Embassies Find Getting Their Messages Out To Press Corps Challenging by John Shaw Of the many difficult challenges confronting the diplomatic community in Washington, D.C., few are more daunting and bewildering than dealing with the cityís press corps. For many embassies, long periods of icy indifference by the press are interrupted by brief moments of intense interest, fueled by some dispute or controversy. And when the dispute is resolved or the controversy passes, the indifference returns with a vengeance. For complex historic, cultural, political, organizational and commercial reasons, many Washington-based news organizations and journalists have not traditionally put international issues or foreign perspectives at the top of their priority list. Much has changed about American politics and journalism since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but it is doubtful the Washington media will suddenly begin to pay more attention to the voices and perspectives of Embassy Row. Stephen Hess, an analyst at The Brookings Institution, said embassies are simply not well-positioned to receive serious attention from the Washington press corps. "Itís very hard for embassies to break through and be heard. For one thing, the Washington press corps just isnít designed around embassies. You have reporters hanging around the White House, hanging around the Pentagon, hanging around the State Department and hanging around the Congress. But you donít have reporters hanging around, say, the British Embassy. Itís just not the way the press is organized," Hess said. But most of the 170 or so embassies in Washington try, with varying levels of intensity and commitment, to communicate toóand throughóthe Washington press corps. "Of course, itís not easy for an embassy to be heard in this, the political capital of the world," said Sandi Logan, a spokesman for the Australian Embassy. "The agenda is driven by the White House, by the Hill, by K Street. But with the right attitude and approach you can do a fine job," Logan said. Chris Cimko, a vice president at Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, noted that embassies should carefully consider what they want to say and work hard and creatively to say it. "Itís a real challenge for diplomats and communications people in embassies to come to Washington, get a lay of the land, build contacts, establish a power base and get a clear message out that will resonate," Cimko said. "This is really and truly a challenge. You need to be very proactive. You need to get your message out and leave it behind. You need a message that will have resonance." Walter Cutler, a former U.S. ambassador and now president of the Meridian International Center, said that dealing with the Washington press corps is unnatural and even intimidating for many diplomats. "Diplomats are trained to deal with foreign ministries, with governments. They are not, by and large, trained to deal with the media. Many are reluctant to do so because theyíre afraid they will get burned," he said. "But dealing with the media provides a magnificent opportunity for an ambassador to get his or her message out. For an ambassador in Washington, dealing with the press is part of the job, just like walking the halls of Congress," Cutler added. Analysts agree that dealing successfully with the media requires that embassies understand the structure, organization and mind-set of the Washington press corps. The Washington press corps is a large and complicated assortment of news organizations whose mission, focus and even professional ethics vary enormously. The centerpiece of the press corps continues to be the national newspapers such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and USA Today, which is becoming an increasingly respected and important organization. The Washington Post and to a lesser extent the Washington Times are carefully read in Washington political and media circles as are the other national papers and regional newspapers such as the Boston Globe, Baltimore Sun, Dallas Morning News and Chicago Tribune. While readership for most major newspapers is declining, studies show they still shape the national political debate and agenda. Weekly news magazines also frame the policy agenda. Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, The Weekly Standard, The Nation as well as two policy magazines, Congressional Quarterly and National Journal, are reviewed by many journalists and policymakers. Most Americans still get their news from the three major commercial television networksóABC, NBC and CBS. But cable stations such as CNN, C-SPAN, CNBC, Fox News and MSNBC are seizing segments of the market that were once controlled by the three networks. The two main news wires, Associated Press and Reuters, also influence the American policy agenda as do several financial wire services such as Bloomberg, Dow Jones and Market News International. Washingtonís press corps also includes a host of TV and radio talk shows, political Web sites, syndicated columnists, trade publications, newsletters and overseas news services. Analysts agree that the American media is undergoing a wrenching transformation. A recent book, "Warp Speed: America in the Age of Mixed Media" by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, argues the culture of American news is changing rapidly. "Journalism is in a state of disorientation brought on by rapid technological change, declining market share, and growing pressure to operate with economic efficiency. In a sometimes desperate search to reclaim audience, the press has moved toward sensationalism, entertainment, and opinion," they