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Homeland Security to compile database of journalists and ‘media influencers’
Chicago Sun-Times ^ | 04/07/2018 | Sun-Times Staff

Posted on 04/08/2018 10:18:23 AM PDT by TaxPayer2000

The Department of Homeland Security wants to track the comings and goings of journalists, bloggers and other “media influencers” through a database.

The DHS’s “Media Monitoring” plan, which was first reported by FedBizOpps.gov, would give the contracting company “24/7 access to a password protected, media influencer database, including journalists, editors, correspondents, social media influencers, bloggers etc.” in order to “identify any and all media coverage related to the Department of Homeland Security or a particular event.”

The database would be designed to monitor the public activities of media members and influencers by “location, beat and influencers,” the document says.

The chosen contractor should be able to “present contact details and any other information that could be relevant including publications this influencer writes for, and an overview of the previous coverage published by the influencer.”

Also, the contractor would have access to a password protected, mobile app that provides an “overview of search results in terms of online articles and social media conversations,” in several different languages such as Arabic, Chinese and Russian.

The request comes amid concerns regarding accuracy in media and the potential for U.S. elections and policy to be influenced via “fake news.”

The plan calls for the ability to track 290,000 news sources including online, print, broadcast and social media. Also, it would have the ability to track media coverage in over 100 languages, along with the “ability to create unlimited data tracking, statistical breakdown, and graphical analyses on ad-hoc basis.”

DHS spokesman Tyler Q. Houlton tweeted on Friday that the practice of monitoring the press is considered “standard.”

Responses from would be contractors are due April 13.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bloggers; dhs; internet; media
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (DHS)

STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW) FOR Media Monitoring Services

1.0 GENERAL

1.1 BACKGROUND NPPD’s mission is to lead the national effort to protect and enhance the resilience of the nation’s physical and cyber infrastructure. NPPD includes the Office of the Under Secretary (OUS) and five sub-components: the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications (CS&C), the Office of infrastructure Protection (IP), the Federal Protective Service (FPS), the Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM) and the Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis (OCIA), which are headquartered with the National Capital Region (NCR). Along with NPPD/OUS, Public Affairs is responsible for media communication.

1.2 SCOPE The contractor shall provide NPPD/OUS with traditional and social media monitoring and communications solutions.

1.3 OBJECTIVE Services shall enable NPPD/OUS to monitor traditional news sources as well as social media, identify any and all media coverage related to the Department of Homeland Security or a particular event. Services shall provide media comparison tools, design and rebranding tools, communication tools, and the ability to identify top media influencers.

NPPD/OUS has a critical need to incorporate these functions into their programs in order to better reach Federal, state, local, tribal and private partners.

2.0 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS/TASKS

2.1 Tasks One: Online & Social Media Monitoring

Ability to track global online sources for coverage relevant to Washington and the six media hubs: • Ability to track > 290,000 global news sources • Ability to track online, print, broadcast, cable, radio, trade and industry publications, local sources, national/international outlets, traditional news sources, and social media • Ability to track media coverage in > 100 languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Russian. Translation function to instantly translate these articles to English. • Ability to create up to 20 searches with each unlimited keywords • Unlimited coverage per search (no cap on coverage) • Ability to change the searches at keywords at any given time • Ability to create unlimited data tracking, statistical breakdown, and graphical analyses on any coverage on an ad-hoc basis

2.2 Task Two: Media Intelligence and Benchmarking Dashboard Platform

24/7 Access to a password protected, online platform for users to access: • Overview of search results in terms of online articles and social media conversations • Customized and Interactive Dashboard that provide real-time monitoring, analysis, and benchmark of media coverage. • Ability to analyze the media coverage in terms of content, volume, sentiment, geographical spread, top publications, media channels, reach, AVE, top posters, influencers, languages, momentum, circulation. • Ability to select time-period of analysis: per day, week, month, and selected dates • Ability to build media lists based on beat, location, outlet type/size, and journalist role • Automated weekly overview of these dashboards sent via email 2.3 Task Three: Email Alerts

