War correspondents covering Canada's efforts in Afghanistan have many faithful followers, but none more faithful than their own government.
Documents obtained by The Canadian Press detail how carefully reporters embedded with the military at Kandahar Airfield are monitored by officers in the field.
The reports are then circulated widely to officials back in Ottawa.
The records, obtained under Access to Information legislation, show that what reporters are asking about, what they are writing about and what they have been told are the subject of regular briefing notes shared with everyone from officers in Kandahar to commanders in Ottawa to civilian officials reporting to the prime minister.
Chris Waddell, a journalism professor at Carleton University, says nobody should be surprised that reporters are monitored. But the extent of the effort shows how careful the Stephen Harper government is about the message from Afghanistan.
"They want to control the media and want to control what's going on and what's coming out from on the ground in Kandahar," says Waddell. "They don't want to be surprised in question period."
"The media may not realize the degree to which they're being watched."
At least six agencies receive the briefing notes. They include the Ottawa headquarters of the Afghanistan task force, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Canadian International Development Agency, the military's psychological operations office, the military auditor and the Privy Council Office, which reports to the prime minister.
Public affairs officers in Kandahar and their civilian counterparts are often the only ones embedded reporters can ask for interviews or information. That position gives them an inside look not only at what stories have been filed, but where reporters are going with their inquiries. The information forms the bulk of the carefully detailed briefing notes filed almost daily.
The briefings outline which news organizations have reporters in the field, what information they have requested and what stories they are working on.
They show some interviews are either approved or denied by the Privy Council Office. Talking points for other interviews are approved in advance.
The notes contain exhaustive summaries of interviews given by civilian officials at which no military officers were present. Interviews granted by officers are also summarized and evaluated as to the performance of the interviewee.
Recent stories are discussed in conference calls and responses formulated. After a story about a market in Kandahar was published, officials decided the reporter "should be educated about some of our economic initiatives in the area."
There's nothing sinister in the effort, says navy Capt. Dave Scanlon, director of public affairs operations with the Defence Department.
"It's our job to monitor the media and that includes the work of individual journalists -- but in full respect for freedom of the press," he says.
"When we pass that information up our chain of command to warn them about what may or may not appear in the press the next day so that they're ready for it, that's a natural part of our work and an expected part of our work."
Scanlon defends sharing media monitoring between military and civilian officials.
"It really is a whole of government approach, with CIDA, Foreign Affairs, National Defence and Public Safety," he says. "Right at the strategic level, you have very, very good co-ordination on communications amongst the four lead departments."
"It's part of my job to tell the Canadian Forces story, but to do that as part of a whole of government context. It has to be done with the political oversight of the government of the day."
Recent reports in U.S. media suggest the American military routinely profiles reporters as to whether their stories are favourable and awards access to operations on that basis.
No evidence exists in the obtained documents that the Canadian military conducts similar profiling.
"We don't profile journalists in any form or fashion," Scanlon says.
Still, Waddell says, embedded reporters in Kandahar -- and the public that reads their stories -- should be aware that their work is not only being watched, but anticipated.
"If reporters are thinking they're going over there and not being watched, think again. There is a huge attempt to manage the media."
