Ungeduscht und embedded fühlt man sich als Journalist oft ganz schön allein. Aber das Pentagon hat PA (Public Affairs) Offiziere gleich mit eingebettet, und die helfen dann zum Beispiel, wenn den Mikrofonbatterien der Saft ausgeht - oder so. Auf 40 bis 60 Journalisten pro Division kommen 5 oder 6 PA Officers.

Das Pentagon hält aber auch in Kuwait im Coalition Press Information Center (CPIC) gerne unaufdringlich das zitternde Journalistenhändchen bzw allzu forsche Journos an den Hosenträgern ihrer ABC-Schutzanzüge zurück.

"Indeed, one of the CPIC's most vital roles is to discourage "rogue" journalists from venturing into dangerous areas by providing the information they might otherwise attempt to get on their own."

Chapeau! prwatch.org hat das gleich zum "Spin of the Day" ernannt.
Als ob embedding nicht eh schon der "spin of the year" wäre.

Anscheinend variiert die Vor- und Nachmittagsbetreuung à la Pentagon aber ziemlich:
"...if you're one of the 30 journalists posted to the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Persian Gulf [...] you are being hounded by military public affairs officers who follow your every move and look over your shoulder as you interview aviators, sailors, and maintainers for your stories.

Strict ground rules and monitoring have put a chill on reporting any worthwhile news from these locations. One Los Angeles Times reporter writes that her minders on the Abraham Lincoln wrote down the names and ranks of those she interviewed aboard ship and what they had said to her--as if the words would be held against the sailor at a later date. (These Gestapo-style tactics aren't reflected throughout the fleet. The USS Kitty Hawk, for example, had a long meeting with the 30 reporters assigned to it the day they arrived. Afterwards they were cut loose to go about their business--unescorted.)"

Christian Lowe, "All Embeds Are Not Created Equal"