Daily email alerts with new search results: • Ability to customize these email alerts per user 2.4 Task Four: Access to Mobile app

24/7 Access to a password protected, mobile app for users to access: • Overview of search results in terms of online articles and social media conversations • Ability to view coverage written in Arabic, Chinese and Russian. Ability to access English translation of this coverage within the mobile app. • Ability to set up push notifications to be alerted of new search results • Ability to forward media coverage via email, sms or what’s app 2.5 Task Five: Media Engagement

24/7 Access to a password protected, media influencer database, including journalists, editors, correspondents, social media influencers, bloggers etc. • Ability to browse the database based on location, beat and type of influencer • Ability to perform ad-hoc searches on the database based on keywords, concepts, or using Boolean search terms • Ability to perform searches in other languages including Arabic, Chinese and Russian, in order to find influencers that publish in these languages. • For each influencer found, present contact details and any other information that could be relevant, including publications this influencer writes for, and an overview of the previous coverage published by the media influencer • Ability to create unlimited media lists for specific topics • Ability to export the contact details of the media influencers per media list. • Ability to send out unlimited press releases via the platform and to monitor the open-rate of the press releases send out. • Ability to manage contacts

2.6 Task Six: Customer Service

Implementation Support: • The contractor shall provide access to an implementation consultant who is an experienced trainer and implementer and whose goal is to prepare NPPD/OUS to go live with the solution and provide best practices. The contractor shall work closely with NPPD/OUS project managers throughout the implementation process. • Ongoing Support: The contractor shall manage technical requests and issues through a ticketing system via phone, email, or online during regular business hours in the U.S Eastern timezone. In addition, 24-hour emergency online support must be available during off-business hours. 3.0 OTHER APPLICABLE CONDITIONS

3.1 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for this contract is base year one (1) 12-month, and four (4) 12-month option periods. The period of performance will be determined after award

3.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The principal place of work will be at the contractor’s facility or its designated alternate work place.

3.3 DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION Information furnished by the contractor under this contract may be subject to disclosure under The freedom ofinfo1mation act (FOIA). Therefore, all items that are confidential to business, or Contain trade secrets, proprietary, or personally-identifiable information must be clearly marked. Any information made available to the contractor by the government must be used only for the Purpose of carrying out the requirements of this contract and must not be divulged or made !Mown in any manner to any person except as may be necessary in the performance of the Contract.

3.4 Advertisements, Publicizing Awards, and News Releases All press releases or announcements about agency programs, projects, and contract awards need to be cleared by the Program Office and the Contracting Officer. Under no circumstances shall the Contractor, or anyone acting on behalf of the Contractor, refer to the supplies, services, or equipment furnished pursuant to the provisions of this contract in any publicity news release or commercial advertising without first obtaining explicit written consent to do so from the Program Office and the Contracting Officer.

3.5 GENERAL REPORT REQUIREMENTS The Contractor shall provide all written reports in electronic format with read/write capability using applications that are compatible with DHS workstations (Windows XP and Microsoft Office Applications).

3.6 SECTION 508 COMPLIANCE Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220) requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology (EIT), they must ensure that it is accessible to people with disabilities. Federal employees and members of the public who have disabilities must have equal access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that enjoyed by non-disabled Federal employees and members of the public.

All EIT deliverables within this work statement shall comply with the applicable technical and functional performance criteria of Section 508 unless exempt. Specifically, the following applicable EIT accessibility standards have been identified:

36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1194.21 Software Applications and Operating Systems, applies to all EIT software applications and operating systems procured or developed under this work statement including but not limited to GOTS and COTS software. In addition, this standard is to be applied to Web-based applications when needed to fulfill the functional performance criteria. This standard also applies to some Web based applications as described within 36 CFR 1194.22.

