PLANS AND PLANNERS 



Selecting the individuals was not easy. Far more 

 persons applied than could be accommodated. It was 

 essential to work out some impartial scheme of issuing 

 the invitations. One view was : Invite individual per- 

 sons directly, by name. The opposite view was: Pick 

 the news agencies, and let them name their own repre- 

 sentatives. This latter view finally prevailed. Another 

 nice question facing Captain Lee was : Should he try 

 to select news agencies most experienced in reporting 

 scientific and military matters, or should the selection 

 be broadened to include all kinds of news agencies, re- 

 gardless of the bents of their experience "^ The latter 

 course was chosen. Without doubt the result was that 

 some representatives unskilled in technical and mili- 

 tary reporting made the trip ; but a redeeming advan- 

 tage was that accounts of the Tests appeared in nearly 

 every type of newspaper and magazine, including even 

 some of our most "feminine" magazines. 



Through a specially-created committee, press and 

 radio agencies were enlisted in helping to make the 

 final choice of the agencies to be invited. 



Captain Lee arranged for the majority of the press 

 and radio men to be transported to Bikini in the 

 APPALACHIAN, press headquarters ship, and for 

 others to go by air. To avoid repeated problems of pro- 

 tocol. Captain Lee arranged that preferences in living 

 quarters and various nonprofessional privileges were 

 to be granted according to age, the oldest correspon- 

 dents being most favored. 



37 



