TV parades its war commentators

By Elizabeth Jense
Los Angeles Times

Last time, they fought the war. This time, they'll talk about it, around the clock if necessary.

Retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, top, and Gen. Barry McCaffrey will have high TV visibility in the coming days. Advertiser library photos

Since the first Persian Gulf War 11 years ago, the competition in TV news, fueled by the presence of several cable news channels, has created a booming marketplace for ex-military officials as networks try to gain exclusive use of the best "talking heads" to make sense out of the military maneuvers.

The generals and other military and terrorism experts will play a unique role in TV's round-the-clock coverage of the war. Part experts and part reporters, they're marketing tools, as well.

NBC has given five of its top generals their own promotional spot; an ABC executive calls its military experts members of the "team" that viewers can come to trust.

For an average going rate for the top analysts that one TV executive estimated at $5,000 a month, the experts agree to be on call, at any hour, to explain why the U.S. military is doing what it's doing.

With 24-hour days of air time to fill, on cable and also initially on the broadcast networks, some news organizations have assigned the generals and other analysts to shifts, so they won't be left pundit-less at any time.

Many of the key architects of 1991's Persian Gulf War will have high TV visibility in the coming days. Among NBC's nearly three dozen analysts are retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, former combatant commander of the U.S. Central Command and commander of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; and Gen. Barry McCaffrey, former drug czar in President Bill Clinton's Cabinet, who served as commander of the 24th Mechanized Infantry Division during Operation Desert Storm.

ABC's Gen. Richard Hawley and Gen. Charles Horner played key Air Force roles in 1991, as did Col. John Warden, who has been signed up as an analyst for PBS' "NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" and CNN's Maj. Gen. Don Shepperd.

Some of the most-sought-after experts are those who have just left the service, bringing with them the most current information.

ABC's Lt. Gen. Gregory S. Newbold, retired from the Marine Corps, served as the director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff until November.

Gen. William "Buck" Kernan, former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, joined CBS' analyst ranks in January, after stepping down as commander in chief of the U.S. Joint Forces Command.

For the moment, the generals look like any of the other numerous button-down executive experts on air. As recently as Monday's heavy coverage of the prewar end game, they sat in the usual position to the side of the main anchors, answering questions and offering insights. The generals, in particular, provide an air of insider authority.

Now that the war has begun, though, some are expected to go back to the military strategizing mode they know so well, tapping into the networks' whiz-bang computerized maps and 3-D models of planes and weapons.