Firms Vie To Spread Good News From Iraq

National Journal's Peter Stone reports that "At least a half-dozen public-relations firms - some with a track record of doing PR for the military - are competing for a two-year, $20 million Pentagon contract designed to increase positive news out of Iraq."

Among the firms competing for the gig: The Rendon Group, SYColeman, SOSi International, Burson-Marsteller and Hill & Knowlton, but per Stone, "the job could go to a smaller firm paired with a larger one."

More from Stone: "The contract calls for a wide-ranging PR mission that includes regular monitoring of how American and Middle East media outlets are covering the war...The new effort, slated to begin in late October, is a successor to a smaller year-to-year contract held by the Rendon Group."