media. The briefing begins when the spokesperson stations him/herself on the podium and gives a brief synopsis of hot topics in the world that day. Today, that topic was North Korea, and was not mentioned during this opening blurb – probably since it was obvious, from the size of the crowd and names of companies represented there, that questions about this would be asked. When finished, the first reporter asks a question about the foreign policy in a certain country. The spokesperson replies quickly and firmly the practiced answer before moving on to the next question, quickly shouted out before she/he finishes speaking. This goes on, questions organized by region bulleting at the spokesperson. At the end of the briefing, the spokesperson states they are done, says thank you, and steps off the stage. The lights turn off, and the reporters swarm around him/her for “off the record” Q&As.

            It seems like it takes great memorization skills to be a spokesperson for a state agency; even though a book of planned comments is placed on the podium, it is hardly referenced. I also noticed, not surprisingly, that many of the answers to these questions were danced around, not really having a clear response (that, or the reporter was asked to take the question to the Pentagon). News reporters are some of the first people to hear about up-to-the-minute foreign policy changes, but it seems that the details and opinions are still sought after. The off the record part of the briefing wasn’t the spokesperson answering each question thoroughly, either; it was more of a relaxed chitchat.

            So, it seems that the media and state agencies are not always working together to promote foreign policies at all times. Toril Aalberg and Piers Robinson seem to agree with this point, specifically in the case of hard versus soft news issues. In their opinions, news based on politics and economics are not as influenced by media as news on humanitarian efforts and other “soft” issues. This did seem to be the case during the briefing where reporters struggled to receive answers from the state spokesperson. I’m not sure what the case is with leaks or other behind-the-scenes actions, but it didn’t seem (in either conversation, on or off the record) like the reporters had much more inside information – otherwise, why would they be grilling the spokesperson?

            In terms of soft news, questions raised during press briefings may be beneficial to state agencies since they let them know topics of interest. Robinson stated, “media exerts influence on subtle processes”. He believes they have the ability to influence policymakers to support a humanitarian food aid effort, for example, since politicians supporting it would be able to receive public recognition and would bring the policy to light. It may be true that news projected through media has an effect on what reaches politicians’ policy radars. Whatever the case may be, the relationship between the media and foreign policy officials seems as though it will never be thoroughly figured out.