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Journalists who want to accompany U.S. forces involved in Afghanistan military operations could soon have to undergo background checks.

The Pentagon has contracted The Rendon Group, a controversial public relations firm, to determine whether or not journalists' past coverage has portrayed the American military in a positive way.

The reason the firm is controversial is because its work helped create the Iraqi National Congress in 2003, which reportedly supplied much of the information about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction.

According to an article by Stars and Stripes, any journalist hoping to embed with U.S. forces is subject to a background check by Rendon. The company examines reporters' recent work and determines whether the coverage was positive, negative or neutral compared to mission objectives.

"We have not denied access to anyone because of what may or may not come out of their biography," Air Force Capt. Elizabeth Mathias, a public affairs officer with U.S. Forces Afghanistan in Kabul, said. "It's so we know with whom we're working."

Mathias said Rendon reports are generated only after a reporter has been assigned to cover a unit and are done on an ad hoc basis, mainly for lesser-known journalists and those new to covering the war in Afghanistan.

The reports can be useful for familiarizing commanders with topics journalists could address and for facilitating coverage specific to a journalist's interests. Mathias also said the Pentagon has begun shifting away from the positive-negative-neutral scale and is now evaluating news coverage more for its accuracy.

A recent report stated there were 60 media outlets, excluding Afghan media, on the ground with American and NATO forces, a significant increase compared to a few months ago.

However, many professional groups representing journalists are speaking out against the Pentagon's screening of reporters.

"That's the government doing things to put out the message they want to hear and that's not the way journalism is meant to work in this country," Amy Mitchell, deputy director for Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, said.

"The whole concept of doing profiles on reporters who are going to embed with the military is alarming," Ron Martz, president of the Military Reporters and Editors association, said. "It speaks to this whole issue of trying to shape the message and that's not something the military should be involved with."

Labels: Background checks