CIA ACTIVITIES CONTRIBUTING TO PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF INTELLIGENCE AND THE CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00630A000300120001-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 22
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 2, 2001
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 1, 1975
• Content Type: REPORT

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CIA Activities Contributing to Public
Understanding of Intelligence and the CIA
Center for the Study of
Intelligence, OTR
April, 1975
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The following survey of current CIA activities that
contribute to public understanding of CIA and the role of
intelligence was undertaken by the Center for the Study
of Intelligence in OTR. It is intended as a first step
in responding to the Management Committee's request of
20 Nov 174 that the Center study options to improve public
understanding of intelligence. The survey is based on the
responses by each Directorate to a request from the Director
of Training for information on briefings, speeches and other
public activities carried out by their officers.
CONCLUSIONS
Since January 1974, briefings and speeches by CIA
officers specifically designed to inform the public about
the CIA have been delivered to audiences totaling between
six and seven thousand people. Of this number some four
thousand have been high school students reached through the
Presidential Classroom program. At least half of the balance,
or some 1500, have been college or high school students pri-
marily in East Coast or local institutions. The briefings
of businessmen who attend a Brookings program are another
sizeable fraction. The direct Agency impact on the public
in the nation at large, however, is at best marginal.
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The CIA's public image also gains from the participation
of CIA employees in certain external training programs, and
from employee participation in academic activities and pro-
fessional societies related to their professional assignments.
Since January 1974, there have been approximately 800 instances
of such activities by Agency employees, with a wide variation
in terms of, the opportunity provided to represent the CIA and
inform elements of the public concerning the Agency. The col-
lective impact of such activities in enhancing the image of
the Agency has been widely acknowledged by outside observers
over the years. A similar type of impact has been achieved
through the release of substantive Agency analytical publica-
tions into public channels.
The existing Agency issuances about itself and the mate-
rials describing CIA which are used as background material by
employees participating in public activities are outdated and
inadequate, especially with regard to CIA's.current environment.
GENERAL RECONLMENDATIONS
Given the small number of Americans touched directly by
CIA spokesmen and the continuing lack of understanding of the
Agency and the role of foreign intelligence in the U.S., the
total current CIA program to inform the American public can
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only be regarded as exceedingly modest. lie believe the
Management Committee should consider:
1. A limited expansion of briefings and speeches
about the Agency. Such an expansion appears
feasible from the resource standpoint and
should involve both top and middle-level
Agency officers, as well as briefing
officers from OTR.
2. A study of what audiences the Agency should
be trying to, reach in our program and ways
to stimulate interest in hearing about us
in place of our present reactive posture,
without raising the cry that we are "selling"
ourselves.
3. The creation of a mechanism in the Agency
for the regular review of substantive papers
with a view to a limited increase in the re-
lease of such material into public channels.
4. An updating and expansion of the somewhat
scanty background materials now available
on the Agency, with the particular intention
of making them more relevant to the current
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criticism and environment concerning the CIA.
These materials would be made available to
officers in contact with the public.
5. Insofar as the creation of totally new programs
of activities designed to enhance the Agency's
image, there are none that appear feasible or
appropriate to us in the present circumstances.
I't appears that a more realistic and feasible
course would. be an expansion and a better
focusing of our present endeavors.
If the Committee believes that the general recommendations
above warrant further consideration, it suggested that they
.direct the formation of a broad-based, ad hoc committee to
generate specific action proposals.
CURRENT PUBLIC ACTIVITIES
For purposes of this survey, we have divided the activi-
ties described in the original responses and from information
developed by supplementary inquiries to the Directorates into
several categories. These categories, which reflect the.
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importance of the activities as communication channels to
.the public,* are:
]. On-the-record statements by the DCI about
the Agency which receive media coverage.
Regular programs of briefings specifically
intended to provide general information
about the Agency to elements of the public.
3. Ad hoc briefings which result in the trans-
mission of some general information about
the Agency, although in some cases the main
purpose of the briefings may be more narrow.
.4. Contacts with elements of the public by
identified Agency employees that often
result in the transmission of some infor-
mation about the Agency or that tend to
demonstrate the professional competence
of Agency personnel.
*This survey concentrates on Agency activities that impact on
elements of the public apart from personnel in other govern-
ment agencies and the military. We have also excluded CIA's
direct contacts with the press under the aegis of the Assistant
to the Director.
