Psychological WarfareLinebarger, Paul Myron Anthony
History
Psychological Warfare
Linebarger, Paul Myron Anthony
Psychological warfare
In obtaining printed propaganda, better results will be achieved if the
same sources are followed consistently over a period of time than if one
triumphant raid is carried through. The choice may look like this (_see
Chart III_). If, in this instance the propaganda analysis is to be a
one-man enterprise in a small country or area in time of peace, the one
man can collect all the different kinds of samples in March and can then
spend several months trying to see how they add up. By the time his
analysis is ready, it will be badly dated and will necessarily be less
interesting to the recipients than would a report which was
up-to-the-week. Furthermore, unless the analyst knows the area very well
indeed, he will risk mistaking transient issues for basic ones. If the
Old Agrarians happen to be accused of Right Wing Deviationism during the
week of 3-10 March, the analyst may falsely conclude that the Old
Agrarian issue is tempestuous or profound.
Unless he has a large staff, faces a special crisis or pursues a
scholarly purpose, the analyst does well to pick the alternative
illustrated in the vertical column. He should pick his media carefully,
accepting the advice of people who know the area intimately. In an
opinion-controlled area, it is wise to take both a direct government
propaganda paper and an opposition of semi-independent paper, if such
exist. Local papers are often better guides to domestic propaganda than
are big metropolitan papers. The propagandists of the country know that
foreigners may watch the big papers, and they will reserve their most
vicious, naïve, or bigoted appeals for the local press.
[Illustration: _Chart III._
JANUARY I
FEBRUARY H I
MARCH B C D E G H I J K L
APRIL A B C D E F G H I J K L
MAY A B C D E F G H I J K L
JUNE B C D E G H I J K L
JULY H I J
AUGUST I
Key to Chart:
A POSTERS
B ADVERTISEMENTS
C CITY DAILY PAPERS
D LOCAL DAILY PAPERS
E WEEKLY PAPERS
F MAGAZINES
G SPECIAL JOURNALS
H GOVERNMENT RELEASES
I MOTION PICTURE ANNOUNCEMENTS
J REPORTS OF SPEECHES
K RADIO PROGRAMS
L OTHER MEDIA
]
Along with the local press of one or two selected localities, the
analyst should select several government personages and should follow
every word of theirs he can find. The basic principle is for the analyst
himself to determine the range of materials to be covered by deciding
his own work-load in advance. This in turn depends on the time he has
available for the task, his mastery of the language, his interest in the
projects, probable interruptions due to semiofficial elbow-bending, and
other personal factors.
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