REPORTERS BALK AT SECRECY PLEDGE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96M01138R001200020011-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 17, 2005
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: December 15, 1982
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For lease 2005/12/14: CIA-RDP96M011* 01200020011-3
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REPORTERS BALK
AT SECRECY PLEDGE
Pentagon, in Unusual Move,.
Asked Journalists to Sign
Agreement on Briefing
By PHILIP TAUBMAN
Sped.' m TLe )):w Yt rt T1ms
WASEINGTON, Dec. 14 = The De-
fense Department today took the un-
usual step of asking reporters to sign a
secrecy agreement before attending a
.briefing about Soviet military capabil.
tties.
The secrecy, agreement stipulated
that the .reporters never disclose "in
writing, broadcast or any verbal dis-
cowse" the information they would
bear. It also required the journalists to
report to the Pentagon any effort made
by others to obtain the sensitive intor-
mation,
rAlw , the reporters balked at signing
the agreement, senior officials in the
department settled far their verbal
word of honor. .
The New York Times declined to send
a correspondent to the briefing because
of the restrictive conditions. Richard
Gross, a correspondent for United
Press International, left the session
after the discussion about the secrecy
agreement.
A `Conflicting Assignment'
ID,' YORK TD'S
15 DECDOM 1982
Seymour Topping, rnn agin editor Agreement Proves Unacceptable
of The New York Times, issued this The problem was resolved, according
statement:."Ihe Times does not enter to intelligence officials, when the De-
into agreements that bar a reporter 'few Department then offered to make
from sharing information with readers,'
eaders , reporters sign a secrecy agreement
or responsible editors. The erctraordi- that would underscore the off-the-
nary agreement proposed by the De- record ground rules of the briefing.
tease Department does not serve ns- But the agreement drafted by Pests-
tional security but simply tends to con,-; goo attorneys and public relations offs-
fuse the issues and consequently the ; cials proved unacceptable to the report-
public." ern when it was announced today.
One reporter who was present, Fred When the reporters were admitted to!
Hoffman of The Associated Press, said a Pentagon briefing room across the
that he rarely accepted information off hall from Mr. Weinberger's office, 0th.
the record but thought in this case that ! cials handed them a one-page form eats- :
it would be educational. -- tied "Department of Defense Secrecy
45-Minute Argument Ensues Areeemeat."
In a scene that some participants Alter noting that the reporters would
later said seemed to be drawn from the , receive highly sensitive intelligencepages of "Alice in the wonderland," the information which concerns the se-
reporters and department officials try of the United States and belongs.
spent the first 45 minutes arguing over to the United States Government," the ;
the conditions for handling information agreement stipulated that the jouraal-
.U-, conditions
t lar aA .e.h -..-UU- fats would never disclose the informs-
no
The sequence of events that produced """
_mdav+s briefing began several weeks in any form. In addition, it called on the
ago; when Defense Secretary Caspar reporters to notify the department im-
mediately if anyone attempted to solicit
' Weinberger invited cerrespogdeaLb the information from them.
who regularly cover. the Pentagon to
come to his office for a background Modtficatloas'AlsoRejected
briefing on military matters. When the correspondents refused to
in the meeting, which was attended sign the agreement, Defense
by about 15 reporters, Mr. Wnbeirger n-
meat officials left the room for 10
said that the Soviet Union posed a sere. minutes, then returned with a proposed
ous and ommausk military threat to the modification in some of the laxiSrUALLM
United States, according to several re- according to one of the reporters who
porters who attended the session. When Was present.
Mr. Weinberger was pressed to support The Journalists also rejected the
the contention, be said he would try to modifications, prompting the officials
arrange an intelligence briefing on the to huddle for another private disas~
subject for reporters. sion. After the second break, the off)-
However, officials from the Defense dials said they would accept a verbal
lntelligene Agency and the Central ln- pledge to abide by the agreement
teiligence Agency, according to Pena- Gen_ Richard G. Stilwell, Deputy
gon sources, were reluctant to provide
reporters with highly classified infor-
mation, even on the understanding that
the material would not be published or
broadcast.
then read a roll-call of the reporters
present, asking each if be agreed to give
his word of honor not to disclose any of
the information, several of the corre-
spondents said. All the reporters
present responded affirmatively.
"I've been to .a lot of off-the-record
briefings but never one where they
asked reporters to sign a.secrecy agree.
meat," said one veteran Pentagon cor-,
respondent who attended today's ses-
sion. Pentagon officials said they could
not recall any previous effort to gain the
According to one reporter who was
there, among those who attended it
were representatives from the three
commercial television networks, The
wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles
Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Associ-
ated Press and Newsweek.
George Wilson, Pentagon corre-
spondent for The Washington Post, said
be did not know about the restrictive
rules but had not attended the session
because be had a? "conflicting assign-
meat.
approval of reporters for a secrecy
ag t. - r
Approved For Release 2005/12/14: CIA-RDP96MOl 138RO01 200020011-3