EXPLOITATION OF SOVIET CENTRAL ASIAN MEDIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84-00868R000100070039-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 13, 2007
• Sequence Number: 39
• Publication Date: July 7, 1980
• Content Type: MEMO

Approved For Release 2007/06/14: CIA-RDP84-00868R000100070039-6
WEHAMUHS~POOUF BILE
7 July 1980
SUBJECT: Exploitation of Soviet Central Asian Media
1. The exploitation program on the Soviet Central Asian press
begun by UD earlier this year was the subject of a meeting between
representatives of UD and AG on 7 July, called at UD's initiative.
Contract employee replied to questions concerning the STAT
conceptual aims and practical modalities of the program. The meeting
material that goes beyond normal FBIS collection functions should
be published, and-left some other issues unresolved.
2. A major achievement was an agreement in principle that the
work produced by the FBIS contractors should be geared to Comm nity
interests and made generally available. Up to now, the contractors
on the project have been working on a "two-track system," producing
on the one hand translations for publication by JPRS, and, on the
other hand, various kinds of background materials--historical essays,
biographical information, collations--intended for data banks or
internal educational purposes, but not for general distribution.
The participants in the meeting agreed that it will make sense to
gear the UD program for collecting biographical information to other
existing programs in OCR, AG and elsewhere so as to minimize duplication
of effort and ensure that the information collected is made generally
available. We can work this out jointly as the FBIS-wide efforts
develop.
3. We also-agreed that for the time being at least, material
of a judgmental nature obtained from the contractors, such as collations
of excerpts organized to illustrate a theme, with prefatory interpretive
comment, could be published in an FBIS SPECIAL MEMORANDUM or in a
FOREIGN PRESS NOTE--in some instances supplementing or complementing
broader analytic treatment in a TRENDS article. We agreed that we
would all have to play this by ear for awhile and that it would be
helpful if contact points were established in each of the three Groups
to facilitate consulation and coordination as questions relating
to processing and publication arise. AG LOGNOTE No. 4 of 7 July
identifies the contact points subsequently named by each Group.
4. The AG participants came away with the feeling that these
agreements can become the focal points of fruitful collaboration
among all FBIS people concerned with the Soviet nationalities problem.
We also see a number of problems that remain to be ironed out. First,
TR A IN TEf6NAj USE 0111,1'
Approved For Release 2007/06/14: CIA-RDP84-00868R000100070039-6
 Approved For Release 2007/06/14: CIA-RDP84-00868R000100070039-6
SUBJECT: Exploitation of Soviet Central Asian Media
further thought and discussion needs to be given to the question
of how AG can best discharge its responsibilities for guiding collection
efforts in FBIS in this area--including field collection--without
unnecessarily complicating UD's administration of the JPRS contractor
effort. Perhaps the solution lies in joint periodic reviews of overall
selection requirements and priorities, spanning the three Groups,
as a supplement to the informal desk-level exchanges that take place
on a day-to-day basis. Secondly, we should give thought to a simple
mechanism for reaching coordinated decisions on jobs assigned to
JPRS contractors that do not fall within the normal FBIS processing
categories and are intended for special dissemination or publication
in vehicles like the SPECIAL MEMORANDUM; it will make sense, in terms
of effective use of resources all around, to have an idea in advance
of where we plan to publish--or how we plan to circulate--an expository
piece we may ask a contractor to prepare. At least for now, the
Group contact points would seem the logical channel for making such
decisions.
the scope and goals of the program.
6. We found the meeting useful and would like to see more,
with Operations Group included to ensure that people concerned with
the field collection effort and with DAILY REPORT publication are
fully keyed into UD's and AG's activities and plans. We welcome /
the working session with the contractors planned 1~y UD.
5. Finally, we think further discussion should take place to
develop a common understanding and consensus on the terminology and
the overall outlines of the FBIS program. One briefing paper distributed
at the meeting, for example, describes the basic requirements of
'Muslim Litint analysts," among which were specified biographic files,
"raw and processed data files," and "new methodologies and techniques
for Muslim litint." We think these terms of reference need sorting
out, and we believe an agreed understanding should be developed concerning
STAT
Chief, USSR/EE Branch, AG
cc: D/FBIS, AC/Prod, C/UD, C/(s, C/DRD, C/JPRS
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Approved For Release 2007/06/14: CIA-RDP84-00868R000100070039-6