36 CFR 1194.22 Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications, applies to all Web-based deliverables, including documentation and reports procured or developed under this work statement. When any Web application uses a dynamic (non-static) interface, embeds custom user control(s), embeds video or multimedia, uses proprietary or technical approaches such as, but not limited to, Flash or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) then 1194.21 Software standards also apply to fulfill functional performance criteria.

36 CFR 1194.41 Information Documentation and Support, applies to all documents, reports, as well as help and support services. To ensure that documents and reports fulfill the required 1194.31 Functional Performance Criteria, they shall comply with the technical standard associated with Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications at a minimum. In addition, any help or support provided in this work statement that offer telephone support, such as, but not limited to, a help desk shall have the ability to transmit and receive messages using TTY.

14.2 Section 508 Applicable Exceptions

Exceptions for this work statement have been determined by DHS and only the exceptions described herein may be applied. Any request for additional exceptions shall be sent to the COR and a determination will be made in accordance with DHS Management Directives (MD) 4010.2. DHS has identified the following exceptions that may apply: 36 CFR 1194.3(b) Incidental to Contract, all EIT that is exclusively owned and used by the contractor to fulfill this work statement does not require compliance with Section 508. This exception does not apply to any EIT deliverable, service or item that will be used by any Federal employee(s) or member(s) of the public. This exception only applies to those contractors assigned to fulfill the obligations of this work statement and for the purposes of this requirement, are not considered members of the public.

14.3 Section 508 Compliance Requirements

36 CFR 1194.2(b) (COTS/GOTS products), When procuring a product, each agency shall procure products which comply with the provisions in this part when such products are available in the commercial marketplace or when such products are developed in response to a Government solicitation. Agencies cannot claim a product as a whole is not commercially available because no product in the marketplace meets all the standards. If products are commercially available that meets some but not all of the standards, the agency must procure the product that best meets the standards. When applying this standard, all procurements of EIT shall have documentation of market research that identify a list of products or services that first meet the agency business needs, and from that list of products or services, an analysis that the selected product met more of the accessibility requirements than the non-selected products as required by FAR 39.2. Any selection of a product or service that meets less accessibility standards due to a significant difficulty or expense shall only be permitted under an undue burden claim and requires authorization from the DHS Office of Accessible Systems and Technology (OAST) in accordance with DHS MD 4010.2.

All tasks for testing of functional and/or technical requirements must include specific testing for Section 508 compliance, and must use DHS Office of Accessible Systems and Technology approved testing methods and tools. For information about approved testing methods and tools send an email to accessibility@dhs.gov.

4.0 INVOICES AND PAYMENT PROVISIONS Invoices shall be prepared per Section VII, Contract Clauses; Paragraph A. entitled “FAR CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE,” FAR Clause 52.232-25 Prompt Payment, and FAR Clause 52.232-7, Payments under Time and Materials and Labor-Hours. In addition to invoice preparation as required by the FAR, the Contractor’s invoice shall include the following information:

1) Cover sheet identifying DHS; 2) Task Order Number; 3) Modification Number, if any; 4) DUNS Number; 5) Month services provided 6) CLIN and Accounting Classifications 7) ATTN: NPPD/OUS

B. The contractor shall submit invoices monthly. C. Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) and description for each billed item. D. Any additional backup information as required by this contract. E. The Contractor shall submit the invoice electronically to the address below:

E-mail: NPPDInvoice.Consolidation@ice.dhs.gov

F. Simultaneously provide an electronic copy of the invoice to the following individuals at the addresses below:

E-mail:

Remond Ragin Contracting Officer Representative (COR) 1616 N. Fort Myer Drive Arlington, VA 22209 Phone: 703-235-2164 remond.ragin@hq.dhs.gov

The contractor shall submit invoices to the email addresses above. Additionally, the contractor shall prepare and submit a sufficient and procurement regulatory compliant invoice and receiving report for technical certification of inspection/acceptance of services and approval for payment. The contractor shall attach back up information to the invoices and receiving reports substantiating all costs for services performed. The receiving agency’s written or electronic acceptance by the COR and date of acceptance shall be included as part of the backup documentation.

