ANYTHING BUT THE TRUTH

Two working newsmen have a go at exposing the Credibility Gap and the events that were manipulated off--or on--the front pages, and if it's not news any longer the enormity of the operation is still impressive. Previous administrations were not pure (as per the U-2 incident, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban missile crisis) and Presidential press relations were frequently strained; what is unique is the raising of expediency to principle, the justification of the right to lie, especially by the Defense Department in handling the Vietnam war. Further impediments: the use (and abuse) of leaks; the ""carrot-and-stick"" treatment of individual reporters and commentators; systematic distortion--OEO as example--to create the impression of progress. Noteworthy here is the documentation: excerpts from the transcripts of three key Presidential press conferences (Eisenhower to Johnson); the text of Clifton Daniel's speech on the New York Times and the Bay of Pigs; the transcript of a 1967 White House briefing to illustrate the range of questions, the circumspection of responses. Worth having for primary sources plus wide exposure.