write. "It is a newly diversified mass media in which the cultures of entertainment, infotainment, argument, analysis, tabloid, and mainstream press not only work side by side but intermingle and merge. It is a culture in which Matt Drudge sits alongside William Safire on ëMeet the Pressí and Ted Koppel talks about the nuances of oral sex, in which ëHard Copyí and ëCBS Newsí jostle for camera position outside the federal grand jury to hear from a special prosecutor," they add. Even as news organizations evolve and differences become more apparent among various types of organization, there are several themes that distinguish the Washington media. First, the Washington press corps tends be intensely focused on a story of the day whether it be the travails of Gary Condit, the impeachment saga of Bill Clinton, President George W. Bushís massive tax cut, or the current war on terrorism. Kovach and Rosenstiel argue that the press is increasingly fixated on finding the "Big Story" that will temporarily reassemble the fragmented mass audience. Second, since the end of the Cold War, the Washington and national media have been intensely focused on domestic issues to the virtual exclusion of all but the most dramatic international matters. Every year, careful content analyses of TV broadcasts and newspapers show that American news organizations provide less and less news about international affairs. Some analysts believe the events of Sept. 11 fundamentally changed this narrow domestic focus and educated Americans and news organization about the importance of the outside world. Hess, the Brookings analyst, suspects the inward focus of the American people and the Washington media will return. "I hope Iím wrong, but my guess is that eventually we will revert back to our preoccupation with domestic issues, and we will go back to our post-Cold War-level interest in foreign policy," he said. "And news organizations will almost certainly pull back, if for no other reason than it is expensive to do foreign news. This current crisis is breaking the banks of news organizations and they are clearly not interested in continuing this level of coverage indefinitely," he added. Third, the Washington press corps is dominated by what can be called the culture of conflict. Simply put, reporters and editors from all news organizations relish conflict and instinctively search for it. They love to find the White House battling with Congress, the State Department quarrelling with the Pentagon, Democrats fighting Republicans, even moderate Republicans warring with conservative Republicans. In an interview this summer with Time magazine, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was asked how Washington has changed over the four decades he has worked here. He seized on the issue of the pressí search for conflict. "It [the press] is arranged for promoting conflict, difficulty and problems. I guess that was always the case but not like now," Rumsfeld said. Matthew Felling, media director for the Center for Media and Public Affairs, said Washington journalists simply crave conflict. "To drive a story, reporters in Washington tend to stress differences and underplay commonalities," Felling said. Analysts say embassies must be aware of these media orientations as they seek to operate in Washington. Terry Michael, executive director of the Washington Center for Politics and Journalism, said embassies should gear up for a formidable challenge. "Itís very hard to strategically communicate a message in Washington. Itís both an art and science. You need to understand the nuts and bolts of how news organizations workóhow stories are developed," he said. "Embassies also need to have a message that communicates a story. You need to either plug your story into an ongoing story or present a story that relates to something of concern or interest to the elite in Washington. Any embassy that expects uncritical, chamber of commerce type, ëeveryone is greatí coverage in Washington is going to be sorely disappointed," he added. Logan, the Australian diplomat, said it is important to approach press inquiries as an opportunity rather than as a grim ordeal or impending trap. "Working with the media is a perfect way for us to multiply our message, to tell Australiaís story to the American people. Itís an opportunity not some kind of burden," he said. Hinrich Thoelken, first secretary of the press at the Germany Embassy, said it is crucial to learn the mechanics of the Washington press corps and develop relationships with members of the media. "Itís important to establish personal relations with editors, reporters and producers. Itís very time and energy consuming but itís necessary," he said. Thoelken said the German Embassy tries to provide useful information on key international issues, developments in Europe, global economic issues and important German domestic developments. "We try to give a full, accurate picture of Germany. We try to clear up inaccurate impressions and respond to misleading clichÈs. Itís important for an embassyís press office to be fair and authentic so you are seen as credible. Itís very important not to exaggerate or overstate things," he added. Miltos Miltiadou, press counselor for the Embassy of Cyprus, said it is important to be keenly aware of American interests. "You have to pitch stories that have an American point of view, an American angle. You canít realistically expect reporters to go after stories that donít have anything to do with this country. Itís just not realistic. You have to make it relevant," he said. John Shaw is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.