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5. Intangible activities such as the public
release of Agency publications that are
generally agreed to have a positive impact
on our image, yet the extent and signifi-
cance of this impact is even less susceptible
to assessment than categories 1-4.
There does not appear to be any feasible way to compare
the extent and the impact of the Agency's public relations
activities with those of other government or corporate
Q
entities. It is questionable whether any such comparison,
say with Defense, ACDA or NASA--all of which have also been
on defensive wickets in recent years--is appropriate, given
the CIA's unique concerns with secrecy and protection of
sources. Thus we have attempted to describe in general terms
those elements of the Agency effort which seem to have been
most profitable in the past, arbitrarily choosing the period
January 1974 to the present as our frame of reference, and
identifying prospective areas for further study and expansion
in instances where it appeared appropriate and the resource
cost would not be substantial.
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Public Presentations by the DCI
As a means of providing information on the CIA to the
public, the on-the-record presentations by the DCI obviously
have the widest impact of any Agency activity because of
their authoritative nature and the extent of media coverage.
Since January 1974, Mr. Colby has made four on-the-record
speeches to groups including the World Affairs Council and
the annual' meeting of the Associated Press. All of these
addresses have dealt in part with the role of intelligence
and the CIA today in U.S. society and government. There
has also been media coverage of Mr. Colby's statements to
congressional committees concerning the role of the Agency
and on amendments proposed to CTA's legal authorities.
Our review of the media coverage of these speeches,
statements, and several magazine interviews by the DCI indi-
cates that, in net, the coverage and reaction was favorable.
While there may be a point of diminishing returns to be
reached in on-the-record appearances by top-level Agency
figures, it does not appear that we have yet reached this
point by any means and there is probably room for some in-
crease--perhaps a doubling--in the frequency of such efforts.
Our review of media coverage indicates that the theme of the
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importance of CIA in the present national security environ-
ment has struck a receptive chord--particularly in the media
outside the Eastern liberal press.
Regular Briefing Programs
In the realm of regular programs specifically designed
to provide general information about the Agency to members
of the public, there are two activities which, in the aggre-
gate, reach only a numerically small, but nonetheless sig-
nificant element of the public.
C
The most important regular program is the Brookings
briefing series under which groups of about 30 middle to
upper level corporate exe%..utives are given a briefing and
Q$A session at the CIA by senior Agency officials ten times
a year. Almost 600 executives have been reached through this
program and two other similar Brookings-sponsored briefings
since January 1974. The Agency has received numerous letters
of appreciation for these briefings from recipients indicating
that they left the briefing with a better understanding and
appreciation for the CIA and its professional competence and
value.
Another regular. Agency public relations activity is
conducted by the OTR Briefing Officer in the annual series
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of briefings to the Presidential Classroom program. Nearly
4000 high school students from throughout the nation and
about 140 teachers have attended briefings on the Agency
since January 1974. The reaction is excellent, as student
ratings of the program have demonstrated over the ;past two
years. This program provides the only significant, direct
CIA impact on this important age bracket of the public in
the nation at large.
Ad hoc Briefings
Since January 1974, the Agency has conducted about
60 briefings on an ad hoc basis which reached about 2100
members of the public directly. Many of these were intended
specifically to provide general information on the Agency.
Also, many of these briefings were strictly reactive, in
the sense that the Agency did not take the initiative, but -
received a one time invitation to make a presentation.
.Examples of such briefings have been those by the
Briefing Officer and other OTR personnel to groups of local
high school students. There have been six such general
briefings about the Agency to about 375 students since
January 1974. The OTR Briefing Officer also presented
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briefings on. the Agency to approximately 100 members of
local civic groups and to 175 military reservists and
government interns.
Consideration should be given to an expansion of these
presentations, and also which target audiences we should be
trying to reach, and to ways for putting-these presentations
on less of a hit-or-miss basis. Should we be making a
greater effort to reach college students and faculty or
civic groups outside the Washington area? Rotarians, Lions,
and optimists are often leaders of the local community.
Some authorities feel they are often more important in in-
fluencing local public opinion than the national press.
.While the college campus is"often critical, civic groups
generally are neither anti-CIA nor pro-CIA. They could
become supporters when they perceive that the Agency's role
is vital to the nation's security and that we perform the
role well. Our briefers have generally been well-received
by these groups in the past. An expansion of ad hoc briefings
should be large enough to permit some evaluation of the impact,
but not enough to suggest that the Agency has embarked on a
"selling" program.
