Propagation and Secrecy: An Introduction to Intelligence Journalism

Author: Zhao Zhenxiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: Intelligence and news are inherently contradictory—intelligence must be confidential, while news must be public. Since the beginning of human communication activities, the conflicts between communication and countercommunication, as well as between news dissemination and information confidentiality, have existed. However, intelligence and news are often two sides of the same coin. A piece of intelligence may possess both intelligence value and news value, while a news item may also hold both. Because intelligence and news values coexist, the relationships between news value and intelligence value, news sources and intelligence sources, news gathering and intelligence collection, and news reporting and intelligence confidentiality management are closely intertwined yet complex. Based on this close relationship between news and intelligence, this book explores the issues of communication and confidentiality in both news communication and intelligence studies, introducing the concept of "intelligence news." Innovation is not for the sake of being different, but insight can be gleaned from a narrow perspective. Through the writing of this small book, we hope to raise some noteworthy and discussable questions in the fields of news communication and confidentiality.