The Rosen Commission did a good job in addressing all those facets of it. Down the road, if they're implemented, it looks like you could gain more revenues and reduce appropriated funds accordingly.

Mr. HUTTO. It's my understanding that the advertising is mostly, I guess exclusively perhaps from the exchanges, the commissaries and that sort of thing?

Mr. FERBER. Most of it. There were cases we pointed out in our 1986 report where under the auspices of being sponsored, for example, by an officer's club, a local merchant could sell items. He would be advertising in the paper, but because he was under the auspices of the officers' club, it sort of met the letter of the law but not necessarily the intent of the law.

I know the Joint Committee on Printing was concerned with that kind of function. The newspapers have just started some personal classifieds, which they'd like to expand. But generally it is via commissaries and

Mr. HUTTO. Could it be self-supporting if it were contracted out and you had a central publication location and if the Stars and Stripes were able to carry national advertising? Is that something that has been looked at?

Mr. FERBER. No. When both us and the Defense Audit Service brought up the issue of consolidation, it has generally not been studied in any detailed implementation plans. They've never agreed, so they've never gone to the point where they've actually looked at the implementation of that. It's our estimate, though, that you could gain enough in savings to make up the appropriated fund support.

Mr. HUTTO. Thank you very much, gentlemen. We appreciate you being here, and we may have some further questions for you to provide answers for the record.

Mr. FERBER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. HUTTO. Thanks very much.

Now we'd like to call forward our next panel. Mr. William E. Hart, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, and he is accompanied by Mr. Jordan E. Rizer, Director, American Forces Information Service.

Mr. Hart and Mr. Rizer, we welcome you here and look forward to your testimony.

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM E. HART, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, PUBLIC AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Mr. HART. Thank you, sir.

I'd like to state on behalf of the Assistant Secretary, Dan Howard, who couldn't be here, we're filling in for him since it's our responsibility in the Office for most of these issues.

Mr. Chairman, we welcome this opportunity to discuss with you the Department's outstanding newspapers, the Pacific and European Stars and Stripes. We share the Committee's commitment that all Americans, especially our men and women in uniform, are guaranteed one of our most fundamental freedoms, the freedom of the press.

Let me begin by emphasizing our support for the tremendously important role that both editions of Stars and Stripes serve for our troops stationed overseas. For more than 40 years, the news carried in these papers has been their link to home. Stars and Stripes is an essential part of their citizenship because it gives them the information they need to exercise another of our previous freedoms, the right of franchise.

For the last four decades, these papers have been remarkable for their scope and objectivity. They carry important domestic and international stories while also catering to items of local interest. We must continue to provide our servicemen and servicewomen with the highest quality product. They deserve no less than our very best and that's what they will continue to receive.

Toward that end, we're constantly reviewing our policies regarding the editorial and financial sides to these newspapers, just as any other organization that publishes a major newspaper does. We have never, nor will we ever, condone explicitly or implicitly the censorship of the news. Our people work very hard to ensure that the integrity of Stars and Stripes is maintained at all times.

There are, of course, situations that arise over the extent to which a particular story will appear in print. We strive to make sure that the news is reported accurately, objectively, and as much as is possible, from a balanced and nonsensational perspective. Such is our written policy and our editors are held accountable to that standard.

That is not to say that everyone necessarily agrees, nor should they, on what should be printed. Judgment always plays a part in the publication of a paper. Each editor has the responsibility to judge whether a story meets his or her interpretation of journalistic standards. Disagreement alone over the content of a story is not sufficient grounds to claim censorship.

The editors of both editions of Stars and Stripes have at all times acted prudently and within the scope of Department policy. Their task is not unlike that of publishers of other newspapers. They are responsible for both the content of the paper and its financial well being. The combination of these two responsibilities requires that they make judgments which affect the scope of the paper as well as the activities of the people who work on it. These decisions are not always popular but they must be made.

We're here today to ask the Committee to carefully consider the matters discussed, as you've indicated you will, and we're sure you will. I fervently believe that the system we have in place is sound. Changes can and will be made to improve the quality of the Stars and Stripes, but there's no reason to change a set of organizational relationships that produces an outstanding newspaper.

A panel of professional journalism society Sigma Delta Chi, after performing an in-depth analysis of Stars and Stripes, had this to say, and we quote:

"All the tools are in place for a healthy and vigorous newspaper that military personnel stationed overseas can be proud of... On a daily basis our military personnel and dependents are provided journalistically sound newspapers."

It is important to accurately assess the total performance of Stars and Stripes so we may objectively determine how we will pro

ceed. Regardless of what our differences may be, let us agree that the first priority must be to continue to provide our military personnel with a first class newspaper.

I want to recognize publicly that we have had a valuable exchange of ideas with the General Accounting Office during the preparation of their report. We did not always agree with their challenges; they did not always agree with our responses. However, the interchange has already benefited the Stars and Stripes.

Mr. Chairman, with me is Mr. Jordan Rizer, Director of the American Forces Information service who, in accordance with the Department of Defense Instruction 5120.4, which was coordinated with the Congress, has overall cognizance on matters pertaining to the Stars and Stripes for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.

He has a statement and probably a response to most of your questions.

Mr. HUTTO. Thank you.

Mr. Rizer, you're recognized for your statement. If you will summarize, please?