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Student Co-op Program
The Student coop program conducted by the Office of
Personnel appears to be an effective means of improving the
Agency's image in.the eyes of the students and educators
touched by it. Since January 1974, some 40 students have
been enrolled at one point or another from a large variety
of colleges. The program requires that they spend the equiva-
lent of three semesters with the CIA. It is evident that the
majority of these students spread favorable reports on the
Agency among their peers. An additional 500-700 students
have been given general briefings on this program and the
Agency by the administrator of the program.
College Groups and Job Applicants
In addition to the briefings in the ad hoc section above,
about 700-800 college students have participated in different
briefing sessions, most at CIA, since January 1974. A number
of these briefings were primarily intended to provide informa-
tion on the DDI and OWI, but some general information on the
Agency was imparted. Well over half the college students,
briefed were from East Coast institutions. While difficult
to assess, it does not appear that briefings of this type are
having a significant impact on the college public at large.
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Professional' Contacts
Another facet of Agency activities that often results
in providing information about CIA to'the public and that
helps transmit an impression of Agency professional compe-
tence includes the external training programs of identified
Agency employees and the participation by overt employees
in academic meetings and professional societies.
Each Year the Agency sponsors between 3000 and 4000
employees in external training programs. Over 80 percent
are overtly identified employees. Most of the programs are
of such short duration or the content is such that the em-
ployee's impact on CIA relations with the public is negli-
gible. The clear exception are Agency employees on full
time academic sabbaticals where the individual has a chance
to play a.representational role. Such employees participate
in academic and social functions that often provide an oppor-
tunity to pass along information about CIA. During the period
since January 1974 slightly more than 60 identified employees
have begun or ended full-time sabbaticals. Nearly two-thirds
of these employees have studied in local colleges, with most
of the balance attending other schools on the East Coast.
Since January 1974, less than ten percent were at academic
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institutions elsewhere in the country. Thus, the impact
on the public, or more pertinently on the academic. community
in the nation as a whole, through this form of external
training has been negligible.
In addition to the full-time academic study, there have.
been 163 employees at one point or another since January 1974
enrolled full time in outside training passed on by the
Training Selection Board. These include the various war
colleges, several executive programs run by the Civil Service
Commission and the Congressional Fellowship. Many of these
programs involve a representational role by the employees
and they certainly serve, as comments over the years have
indicated, to enhance the Agency's standing with other
government servants. There is not, however, any detectible
direct impact on the public at large, as defined for purposes
of this report, through the participants in Training Selection
Board programs.
A meaningful, positive impact on elements of the public
in academic circles has been achieved by the Agency as the
result of the participation by Agency employees in academic
meetings. According to the information obtained for this
survey from the various directorates, since January 1974
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approximately 100 overtly identified Agency officers have
vi.sited American college campuses to speak before campus
groups or classes or to participate as panelists or dis-
cussants in college course activities. In addition, there
have been a significant number of visits for recruiting pur-
poses at college campuses by representatives of offices in
the DDI and the DDS&T. About three-fourths of the campuses
visited by-our employees were located on the East Coast.
In addition to the academic visits, about 600 overtly
identified Agency employees have attended professional
meetings and conferences since January 1974. The vast
majority were passive participants; there were a representa-
tive number who presented papers or took part in panels or
other discussion sessions at these conferences and thus
brought their skills to the attention of the conferees.
It is, of course, impossible to measure the precise impact
of such outside professional participation by Agency employees.
It is clear, however,'that the overall impact is a highly
positive one--a kind of bonus received by CIA in addition to
the professional gain by the employee. There are many instances
on record in which the colleges and societies have followed up
the appearance of our employees by registering their appreciation
and satisfaction with the presence of CIA people.
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It would appear that the scope of Agency participation
in activities of this type is probably about as large as is
warranted given the demands of regular business on the time of
our employees.
Total Intangibles
Although the impact of most of the Agency contacts with
the public as described in the sections above cannot be
measured with any precision, there does appear to be general
agreement that the reaction on the whole is positive. There
are also several other categories of relationships between
Agency employees and the public that are even less susceptible
to,assessment. These include the personal relationships
between Agency employees and influential members of the public
such as professors or newsmen. They would also include the
private church, civic and community activities of many overt
Agency employees which doubtless have some positive impact
mainly in the Washington area. The displays of the Office
of Medical Service on drug abuse and heart disease detection
in San Francisco, New York and'Cincinnati during the last
two years should also be accounted here, as should the large
volume of contacts involving contractors and others of the
public with the office of Logistics, S&T offices and other
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elements. Collectively, activities of this type over the
long run probably have a significant positive impact on the
public. Stepping up this process, however, appears neither
feasible or desirable.