If the invoice is submitted without all required back up documentation, the invoice shall be rejected. The Government reserves the right to have all invoices and backup documentation reviewed by the Contracting Officer prior to payment approval.

5.0 DELIVERABLES The Contractor shall consider items in BOLD as having mandatory due dates. Items in italics are deliverables or events that must be reviewed and/or approved by the COR prior to proceeding to next deliverable or event in this SOW.

1 posted on 04/08/2018 10:18:23 AM PDT by TaxPayer2000
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To: TaxPayer2000

Can’t keep track of the existing Visa overstays, the illegals coming over the border, the multiple IDs\tax fraud\catch-n-release...

But will now attempt to monitor ‘journalists’.

Thank you, GWB, (can’t forget the (R)N(C) whom gave US this, and MORE) for another s*-sandwich.


2 posted on 04/08/2018 10:21:33 AM PDT by i_robot73 (One could not count the number of *solutions*, if only govt followed\enforced the Constitution.)
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To: TaxPayer2000

So, the government wants to be the final determinant of ‘true’ news and ‘fake’ news, and in particular any news related to itself? Wow. What could go wrong?


3 posted on 04/08/2018 10:22:47 AM PDT by neverevergiveup
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To: neverevergiveup

I hope that someone is considering that there won’t be a republican government forever...


4 posted on 04/08/2018 10:34:34 AM PDT by The Antiyuppie ("When small men cast long shadows, then it is very late in the day")
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To: Travis McGee

What I saw at the Coup in reverse?


5 posted on 04/08/2018 10:37:34 AM PDT by Rebelbase ( Hillary, DNC, DOJ and FBI colluded with a British National to influence the 2016 Pres. election)
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To: i_robot73

“Can’t keep track of the existing Visa overstays, the illegals coming over the border, the multiple IDs\tax fraud\catch-n-release“

Can’t seem to find any emails either. Can’t seem to stop people from having their refunds stolen.

I have read that the founding fathers deliberately designed the Federal government to be inefficient, so that it could never become too powerful. But the had never envisioned the power of the Internet, electronics, or databases/analyitics.


6 posted on 04/08/2018 10:38:58 AM PDT by The Antiyuppie ("When small men cast long shadows, then it is very late in the day")
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To: The Antiyuppie
I hope that someone is considering that there won’t be a republican government forever...

Republican government isn't the issue: democrat media is, and that's going to take MUCH longer to change.

7 posted on 04/08/2018 10:39:21 AM PDT by papertyger (Bulverism: it's not just for liberals anymore.)
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To: The Antiyuppie

Tracking American citizens.

But police can’t ask an illegal alien if he/she is a citizen.

Imagine the fun democrats will have with this information the next time they are in power.


8 posted on 04/08/2018 10:42:34 AM PDT by Iron Munro (If Illegals voted Republican 66 Million Democrats Would Be Screaming "Build The Wall!")
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To: neverevergiveup
So, the government wants to be the final determinant of ‘true’ news and ‘fake’ news, and in particular any news related to itself? Wow. What could go wrong?

No more than has already gone wrong leaving the media to police itself.

Objectivity is NOT so hard to determine as many pretend it to be.

9 posted on 04/08/2018 10:45:19 AM PDT by papertyger (Bulverism: it's not just for liberals anymore.)
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To: papertyger
Objectivity is NOT so hard to determine as many pretend it to be.

I agree, but it depends on who is doing he determination and whether or not they actually favor objectivity - vs propaganda that conforms with their world view.

10 posted on 04/08/2018 10:47:46 AM PDT by neverevergiveup
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To: Iron Munro
Tracking American citizens. But police can’t ask an illegal alien if he/she is a citizen. Imagine the fun democrats will have with this information the next time they are in power.