STATEMENT OF JORDAN E. RIZER, DIRECTOR, ARMED FORCES INFORMATION SERVICE

Mr. RIZER. Yes, sir. I'm giving you a summary because the other statement is in the record and is rather long.

The American Forces Information Service, AFIS, in coordination with the military departments and on behalf of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, conducts the internal information program of the Department of Defense and Defense audiovisual policy. We communicate with our United States Armed Forces worldwide through the use of electronic and print media. We also exercise several Department of Defense policy functions involving Armed Forces radio and television, audiovisual, printing, and newspaper publication services.

Our primary objective is to ensure a free flow of news and information. This we believe increases the knowledge, professionalism, and pride in service of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, and our civilians with resultant benefits to the Department of Defense of enhanced morale, retention, and readiness. Historically, when called upon to protect our country, American servicemen have fought harder and smarter because they've understood the basic principles of what they were fighting for. It is in this area of informing the troops that AFIS makes its biggest contribution.

AFIS is composed of both operational and policy elements. One of the operational elements is the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, AFRTS, which is a worldwide broadcast system that provides a touch of home by bringing news, sports, and information and entertainment programming to more than 1.5 million U.S. military personnel, Department of Defense civilians, and families who are stationed overseas or aboard ships at sea.

Because of a steep decline in the value of the dollar in most of the countries where our troops are stationed, the service members and their families are spending more and more of their off-duty time in their quarters. There's an increasing demand by them for

affordable, wholesome entertainment. AFRTS meets this demand with free radio and television service beamed directly into their living areas.

The operational element is the American Forces Press and Publication Service which develops, publishes and acquires Joint-Service internal information printed materials reflecting Department of Defense policy, programs, and procedures. This element also operates the Current News Analysis and Research Service, CNARS.

The AFIS mission for policy and oversight of the DOD newspapers including Stars and Stripes is one of the major policy functions on behalf of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. As you know, two unified commands, the European Command and the Pacific Command, are the owners and operators of the European and Pacific editions of Stars and Stripes respectively. The Stars and Stripes newspapers, much like AFRTS, provide a low cost touch of home by being the home town newspaper for our thousands of service members and their families stationed overseas. Providing uncensored, international and national news and internal information at an affordable price is the primary objective of the Stars and Stripes.

AFIS provides specific policy guidance to the two unified commands regarding the Stars and Stripes for business and financial management, the free flow of uncensored news and information, the use of advertising and general operating procedures. Furthermore, the Stars and Stripes operate with mostly self-generated funds from newspapers, bookstores, and printing service sales. They are supported by the minimum amount possible of appropriated funds.

In regard to comments of possible news management and censorship, it is the Department of Defense position that even the appearance of such acts is undesirable and harmful. It is imperative that our unified command Stars and Stripes newspapers retain their credibility in both their image and reality as viable representative newspapers which provide uncensored news with no news management.

Accordingly, we have agreed to review our directives, to seek ways in which our policies may be improved. We have established a new position of Ombudsman to ensure that the concerns of reporters, editors and readers are properly addressed. To provide issues involving freedom of the press are known to those in authority and that recommendations are made to better defined directives, policies and editorial practices, and agreed to perform content analysis to determine that the Stars and Stripes newspapers are reflections of the U.S. commercial newspaper industry.

Mr. Chairman, I share your concerns that the mission of our organizations fulfill both the spirit and intent of their charter, to provide the members of the Armed Forces with the best possible information and news and entertainment.

I appreciate this opportunity today to represent the Department of Defense and the American Forces Information Service.

This concludes my summary of the missions and operations.

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JORDAN E. RIZER

AMERICAN FORCES INFORMATION SERVICE

MISSION STATEMENT

The American Forces Information Service (AFIS), in coordination with the Military Departments and on behalf of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, conducts the internal information program of the Department of Defense to reach our Armed Forces worldwide through various electronic and print media. We also exercise several Department of Defense policy functions, involving audiovisual, broadcasting, printing, and newspaper publishing services.

Our paramount objective is to ensure a free flow of news and information. This increases knowledge, professionalism, and pride in service with resultant benefits to the Department of Defense of enhanced morale, retention, and readiness. Historically, when called upon to protect our country, American servicemen have fought harder and smarter because they have understood the basic principles of what they were fighting for. It is in this area of informing the troops that AFIS makes its biggest contribution.

The American Forces Information Service is composed of two operational elements. The Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) is a worldwide broadcast system which provides news, sports, information, and entertainment programming to more than 1.5 million U.S. military personnel, Department of Defense civilians, and their families who are stationed overseas and aboard ships at sea. The American Forces Press and Publications Service (AFPPS) develops, publishes, and acquires appropriate joint-Service internal information printed materials reflecting Department of Defense policy, programs, and procedures, and operates the DOD Current News Analysis and Research Service (CNARS).

Our major policy functions are: The development and implementation of policies and procedures pertaining to the management and operation of Armed Forces Radio and Television Service broadcasting outlets, and policies and procedures pertaining to the content, production, publication and distribution of periodicals, Armed Forces newspapers (including Stars and Stripes) and civilian enterprise newspapers; exercising fiscal and manpower control through the Planning, Programming, Budgeting system; approving or revising proposed resource programs; monitoring the implementation of approved programs; administering centralized and automated management information