Release of Substantive Publications
A positive impact similar to direct participation by
Agency employees in outside professional activities has been
derived from the some half dozen substantive Agency analytical
publications which have found their way into public channels
since January 1974. Some have gone to library repositories,
others have been published as part of congressional studies
or .other public documents. -Two recent snLh publications,
one by OPR on future food and population trends and a Soviet
economic forecast by OER, were promptly picked up by the media
and given reviews that reflected favorably on the competence
and value of the Agency's work.
We have in mind here publications which contain some
narrative, analytical material, including judgments;, assess-
ments and the like that display to some extent the breadth
and depth of the Agency's expertise and competence. The
several atlases released would also fall in this category.
STATSPEC We do not mean the compilations or listings
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of foreign officials, or charts of government structures,
many of which are also released by the Agency into public
channels.
Clearly, there are problems in determining the appro-
priateness for release of narrative, analytical materials,
but it appears that some expansion of this activity--perhaps
a doubling--would be useful and probably feasible from the
standpoint of appropriate Agency publications. This would
STATSPEC
be in addition to the machine biographical listings and
materials which are now regularly released to
university and other library repositories. At this point,
the Agency has no mechanism,for regular consideration of
the release of substantive publications. Some consideration
1 C of the creation of such a review mechanism at an appropriate
point in the Agency would seem worthwhile.
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businessmen. Although there is no way to quantify this
impact, reaction over the years indicates that, on the
whole, it is highly positive.
Additional Support Materials
We have reviewed the extant material'in the Agency that
is provided to external trainees and to others requesting it
as background on the CIA prior to the individual having to
discuss the Agency before some external group. This material
is relatively scanty and consists for the most part of docu-
ments providing basic information on the Agency's structure
and mission. In some ways, it is outdated and does not con-
tain some useful basic material concerning the Agency now in
the public domain without official acknowledgement. Lacking
totally is any material specifically designed to support
employees who may need to respond to questions that reflect
the Agency's current situation. An updating and expansion
of the basic background materials available on the Agency,
and the development of supporting material around the theme
of the Agency's importance to national security seems war-
ranted. A document composed of questions and answers dealing
with the present situation of the Agency drawing in part on
the DCI's speeches and the experience of the OTR Briefing
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Officer could also be produced. The format could be that of
an "official" publication or that of a quasi-official OTR
study guide or working paper. After appropriate review,
this material could be made available to CIA employees
through OTR.
We believe it would also be useful to consider the
development, of a series of vignettes or case. histories on
actual CIA-activities that could be used as background
materials, possibly the Readers Digest-type articles, to
help demonstrate the importance and utility of the Agency.
These would be taken from instances already generally in
the public domain. Some possibilities are:
--The intelligence role in the support of SALT
which helped make the agreement possible.
--The role of intelligence, including clandes-
tine reporting which led to later identifica-
tion of the missiles by technical means in the
Cuban Missile Crisis.
--Examples of the CIA role in the suppression of
international terrorism. and narcotics traffic.
--CIA and DTA work in developing information on
Soviet conventional forces structure which
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enabl'ed'the government to reduce our ground
force and spend less on military procurement.
.Any decision as to exactly how such materials would be
used might be left until it is clear they can be success-
fully-and persuasively developed.
Outside Speakers
Some enhancement of public understanding of the Agency
is produced as a result of the use of outside speakers to
address OTR courses. Since January 1974, 79 different
speakers have participated in such courses. Thirty-one
have appeared more than once, and 17 in more than one course.
The'speakers, most of whom are in academic positions., repre-
sent a wide range of substantive specialties covering such
topics as labor, the media, foreign affairs, international
and domestic economics, and the business community. To
this should be added the participants in the CIA Guest
Speaker Program held on a monthly basis in the Auditorium.
There have been eleven guest speakers since January 1974
from the business, media and academic community.
There is no satisfactory way to measure the impact. on
these speakers of such exposure to the Agency, but they
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clearly gain in many cases an impression of the caliber
of Agency officers and of our interests. We believe that
a number of them, including several noted journalists, are
considerably more sympathetic to the Agency as a result
of ,these contacts-.
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