SK B1 Rollout Fdr- 3-26-04 Draft Press Rollout Proposal 497

8/14/2019 SK B1 Rollout Fdr- 3-26-04 Draft Press Rollout Proposal 497

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NATIONAL COM MISSSION ONTERRORIST ATTACKS UPON TH E UNITED STATESPRESS ROLLOUT PROPOSAL

Two of the major objectives of the Commission are to ensure the widespreaddissemination of our final report to the American people and to build support for theimplementation of our policy recommendations. A comprehensive and vigorous pressschedule is central to achieving these objectives.To this end, we have formulated a proposed press schedule for the first week of therollout, based on Thursday, July 22, 2004, as the release date for the report. Discussionof the schedule and relevant issues follows the timeline.

\lAfl Moffrlw. far*}>Proposed Timeline L ~ - 7June 30 (Wed.) Submit fo r Pre-Publication Review (DC)

J YJuly 14 (Wed.) SubmitManuscript to Publisher (DC) ' 'pJuly 20 (Tues.) Release Embargoed Exec. Summary (DC) -

July 21 (Wed.) Family Preview Meeting (DC) -ft*July 22 (Thurs.) t a f f Reporfollout (DC). Statement, Report Posted OA

Reading Room w / staff 'Official Govt. Rollout (DC) / / ft /V \ 'J? Introduction Speech potf-sJt o\ Present Report to Congress

I r/v\ Present Report to President-? r?^-Congressional Hearing (DC)

. Intel/Homeland Security/Govt. Reform Committee(s) HearingEvening Press RoIlou Uro3.dc^st livening r > cws j Evening Cable Iiilerview Show Televised Town hall


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July 23 (Fri.) "I Morning Press Rollout (NYC) Morning Cable Shows Morning Radio, Local and Nat'l. 4PW " 2 ~ I ~AI Introduction Speech (NYC)

Evening Press Rollout (NYC) Evening New s Shows Evening Interview Show s

July 24 (Sat.) University Speech (DC, NJ, NYC)Long-form Daily and P eriodical Interviews (DC, NYC)

July 25 (Sun.) Sunday Press Rounds (DC) Network Policy Talk Shows Broadcast Newsmagazines

ConstraintsThe timeline is constrained b y man y factors. Congress begins its August recess Friday,July 23. Th e Dem ocratic N ational Convention begins in Boston, Monday, July 26. TheCommission has set an aggressive schedule to draft, edit, declassify and publish thereport; our schedule is not completely our own.

Basic ScheduleAs the timeline attests, w e are planning to schedule a few major events, to be attended byall 10 Comm issioners, during the first few days of the release. These events will bestructured to create new s that will further drive the coverage of the report. Nationaltelevision and radio interviews w ill be scheduled in blocks around these events.Th e major event will be the introductory speech and press conference. As mandated bylegislation, the Comm ission w ould then present the report to Congress and the President.Com missioners would then appear before one or two relevant Congressional hearings todiscuss policy recommendations. All of these are separate events, with separate visualsand story lines.The Chairs will preview the report on all five major morning netwo rk shows and reviewthe Commission's findings on the three evening netwo rk news programs. All 10Commissioners will tape a public town hall-style question and answer program b eforefanning out across the w ide spectrum of evening netwo rk and cable interview shows.The Comm ission has already received requests from these shows for a Com missionpresence on the day of the report's release.


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A similar schedule will be repeated the next day in New York City, with an increasedfocus on local press and fewer responsibilities to present the report to government bodies.The overall schedule will be particularly intense for all 10 Commissioners because thereis a limited window during which the report can capture the national attention before theconvention and the campaign take precedence.

Release dateMoving the release date a few days earlier, such as to Monday, July 19, wouldsignificantly increase the breadth and detail of press coverage afforded the report. At thistime, a date earlier than July 22 does not look possible, based on the review andproduction processes.Such a shift would be beneficial for a few reasons. First, it would allow more time fo rthe Commission to dominate the news before the slow Friday and Saturday cycles. Anearlier release date would be further away from the convention, which would lessen thepartisan linkage. Such a move would also give time for the Commission to schedulehearings before the relevant Congressional Committees before Congress heads to recess,allowing the Commission significant opportunities to press our policy recommendations.

Sunday talk showsA Thursday release would make the Commission and our report more relevant to theSunday talk shows. However, the Commission's place on the Sunday shows is alreadycompromised by the convention. Each network show will likely broadcast from theconvention site in Boston. The Commission will certainly be invited to appear, but onlyfor a limited segment. Questions linking the report with the campaign would likelydominate the segment.The Sunday shows the week prior to the release, on July 18, would give the Commissiona much more prominent place. Some would likely schedule the entire show to focus onthe Commission. However, we will not be in a position to make any news until therelease date.

NewsmagazinesThe current release date of July 22 makes it unlikely for the Commission to be featuredon the cover of Time, Newsweek, USNews & World Report, or any othernewsmagazine, though we will be covered prominently, possibly with a preview bar onthe cover.During the past three presidential election cycles, the nominee was featured on everymajor newsmagazine cover on the first Monday of the convention. Therefore, we canexpect the Democratic nominee to appear on the covers of all three major newsmagazineson Monday, July 26, with a dateline of August 2. We would likely be featured on the


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Monday, July 19, covers if our report were released with an embargo on July 19 orwithout an embargo on July 15 or 16. However, as mentioned earlier, such a shift isunlikely.

EmbargoThe press has repeatedly complained about the difficulty of digesting our material. Whilethe final report is designed to be accessible, it will be difficult for the press to summarizeit quickly and accurately. A short embargo of 1-2 days would help alleviate that problemand ensure that press reports accompanying the release of the report are accurate anddetailed. Our past four staff statements were embargoed. This appeared to enhance thedetail and accuracy of press reports without harming the level of coverage.The positives of an embargo have been countered thus far by two particular risks. One,information from the report could be leaked before the rollout. Two, press reports filedon the morning of July 22 could pre-empt the public release of the report and render ourintroductory presentation less important and newsworthy.

Edit BoardsMost of the major newspapers have requested that the Chairs meet with their editorialboards and those reporters who cover national security and homeland defense issues.They would like to meet before the report is released, so that they can adequately plantheir coverage.Presently, no edit board meetings are scheduled on the timeline, because too manyquestions surround the timing.A two-day embargo would allow time for meetings with the bare minimum of edit boards- probably two in Washington and two inNewYork City - before the rollout. Anotheroption would be to hold meetings after the rollout. However, meetings on the first twodays of the rollout would severely cut into the press and public schedule. The followingweek would likely be unavailable, as many of the relevant reporters and board memberswill be attending the convention.The final option is to meet with boards throughout the last month before the rollout.While this would allow the widest schedule of meetings, the Chairs would not be able toanswer many of the questions regarding final judgments and recommendations.The edit board meetings again highlight the release date and embargo questions. Wewant the press to be able to act on our behalf, by accurately disseminating our findingsand recommendations in detail, to the largest possible audience. We should consider theproper release date and embargo strategy to achieve these aims.

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SK B1 Rollout Fdr- 3-26-04 Draft Press Rollout Proposal 497