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Pastimes : Kosovo -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BillCh who wrote (4369)	4/18/1999 3:56:00 PM
From: George Papadopoulos	Respond to of 17770

Nato reinforces the bombing...of its spin that is<g> Campbell set to spin for Nato ======================= By Patrick Wintour, Political Editor Sunday April 18, 1999 The Observer (UK) guardian.co.uk Alastair Campbell, the Prime Minister's press secretary, is carrying out a radical overhaul of Nato's media strategy following poor coordination of news stories between Nato capitals. Campbell believes PR damage done to Nato by the bombing of the civilian convoy in Kosovo last Wednesday could have been reduced if the Pentagon, London and Brussels had an agreed line from the outset. Instead, the alliance's initial response was contradictory. And it emerged yesterday that the Government has advised Nato spokesmen to withhold further details of the incident at this stage. British officials believe the public accepts civilian casualties are inevitable and the agenda should move on. Campbell, who travelled to Brussels last Thursday for all-day meetings with Nato generals and media strategists, is impressed by Nato press spokesman Jamie Shea, but believes he is seriously under-resourced. Shea has not had a day off for a month and operates with only three support staff. He has to write his own notes before every press conference, as well as fix his interviews with the media. The pressure of handling such a big story is said to be unbearable. 'He needs a massive infrastructure to help him and will get it from next week,' said a British source. 'There is no one there with the time to think strategically.' Campbell was shocked to find that demand for Shea from the international media is such that journalists regularly wander in and out of his office. Shea is also said not to have the access to his political masters enjoyed by some press spokesman, including Campbell. One source said: 'Campbell is inside Blair's head, but Shea has to make a series of calls before he gets confirmation.' One difficulty is that the civilian headquarters of Nato is based in Brussels but the military HQ in Mons. Following Campbell's visit, Shea is to be given a full international infrastructure with support staff probably flown in from other Nato capitals. There is also to be regular daily co-ordination to ensure a single message comes out of Nato capitals and from the Pentagon. Campbell will act as the link between Nato media staff and London. It is also expected that Shea, and his staff, will construct regular daily stories for the media. At the moment he arrives at the podium with an overview of Nato overnight raids and the refugee crisis, but then fields whatever questions reporters throw at him. It is thought figures such as Campbell advised Nato to refuse to give further detail of other damage possibly inflicted by Nato aircraft in its mistaken civilian convoy attack. Government sources also confirmed that they have been angered by the work of John Simpson, the BBC correspondent in Belgrade, but had not intended criticisms to appear on the front page of the Times. Downing Street regarded as naive Simpson's claim that if there was evidence of Nato bombing of the civilian convoy, journalists would be shown the detail. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 1999