LETTER TO ARTHUR OCHS SULZBERGER FROM THE DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00498R000300090060-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 28, 2007
• Sequence Number: 60
• Publication Date: June 10, 1980
• Content Type: LETTER

Approved For Release 2007/03/01 CIA-RDP99-00498
The Director
Central Intelligence Agency
10 June 1980
Mr. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger
Chairman of the Board
The New York Times Company
229 West 43rd Street
New York, New York 10036
Dear Punch,
I appreciate your letter of May 6th and its frank expression of
dismay at what you interpret to be a change in our policy on the
utilization of journalists accredited to American media organizations.
Because of the serious intent of your letter I would like to offer a
serious response to each of the points you make.
You start by saying that you were disturbed at my statement that
we had resumed the practice of recruiting journalists.. That was not my
statement nor is it our practice.. It is my policy to avoid the use of
anyone accredited to an American media organization. In the more than
.three years I have been the Director of Central Intelligence we have not
utilized any such person.
STAT
Your next point concerns the change in our statement of policy.
Early in my term of office I received complaints about the existing policy.
.Some were from journalists. Some pointed out that our policy could bring
about some unintended inequities. A specific case happened to apply to
individuals of the clerical profession who were covered by a corresponding
policy statement. A total prohibition on the use or clerics as well as
journalists has resulted in our discharging a number of part-time
employees who were also part-time clerics. It happened that these
employees worked in our Foreign Broadcast Information Service translating
unclassified radio broadcasts from overseas. It was patently foolish to
deny them this form of partial financial support. Accordingly, I had
added.to our policy statement the proviso that exceptions can be made by
the Director of Central Intelligence himself. Let me point out that this
simply makes explicit-what was clearly implicit before. In short, under
the February 1976 regulation the Director of Central Intelligence always had
the option of making an exception to his own regulation. I have simply
stated that quite clearly and aboveboard.