War / Peace

BBC's World Service has begun airing the first of a three-part series titled "Spinning to Win," which looks at how governments have spun news and information to audiences at home and abroad in times of war.

The U.S. Department of Defense has launched a new $1.7 million ad campaign designed to convince parents and other adults to encourage young people to join the military. The Washington Times reports that campaign features five successful veterans, highlighting "qualities such as commitment and perseverance" that the vets have gained from service. "We focus on the more emotional aspects the military has to offer," George Rogers, vice president of the agency that created the ads, told the Times.

The Carlyle Group sits at the epicenter of the military-industrial complex that connects the Bush-Cheney administration with crony capitalism. Dan Briody, discusses The Iron Triangle, his new book about the Carlyle Group, which has recently begun to dabble in media acquisition. "We're looking at the potential for having a real controlling influence in the media," he says. "And I personally would not like to see Carlyle Group controlling the information that I receive on a daily basis."

The Rendon Group, a secretive PR firm whose government clients have included the Pentagon, the CIA, and USAID, has gone to work for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, trade publication O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports. The Washington D.C.-based firm is providing "strategic communications counsel, media analysis and consultation support services" to the Joint Chiefs, combatant commanders and top military advisors.