What do you mean by "next time?" /s

11 posted on 04/08/2018 10:49:18 AM PDT by papertyger (Bulverism: it's not just for liberals anymore.)
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To: neverevergiveup

Well i can tell you I’d rather have a bipartisan group determining what is objective than having it imposed unilaterally by a philosophical cartel as it is now.


12 posted on 04/08/2018 10:52:26 AM PDT by papertyger (Bulverism: it's not just for liberals anymore.)
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To: TaxPayer2000

Smells like intimidation.


13 posted on 04/08/2018 10:59:29 AM PDT by thoughtomator (Number of arrested coup conspirators to date: 0)
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To: i_robot73
Can’t keep track of the existing Visa overstays, the illegals coming over the border, the multiple IDs\tax fraud\catch-n-release... But will now attempt to monitor ‘journalists’.

Yep, your instincts are right - this is totalitarian...

14 posted on 04/08/2018 11:05:11 AM PDT by GOPJ (Obama told people he was Kenyan for the same reason Elizabeth Warren told people she was Indian.)
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To: thoughtomator

Nothing wrong in this country that a couple miles of one inch rope couldn’t repair.......


15 posted on 04/08/2018 11:06:13 AM PDT by S.O.S121.500 (Had ENOUGH Yet ? ........................ Enforce the Bill of Rights .........It is the LAW...)
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To: GOPJ
Yep, your instincts are right - this is totalitarian...

I think you're confusing the problem with the solution.

16 posted on 04/08/2018 11:18:03 AM PDT by papertyger (Bulverism: it's not just for liberals anymore.)
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To: papertyger
Well i can tell you I’d rather have a bipartisan group determining what is objective than having it imposed unilaterally by a philosophical cartel as it is now.

I don't disagree with your general stance, but I would hope there is a better way. As a general thought, I think there should be 'strict' labeling of what is presented in the media as 1. Corroborated news without opinion, 2. Uncorroborated news without opinion, 3. Opinion 4. Editorials (possibly more categories). Any improper labeling will make the media outlet susceptible to fines and eventually pulling their credentials.

Another possibility would be to make media outlets much more liable and vulnerable to private lawsuits for inaccuracies and defamation.

No solution is going to be perfect, but I prefer solutions in which private citizens get to decide, rather than the government.

17 posted on 04/08/2018 11:20:12 AM PDT by neverevergiveup
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To: TaxPayer2000

From the Article;
“or a particular Event.”

Ruby Ridge,

Waco or

Bunkerville.


18 posted on 04/08/2018 11:28:31 AM PDT by Big Red Badger (UNSCANABLE in an IDIOCRACY!)
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To: S.O.S121.500

I wonder why we republicans can’t seem to remember who started Department of Homeland Security? It was George Bush Jr, of course. We out in the hinterland knew it was another spying group but with the capacity to jail and kill anyone they wanted and they’d never have to prove a thing. We were furious. Lot of good that did.

Then we started really looking at how down hill it had been going and we found,

The Secret History of FEMA | WIRED
https://www.wired.com/story/the-secret-history-of-fema/
Sep 3, 2017 - During the past seven decades, the agency has evolved from a top-secret series of bunkers designed to protect US officials in case of a nuclear attack to a ... Today, conspiracy theorists fear that FEMA is setting up concentration camps to house political dissidents (Google “FEMA camps” if you want to lose ...

Hey, we know nothing but I do know that when a record is SOAPed the subjective is conjecture and objective is fact. It is very hard to find objective information in our government now...and maybe it has been that way for years, I don’t know

My self protection parameters are intact. My friends I trust. My :government” is a liar and I no longer trust anyone in it.


19 posted on 04/08/2018 11:31:05 AM PDT by Bodega (we are developing less and less common sense...world wide)
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To: neverevergiveup

All data will be compiled at 14xx Edgewood Dr. 94301 and available for sale for the right price.


20 posted on 04/08/2018 12:01:23 PM PDT by ptsal ( Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please. - M. Twain)
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